Back in Business

Well the meeting went well! It was very surprising how just a few changes can affect the budget so drastically. We were able to reduce the overages over 10k really easily without too much sacrifice. We're going to go with standard height doorways instead of the extra-tall ones we originally wanted, cut out 10 linear sq. feet of cabinetry, and decided to go with more modest appliances in the kitchen to get costs back in check. We're still over our target number, but I'm confidant the areas we are putting money into will pay off.

We really appreciate the stand point that Oliver has on budget. As I mentioned in my last post, he gave us the very maximum the budget can be. From our discussion yesterday, I think that we can easily reduce costs elsewhere by shopping smart for finishes, trims, fixtures, etc. Good thing I love a sale :)

The best news to report from our meeting, is that we should be able to psychically start the project in about a week! The engineer is very close to wrapping up his part, the beginning of next week Oliver will be able to meet with the permit people and within 24 hours, under the FIR program, he will have permits and be ready to start demo! We're so close to seeing some real progress. It's going to feel good to start tearing into that house...

This week I plan to make a list of what to keep from the house (I think there are a few light fixtures and plumbing fixtures worth sprucing up) and Riley and I need to choose what kind of windows to use from the two options Oliver gave us. Anyone have an opinion on Sierra Pacific vs. Ultrex windows? :)

I take it back...

So last Friday we received the initial budget. I have to say I take it back. I'm not so excited about the budget word anymore. Currently we are quite far over budget and we haven't even started yet! It was a little shocking at first. I don't blame our contractor, I blame our high expectations. I really appreciate how upfront Oliver was about the costs and he had good suggestions on where we can start pairing down our wish list. It's just really hard to start cutting out elements that we wanted to incorporate into our home before we even begin. Some things will be easy, like switching back to standard sized doors instead of custom extra talls. Others will be hard, like deciding how much to lower the floor in the basement and where to reduce cabinetry. Those two areas turned out to be the biggest ticket items. Storage is really important to me and it's really important that the lower level is comfortable for Riley.

Tonight we are meeting with Oliver at the house to take a look again and see where we can eliminate some costs. On the up side, at least we know the ceiling price now and Oliver assured us that there is no way we will go over that number.

Back to calling it the B word...I'll report back on how our meeting goes!

Won't you be our neighbor?

The house next door is for sale if anyone is interested!

Only cool people who enjoy returning stray tennis balls to a very cute lab mix, the occasional weekend party, yard maintenance and neighborly waves need apply...

Jokes aside; I hope our little, or kinda-huge, project isn't too much of a deterrent for folks looking at the house. I know we didn't by a house because of the new builds going in next door. To anyone interested: I promise the house will be pretty and the construction process, hopefully, won't last too many days!

Final Plans: Exterior & Floorplans are in!

Today we received the final plans* via e-mail. After a few tweaks to the interior, combining our two favorite floorplans with a side staircase inside instead of central one, and adding some details to the exterior, the plans look awesome!

Last week, we were having second thoughts about the exterior plans. We were afraid it was looking a little boxy and new-buildy (this is now an official term) with the upper floor coming out over the front porch. Riley voiced our concern, and Oliver sent us by another new build with a similar feature. Thankfully, we were pleased by what we saw! I am now very confident that this floorplan and exterior will be exactly what we need and will fit our lifestyle very well!

I can't believe I am writing this, but for the first time in my life, I'm really excited to talk about the B word...By this Friday, we should have a Budget in hand from Oliver and can begin to choose finishes. We are (or at least I am) excited to start nit-picking and making decisions!

Today we decided to go with a simple 4" lap horizontal siding, popular in 1900-1930's Craftsman style architecture, on the whole house. Initially, I wanted two different types of siding on the top and bottom, but instead we might do some tonal painting. Oliver made a good point that there are already a lot of nice details going on and the two different sidings would make it too busy. I've seen a few houses around with two different shades of paint above & below the second story skirt to emphasize the split between the top & main floors and it looks really nice! 

One material pick down, only about a million to go :)

I've been doing a lot of driving around to check out other houses I like around Portland and collecting inspiration from books, magazines, and, of course, the internet. I think I have a pretty good idea of what I want to do in each room. I'm sure Riley has been doing the same and that all of our design concepts will mesh perfectly...ha :) I really hope he & Oliver are ready for me to go into full design mode! I might be dangerous. I'm already having dreams of paint colors...

As long as we can stay on schedule, we will be able to break ground at the start of October! 

One request to all blog followers: Please send happy sunshine thoughts to the Oregon skies until we're all framed and roofed. Much appreciative thanks!

*I'm going to try to post the floorplans and exterior images soon...not sure how posting that sort of design property online works...Maybe we just need to slap a copywrite on it?