Daisy Allandale

Prior to renovating our home, we assessed its many problems. For example: “Situated below street level, the house is all curb and no appeal.”

Viewing our home from the street in 2006,
as we begin seriously planning our renovation.

Visitors to Casa de Roo deserve a proper welcome. Once you bravely traverse the steep hill from the parking area, turn, take the steps, turn, go down the ramp, turn, take more steps, turn, walk and turn again, it seems fitting you should feel as though you’ve arrived.

As these pre-renovation shots show,
it is quite a journey to our front door.

The October 2006 “as built” drawings (the only
appropriate set of plans provided by our first architect).

The original entryway is dreary,
dark, depressing and dysfunctional.

So I began searching for the perfect front door. Again and again, the hunt leads me to Europe. (One e-mail exchange even went something like this: Hey, great doors! Can I get one these in New Jersey? / No. Would you like to become our North American distributor? / Thanks for asking. No. Live long and prosper.)

Turning away from Google, I tackle my stack of shelter magazines and in Atomic Ranch find Crestview Doors, a U.S. company selling just what I want.

Picking from the variety of Modern, Post-war and Ranch styles, Matt and I decide on Allandale in a yellow called Daisy, with a sidelight. I work with a member of the Crestview team, Stephanie, and Daisy Allandale is conceived.

By this point, we had walked away from the excruciatingly impractical Dum(b)as(s) architecture firm and hired “The Todd” to execute drawings based on Matt’s vision of “roofing, windows, siding and deck.”

“The Todd” includes Daisy Allandale in
our April 2008 plans. The design calls for covering
a set of windows and moving the door to the left.

Daisy rests in Matt’s dressing room on
June 21, 2008 (left). Finally, in time for
Thanksgiving 2008, our builder puts her in her place.

To protect us from rain and snow, the design
includes a peak over the front door that balances the
larger one over the porch. Both feature “Splat” light
fixtures. The doorbell bling is “De-Light” by Sp0re.

Daisy even looks welcoming at 7:16 a.m. after
Matt does another round of shoveling
thanks to a February 26, 2010, blizzard.

Daisy is ready to receive guests
on Saturday, June 19, 2010.

First image: Henry, our gargoyle, protects the entrance
where Daisy holds court. Pax Drammen featuring Dioder
(left) and a pouf we call Oscar (right) flank the foyer.
Center image: A view of both the foyer and kitchen.
Third image: Looking through the “window”
from the kitchen to the foyer.

Looking through the door all the way into the back
yard (left). Looking out at the bunker-like exterior.

Having a friendly and functional foyer has improved our lives. Daisy Allandale, you had us at “Hello.”

Like being in a tree house

A goal for renovating Casa de Roo has been to get daily moments of, “it feels like we are on vacation!” One feature in particular has required quite a bit of tweaking to provide opportunities for chllin’ out. Amazing how much work it has taken to turn the screen porch into a place where we can relax (and we have a few more steps to go).

Before: A view of our structurally unsound deck
from our neighbor’s deck on June 14, 2008.

After: View of the screen porch from the same
vantage point on July 5, 2009. The peak over the
porch balances the peak over the front door.

On April 24, we took the screen porch apart again. In March 2009, we removed view-blocking support posts that had been in the architectural drawing, but were structurally unnecessary.

Screen porch on March 8 (left) and March 28, 2009.

Screen porch parts on April 24, 2010.

This time, it was to rip out perfectly installed quarter-round pine trim from around the screens because it began turning black. After removing the screens, we cleaned, repainted the existing white trim and then put the screens back in, this time using PVC trim from Lowe’s.

We added a Cocktail Ledge, also made from white PVC.

After giving the room a good scrubbing to remove layers of yellow tree pollen, it was time to build the daybed Matt and I considered a “must have” since a December 2007 trip to the Bahamas.

Lounging around in our bungalow on Andros Island.

We had discussed the design many times since and determined it should be clad in cedar, to match our privacy walls, hot tub and deck skirting.

The daybed project takes shape on May 1, 2010.

As seems to be the case with all our projects, building the daybed took longer, featured some rework and required more materials than we expected. For example, we didn’t have quite enough cedar. Luckily, we had some wide-plank slag rejects from our deck skirting-with-barn-door project, which we used for cushion slats.

To get the rest of the materials needed to complete the build on May 2, we made a post-Saturday-night-out run to both Home Depot and Lowe’s. Other steps included long sessions of sanding, as the clear cedar boards we had ordered specifically for the project were slag, too. Dirty. Gouged. Strap-marked. Written upon. Then we topped the back and arm rest with the same PVC used for the Cocktail Ledge we added to the front of the screen porch.

At last, it was time for the finishing touches. First in place are the luxurious parrot green custom cushions that arrived on April 13 from OutdoorFabrics.com, topped by five outdoor pillows featuring sea life images by Thomas Paul that we purchased from Semplice Home in Montclair. (An ad in NJ My Way reminded me about the store I’d enjoyed way back in our Bloomfield days, and a lovely e-mail exchange with co-owner Kelly made me believe it was worth the April 11 trip.)

The daybed structure is complete on May 2, 2010.

