Holland House Reno
March 6, 2008
The plumbing edition
Hi everyone,
I have some catch up to do. Renovations were moving swiftly until the first snag... the plumbing sign off. After some confusion as to what we need, we should be filing next week and sign off (fingers crossed) should happen the week after. As a first time renovator one of the most frustrating things is that you don't know what you need and the fees are piling up...
Anyway, I attached some pictures of our new plumbing. Question for you, the plumbing of our new bathroom is right above the dining room. Should we be concerned about noise (toilet flush etc..). Does insulation help against noise?
February 18, 2008
Cool and Not So Cool "Finds"
Before I move on to some of the construction that has been happening, I want to share with you some of the cool and not so cool "finds" we had in the demo process. Under the "not so cool" category are, pounds and pounds of pigeon poop (see picture), a leaky roof (amazing what tin ceilings can hide) and some sagging and rotten beems. Under the "very cool" category, two items of which I posted pictures below. Enjoy the guess work!
February 10, 2008
Holland House Intro
Hi everyone,
This is our first post, so a little intro is needed. We purchased a house in the North Slope about a year ago. We knew nothing about renovations and being a landlord but quickly convinced ourselves that a) really only the kitchen needed to be upgraded and b) we could live through a renovation so we could keep the rental income. After 6 months of complete denial the reality set in: a) we really are looking at a gut renovation and b) there is no way we could live in the space while the renovations were happening. So here is the project....
We are combining the top two floors of a three floor building to be an owner's duplex. The lower floor will remain a renter's apartment. The project involves.. all new EVERYTHING.... plumbing, electrical, kitchen, two bathrooms and a complete new configuration of space. The second floor will be all about livingroom and kitchen, the third floor will be all the bedrooms and 2 bathrooms.
Why Holland House? Well, one of us is from the lower lands and we do live now in "Breukelen" and the house eerily looks similary configured to dutch houses. (A little patriotic feeling of my other ("he claims better") half did not hurt either). We will fill you in later of the details we are looking to work in, needless to say we are very excited.
We look forward to your comments and suggestions...but be gentle...!
While we now are 4 weeks into the renovation. Let me start with the beginning and catch up. So, I included some pictures from the first day of demolition. More to come ... Enjoy!
