Just treats, please

Last year trick or treaters were greeted by a front door that was anything but inviting. (Even Sam ran away!) Covered in plastic, with all the molding torn off, we could only play it up as a Halloween prank with a sign:



A house with no door is spooky you say?
Even more so when the owner’s away.
But if you’ve come this close without any fright,
You deserve candy and a Happy Halloween night!

This year we were armed with more than a new front door. We had welcoming lights and plenty of candy to give out to the many neighborhood children. I am also fairly confident we had some of the cutest trick or treaters in town to help give candy away. I pledge that next year we will really do it right and give out full size candy bars. One of us will stay home while the other takes the kids trick or treating so nobody ends up rebuffed by the "help yourself" bowl we left on the doorstep while we took Sam around the neighborhood.

Sam was quickly identified as a doctor but it was really a treat for those ladies who recognized him as Dr. McDreamy. Only the most observant noticed his name badge. Since last year, he's gained an understanding of "trick or treat" and he diligently said "thank you" to each of the neighbors who greeted him. Will was Pooh bear for a short time until he became a snoring lump of red and yellow on his Papa's shoulder. I have a feeling it's only going to get better.

Flip This Shed

While we were at the hospital getting to know Will, Deanna's dad spent a couple of days fixing up a dilapidated shed we had in our backyard. I thought this thing was fit to be demolished, but he did an amazing job fixing it up. It's hard to believe that any of the new structure is original- the shed looks awesome! It's a fine example of his thrift.

After Remodeling:



I thought for sure we'd be better off knocking the old shed over and buying one of these: Walpole Woodworkers Sheds

I think the final result compares quite favorably with the very expensive pre-fab solutions.

Our thanks to Deanna's dad for this project, and for his tireless interest in improving our home in cost effective ways. His enthusiasm for caring for our house is amazing- we're fortunate to have him in our lives. Thanks to Sue as well for being supportive of his spending time visiting us- and for planting fresh flowers in the flower box. What a nice finishing touch. Our house doesn't even have flower boxes!

Before Remodeling:

At long last

We tried desperately to have the patience to wait until all of the kitchen remodel was complete before posting pictures. Anything short of totally done and it would have felt premature. And there were plenty of roadblocks to hold up yesterday’s little photo shoot, even after 4 and a half months of solid work on this place. The biggest problem was probably a 9 foot slab of granite shattering in the midst of our kitchen as it was being removed for modifications. The noise was horrendous and until I saw it, I never would have guessed a piece of stone like that could shatter like glass. But all that’s behind us and repaired now and we’re actually living comfortably in our new space. We're grateful for Magic Sliders, Bob’s willing back and the burst of energy I’ve had unpacking. Now that life is once again starting to take on a normal rhythm, I hope to be back posting more often.

Here are before and after shots from roughly the same spot- the family room looking toward the kitchen area. If you're so inclined you can see more photos in our photo album.

Better than flowers and chocolate

It's right around the corner, so close I can feel it. The movers are coming on Valentine's day and, if all goes according to plan, we'll spend that night in our new house. Finally, after months of work and chasing the details, we're on the verge of being done. We're still collecting our thoughts on the whole process so stay tuned for an upcoming post on our 'lessons learned' and photos of the finished product.

All this comes not a moment too soon since we're now in need of a nursery. To readers afar, my news may come as a surprise since I've been mum on this for some time. But our little family will be welcoming another little boy in June. Sam is anxious to tell anyone who'll listen, "there's a baby in Mommy's belly." He seems to be adjusting to the idea well and thankfully, his attachment to the name Gordon was only short lived.

So until I have more, I leave you with this photo of 4 Brazilians, a French Canadian, a lot of rock salt and a pickup truck in our front yard. That's what it took to get our new family gathering place into the house.