On May 5, we moved all those cushions back inside so I could apply the first layer of tung oil. “No problem,” I assured Matt over coffee, “I can get this done before we need to pick up David at 10 a.m. and head to Philadelphia for the communicator’s conference.” Yeah, right: No problem. It was a turbo-driven tung oil application session.

A second tung oil session started before 7 a.m.
on Friday, May 7, 2010, a so-called “vacation day.”

That Friday, I applied two more coats, keeping my eye on the clock: we needed at least 16 hours of curing time before we could set the bed back up so it looked nice for our guests on May 8. Whew! The wood was dry just before Jean and Jennifer arrived with other family members and respective girlfriends for the combo Mother’s Day / Birthday party we were hosting last Saturday.

Finally, after work on May 13, I got to lounge on the fruits of our labor. Matt was playing softball, so I grabbed a magazine and plunked myself down on the daybed at dusk. Birds of many feathers were chirping all around me; it felt like relaxing in a tree house.

At 8:07 p.m. on Thursday, May 13, 2010.

Yesterday, I gave the tung oil finish a quick buffing with my new power tool, to smooth out a few lingering drips. Time at last for an easy project: installing outdoor FLOR® carpet tiles by Interface.

I’d wanted to use this environmentally responsible company’s carpet since the first time I heard their founder speak in September 2006. I saw another Ray Anderson presentation in September 2009, and even got him to autograph his book.

OK, OK… eco-cred aside, we choose this product because it ended up presenting the best design solution we could find. What a joy the carpet tiles are to work with—and so soft under my bare feet!

My goal for this week is to spend some time lolling around in the screen porch.

Two out of three: Final inspections

Today is a big day for the Casa de Roo remodel. From Friday through Monday, we made a push not unlike cramming for finals—final inspections.

Preparations for this day actually began well over a year ago. Matt dropped off the permit application on June 6, 2008. It was approved on July 17 and we picked it up on July 18.

Since then, we have proudly displayed the permit in our window. Well, first our non-closing, bang-your-head-as-you-walk-by bay window (there was one facing the old deck, too) and now our beautiful, energy-efficient Anderson window.

A new roof not only provides what curb appeal you can get with a below-street-level house, it keeps out the rain and reflects away the heat of the sun.

When Dennis from the township arrived before 11 a.m., the shower door installer was already hard at work. We got approval for the building—with one verbal warning: fix the furnace flue pipe before winter. Dennis was the person who told our contractor to ground the metal roof against lightning strikes—something that hadn’t occurred to any of us, including both so-called architects.

Dennis inspected—and really liked—our new deck. It is quite an improvement over what we had before.

Next came the electrical inspection. We failed one element. Willie the electrician did not put in a GFI switch to protect the hot tub. Matt believes the ground fault interrupter, designed to protect against electrical shock by interrupting a household circuit, is actually within the hot tub control box, which the inspector did not open. If it is not, this is an error so insanely stupid even the shower door installer was shocked. In either case, we’ve asked the inspector to return on Friday.

And finally, the plumbing inspection. We passed, despite a poorly formed shower pan that doesn’t drain. We discovered this issue on Monday, so I made a Target run for a squeegee on Tuesday. I vowed we’d use the squeegee every time we showered.

The plumbing inspector complimented the home improvements, particularly our choice to modernize the house while remaining true to its ranch style.

Outdoor living

The service put our dock back in place a couple weeks ago. On Thursday night, the always happy Doug from Morris County Marine returned our boat and we got the first just-past-sunrise ride of the 2009 season. When we got the pontoon boat in 2004, it was like getting a floating living room.

After months—perhaps years—of searching, Matt located the objects of our deck desire using the Google images search. The outdoor pieces (a sofa, two chairs and two tables) by Max Furniture arrived on Friday. After putting it all in place, we did what any normal couple in the middle of a home renovation would do: Went downstairs to grout the tile on the shower floor and bench.

We made up for it this morning, starting the day with an after sunrise soak in the cedar hot tub and having breakfast on the deck. (Featuring herring and Gouda cheese.)

Then off to see the Mets win at their new field. (Thanks, Frank and Diana!)

We tried to end the day on the deck, but the mosquitoes chased us back indoors after a full day of fun in the sun. Tomorrow? Back to working on the house.

Screen porch takes shape

My mom has a screen porch, providing that marvelous mix of fresh air and protection. The space just outside of the dining room was where our new porch was to go.

And so this screen porch has evolved, devolved and revolved. As a key feature of the Casa, we wanted to get it just right.

The first iteration of the screen porch hid too much of the view. The team installed two overly thick front posts equidistant from the corners of the outdoor room, which meant they misaligned with the railing. Their second try didn’t quite work, either. So we told Steve Wasko before winter hit that the posts had to go. We’re doing the work ourselves to save on ”redo” costs.

On Sunday, March 8, we began to tear down the posts. Although they were not structurally necessary, they were well-built. So many nails! And screws!

Later that day, we went to 84 Lumber to purchase Fypon cellular PVC bead board for the ceiling of the porch and had it delivered on March 9.