Troubling trends: Organic popcorn futures up, home prices down

With the holidays in full effect and the remodel timeline urging us to distract ourselves, we've been catching up on our movie watching. Even though our holiday card said otherwise, the house is still uninhabitable and as a result, we put all visions of sugar plums on hold until next year.

Overall, there weren't any true cinematic standouts although we both enjoyed The Devil Wears Prada and Little Miss Sunshine. Other movies on our 'recently viewed' list are Friends with Money, The Family Stone, Failure to Launch, Lady in the Water, Thank you for Smoking, You, Me and Dupree, Clerks II and, the one you may not enjoy but ought to see, An Inconvenient Truth.

I still don't like Al Gore as a Presidential candidate, but I definitely think his movie is worth watching. If this strange spring weather in New England doesn't convince you, the science presented in the movie might. It's both compelling and depressing; I can't help but feel that a tidal wave from the Arctic ice shelf is imminent. It makes me wish that we could counteract global warming in the public and private sectors more aggressively. Unfortunately, the American public doesn't feel the same way. I was disheartened to hear a recent survey indicating the environment fell at the bottom of our collective priority list. I wonder if the majority of our nation saw the movie whether they'd change their minds. With all due respect to our service men and women, I wonder what difference a few Iraqi insurgents will make when half the Middle East is under water.

After the movie, I was sufficiently frightened about our planet's future and began researching what I can do to make a difference. Although the film itself doesn't offer many suggestions for the average American, the associated website does. And since our remodel is one of my most consuming thoughts these days, I took solace in how we've tried to get through the project with our micro and macro environments in mind.

We've been trying to do our part by renovating our not so big house instead of building brand new. Throughout the renovation we've made eco-friendly design choices wherever it was feasible, cost effective and didn't sacrifice the house's colonial integrity. Here's a rundown of our green remodeling practices:

-started by hiring a licensed deleader who brought the house into Massachusetts compliance and safely disposed of the lead paint.
-chose locally sourced materials including Vermont slate flooring and Canadian granite countertops instead of the typical varieties that get shipped from half a world away.
-purchased all new Energy Star appliances and "freecycled" the out of date ones to individuals using even older, less efficient models. Ours didn't end up in a landfill and the new appliance owners get to use something more efficient than what they had.
-installed new Energy Star certified thermostats.
-selected new windows and doors that have low-e glass and are Energy Star qualified.
-referenced California's Title 24 guidelines to implement a lighting plan that minimizes electricity usage without sacrificing light quality. Also installed Energy Star fluorescent light fixtures wherever light color was not an issue like in closets and on the front of the house.
-weatherized the attic and vast crawl spaces beneath the living areas with insulation certified by GreenGuard.
-used zero-VOC Sherwin Williams paints throughout to minimize offgassing.
-refinished hardwood floors with low-VOC water based finishes.
-removed wall to wall carpeting to improve indoor air quality.
-installed a high quality water filter in the kitchen so we could safely drink our tap water.
-designed recycling stations into our kitchen layout.
-using natural cleaning products in post construction cleanup.

Taking just these small steps helps me feel a little better about my responsibility in the environmental crisis. I challenge you to take some steps, however small, to do the same.

Destruction was never so beautiful

As far as I'm concerned, construction may as well be brain surgery. I am consistently amazed when I see what a couple of skilled guys can accomplish in an afternoon. Install a steel beam in the ceiling? No problem. Relocate an exterior door? Piece of cake.

Watching our carpenter Marius and his associate Joe do it reminds us why we are not DIYers. Don't get me wrong, for some, doing the weekend warrior thing makes sense. But for Bob and me, it would be the worst decision we could make. The two of us are often outwitted by the simplest of home improvement projects (see past failures: relocating speaker wire about 10 feet on the same wall, replacing outlet cover and myriad other fiascos too embarrassing to admit.) I figure, if Bob gets hired to do chip floorplanning and one day, God willing, I will once again be hired to write a smokin' marketing plan, why should we expect that our talents should extend beyond the realms in which we excel? More simply put, just as I wouldn't expect Marius to try his hand at our jobs, why oh why would we try to do his? Many have told us there's money to be saved by us doing at least part of the job. But I have my doubts; I envision us doing more harm than good, as in, "Uhh, the house is rocking... do you think that could have been a load bearing wall?" I'm reasonably certain the best thing for all involved is for us to leave it to the pros. We take the immortal words of Mike Holmes seriously, "If you can't afford to do it RIGHT, then you have to WAIT." Besides, if you looked that good in Carhartt overalls, I'd listen to you too.

It took a few weeks of demolition and another couple of weeks of framing but now we've officially turned the corner and the state of affairs at the house is steadily improving each time we visit. For a while there was chaos everywhere with unidentified wires snaking around and steam pipes running from ceiling to floor where once there were walls. But now the mess is disappearing and in its place we're beginning to see what's to come. There's plenty more work to do but it looks like we may be able to move in mid-January. That means it'll be a non-traditional Christmas here in the apartment where the blinding whiteness isn't from the snow outside but from all the glaringly barren walls. Thankfully, it doesn't bother Sam in the least, in fact he loves to play the drums on the giant moving boxes that litter the apartment. It's amazing how much stuff one can live without when it's thought to be temporary. Never in my wildest dreams did I think we'd be here so long but I'd certainly rather live here than amidst the dust storm currently raging inside our house. I also consider myself fortunate that this year Sam hasn't quite figured out the logistical challenges Santa will face on Christmas Eve when he tries to figure out how to get in this apartment without a fireplace. Rest assured next year it'll be another story; the stockings will be hung by the new-and-improved chimney with care.

Progress aplenty

Sam just turned 21 months old and he's talking all the time, stringing sentences together like he was born to communicate. Today he awed us by showing off his counting skills. It brought a tear to my eye to see my smart baby boy feeling so proud of himself. All these months of counting the stairs on the way up to our third floor apartment did more than make me breathe heavy. I can't wait for the day we can count the steps as we climb up the one flight to his new bedroom.

To that end, progress on the house continues although slowly. This week, there were two remarkable milestones. First, our general contractor placed the yard sign in front of the house announcing the arrival in short order of a dumpster and plenty of workers pounding nails at 7:00am. The day that noise begins polluting my neighborhood I will listen closely to the sonata and kindly ask my neighbors for their patience as the days pass and the debris pile grows.

Although the GC hasn't started any of the remodeling work yet, our lead abatement contractor started and completed his bit this week. Admittedly I'm a bit of a lunatic about lead--ask Bob about the time I made him take me to Urgent Care because I was certain I was thinking slower as a result of poisoning myself while refinishing furniture. The doctor thought I had a screw loose but that had nothing to do with lead. Thankfully, there wasn't much of the stuff in our house compared to other similarly aged homes and we knew the deal before we bought it because we had the house professionally tested as part of our home inspection. In our real estate shopping we learned that many don't take lead seriously. We actually had one realtor tell us that lead poisoning was only a problem in the inner city where children were malnourished and relied on chipped paint to supplement their diets. Perhaps the ignorant biddy didn't know that all kids put things in their mouths regardless of hunger. Personally, I can't believe so many people would pay so much to get into the right school district and then jeopardize their children's mental development by leaving lead in their homes exposed. Perhaps they don't realize how serious it can be. To us, it was just part of the work required to make the house safe and habitable for our family. If you had a boy as smart as ours, I'm sure you'd do the same.

Home Improvement for Dummies

Thank you to Rox and Doug who offered their renovation suggestions after reading my last post. We've particularly enjoyed reading The Inept Homeowner's Guide to Surviving Renovation and Remodeling your Home: Avoiding Litigation and the Resulting Cost Overruns. Both are enlightening books on the subject making me want to kick myself for not fighting through Bob Vila's prickly exterior to make friends with him that day I was behind him in line at the Whole Foods.