Our “it should only take one day” project continued on March 21 and 22, including hours climbing up and down the ladder, holding our hands over our heads and trips to Home Depot for more composite trim and a run to 84 Lumber to purchase one more length of bead board. Yup. One.

We weren’t happy with the pine used on the flat surfaces and replaced it with PVC, and in doing so discovered that the wall was not property protected from water, so we added tar paper left over from our shed construction project.

On Saturday, March 28, following a trip to both Home Depot and Ace Hardware, we finished the trim. Matt did all the fancy figuring and complicated cuts to get the pieces to fit together just right. Then we washed down the all the surfaces inside the porch.

That night, in a fit of insanity (while I “supervised” and scowled), Matt began working on the Gauguin outdoor ceiling fan by Minka Aire, purchased in October 2008 from Capital Lighting. It had been in the way ever since. Once we opened up the box, it was more in the way than ever. This is why Matt felt compelled to finish the tricky wiring job on Sunday morning despite the rain.

Matt accomplished a project I thought we’d be paying an electrician to complete. Was I impressed? Mighty impressed! This week Wasko’s team measured for screens. By May, we should have a fully functioning porch.

Curating the Casa

Today is the one-year mark of our renovation efforts. On March 14, 2008, we got our first dumpster and started filling it with stuff. Well, crap, actually. The stuff we kept. When we took all the remaining art down on August 23, I looked around the room and felt incredibly glum. Thank goodness I could still amuse my eyes by looking at our view.

The art started coming back on the walls on February 7, 2009, because we needed to get the pictures off the floor as part of preparing for carpeting.

I got to reconnect with our precious family heirlooms, including a tapa cloth. My mom explains that my father hand carried this primitive paper-like bark fabric home from Fiji to Austria after getting his MBA in the United States and treating himself to a trip around the world—instead of flying east, he flew west. It now hangs in our bedroom, so I can see it every day.

With each image I unwrapped, I told Matt the tale of how this treasure came to be part of our collection. Remember Annapolis, New Orleans, New York City, San Francisco, Savanna, Music Fest with Karen and George?

Matt asked what I wanted to do on my birthday—within the context of preparing the house for a visit by Frank and Diana. I wished to get some more of our stuff back. And so on March 7, we headed to the storage unit. My collection of stemware returned to its home in the glass IKEA cabinet I purchased years ago with birthday bucks from my mother-in-law, Jean.


“Bertha” also made it home. And I had found a hand-typed postcard from Matt’s Aunt Jennie, who wrote, “It seems incredible that my ancient icebox which you found in my basement could look so good and become so useful.” (It stores booze.)


And we finally got to hang our key cabinet by the yellow front door, an Uncle Joe Brooks original. It coordinates perfectly with a favorite Don Davis painting. And back above the dining table went my three hand-carved angels. Oma Langer gave my mom the dark angel when I was born. She explains, “It was carved by the son of the old Heissl family who were Imperial (Kaiserlich-königliche Holzschnitzer) woodcarvers to Kaiser Franz Josef.” His heirs carved the other two angels, gifts from Oma to Mom upon the birth of my brothers.

Unwrapping all the carefully packed items was very much like being a very lucky kid at her birthday party.

Memmmmmmmmm-Brain

Words that start with “Me” are fun to say. Mesmerize. Megalomaniac. Melonballer*. Mets! Methuselah. Mermaid. Meritocracy. Membrane.

When I pulled into my parking spot tonight, I said “membrane” over and over again… because that was what I saw on the roof. The rest of the hideous and improperly installed brown asphalt shingles were in the dumpster, the blue tarp was gone and in its place was the black underlayment for the still pending silver metal roof.

If I had it to do over again, I wouldn’t have agreed to have the crew start pulling off the existing roofing material on October 2 without first seeing its replacement in a staging area on my property.

I shrugged in a “live and learn” sort of way, snapped some photos with my iPhone and headed inside because it started to rain. Now that I have a membrane protecting my home, I can scoff at the rain!

Membrane!

* Yes, I know this is two words: Melon baller. My internal Editor kept fixing it. But my Doppelganger un-fixed it to keep the humorous intent intact. Shhhhh! Do not tell my Editor.

Structural repairs begin

Steve Wasko and his two-man crew arrived this morning and set right to work.

They were 90 minutes earlier than we expected, and caught us making last-minute adjustments in the utility room. After removing a stunning amount of stuff, we tore down shoddy shelving that had served as a barrier between that level and the walk-out basement. Our goal was providing the team with maximum access to the suspect structure.

To reduce the noise, dust and disruption we’d experience in our living quarters, the team sealed off the stairs with a sheet of plywood. As a result, they cut themselves off from the only switch to the track lights in the utility room; our dirty clothes will now need to travel outdoors before arriving in the laundry area. We’ll all adjust.

The barrier proved invaluable as they cut through the concrete, yet fumes from the equipment still set off the fire alarm.

As I requested, the team saved the pine tree that had helped hold up the house—it had been set directly in the dirt and surrounded by concrete. Matt calls the reclaimed lumber “@#$#%&* firewood.” He is not the only one swearing: I pledge to somehow use this pole in the renovation! (Hmmm… I wonder how…)