I am pleased to report that we've finally found a design/build firm that inspires confidence and doesn't threaten to send us over the edge into the money pit. We've spent the last few weeks working with Mike, the lead estimator, to do the planning required before we sign the contract and work begins. Mike's a character and a no-nonsense straight shooter. It's funny how quickly we've gotten to know and trust him. As soon as I see him furrow his brow and put his head in his hands, I know I've asked for too much. Once when I asked him what would happen if we raised Sam's bedroom ceiling to the rafters, he told me, "Your husband might kill you." This is the same guy who called me a tree hugger when he heard I was interested in Lyptus cabinets. If he thinks I'm a tree hugger, he should see my son.

We learned a few things making the selections for our place in Arizona and we're trying to learn from that experience. This project is different though; we have not only the finishes to choose but also the layout. Whereas last time, we picked the tile, countertops and light fixtures, this time we need to determine where walls should be. It's much more like building from scratch when you tear out so much of what's existing. Planning the details takes precious minutes, hours, days. One of the many contractors who came to the house advised us that erasing a line in a plan is much easier than knocking down a wall. We're heeding his advice and making sure that the plan is one we've fully thought through before any demolition begins. It's a little maddening but a necessary exercise in self-control. On several occasions Bob has restrained me with my sledgehammer from taking matters into my own eager hands.

We hope the updates will modernize the home in terms of how it meets our family’s needs, but the implementation will be done in a style reminiscent of its earlier origin. On our real estate venturing, I was often struck by how glorious cherry cabinets and wall-to-wall stainless appliances felt out of place in humble homes of a similar vintage to ours. It is a personal preference of course, but I feel we owe it to the house to respect the years it stood before we were even born. We can do that by making selections that harken back to an earlier time with its own set of principles and ideals. It's one way I can help those principles persist.

In this life where so much stuff is disposable, I hope that one day our house will be worthy of a discreet placard on the front noting its date of construction and original owner. But that's a long way off. For now, I'll rely on the Colonial charm in its structural symmetry, warm hardwood floors, and crystal doorknobs from which to draw inspiration. Whatever changes we make, I know the decisions made now will result in the establishment of our surroundings for years to come. Every design decision is a commitment and for better or worse, I've awoken in the morning wondering if sconces might be a better lighting option in the powder room. Perhaps it's design fatigue, maybe it's a symptom of being TKO--whatever it is, I'm taking tomorrow off to enjoy the onset of Fall in the great city of Boston with my best guys.

10 things you don’t want your prospective General Contractor to do

Arrive at the first meeting in a brand new Porsche Cayenne.

Belittle town building inspectors and call the last one he worked with an “ass.”

Tell you your project timeline is unrealistic because he and his family are leaving next week for a month long vacation in Greece.

Assure you that, “When you build green, the details just work themselves out.”

At the appointed meeting time, place a call from 11 Arnold Street to say he's knocking on the door and why are you not answering? (Our house isn't on Arnold Street.)

When asked if ours is a larger than average size project for him, answer, “Nah, I once built a $5 million gas station.”

Show up to the first meeting red faced, sweaty and dressed in tennis whites.

When asked why the price for the work is so high, proclaim proudly, “This is Wellesley!”

Insist you throw pecuniary caution to the wind because every dollar spent on a kitchen renovation will certainly result in a return on that investment when you sell the house.

Estimate the cost of renovating the kitchen will cost you somewhere between an MIT professor and Boston Mayor Menino's yearly salary.

Some of these are annoyances, others are downright ridiculous. And yes, we've now experienced them all. The fact of the matter is that if we don’t find a contractor who is a good match for us soon, we're going to move into the house as is. And if we do that, then I’ll bet we won't update it for years since the prospect of doing so will only become more daunting. Please oh please Mr. Reliable-Reasonably Priced-Able-To-Work-Now-Contractor where are you? I really think our house can be great, we just need you to put hammer to nail.