Anticip.....

Still waiting on permits to be approved.

Next time we buy a house, rip it to shreds and build it from the ground up, we shan't apply for permits in early December. Darn those government workers and their holiday vacations.

I think I need a coffee.

Demo-riffic

Thought folks would like to see some photos from the recent demo.

My Christmas wish is for a quick re-building period.

Holiday Hoopla

Today we have our last Christmas party in the good ol' Leedy Ranch. Makes me kinda sad. What a great house for Christmas parties. Though the new house promises to be fantastic in that respect, with the 2-story great room.

Thanks for the xmas memories, Leedy Ranch.

MCM pool table going on the market

We're selling our pool table as it won't fit in the new house (boo hoo hoo!). It's quite a lovely mid-century design. Maybe you find it attractive? If so, email me or leave me a comment. We're using it for our xmas party in 2 weeks and then it's outta here.

Oh, and it works well. Needs new felt due to some sun damage, but it's a solid table. Played a game of 8-ball and 9-ball with Celia today, and she was almost as good as I was. I should be better than a 4-yr old, right?

Trees be gone

We had tree guys come and take 2 evergreen trees down yesterday. They were growing in the power lines and right in the way of the new drive we're creating from front to back yard, so they had to go. Plus we get a bunch of firewood. So it's all good.

Except for the fact that the tree guys' chipper was stuck at some other site (ice-on-road issue, if you buy that), so we currently have 2 giant trees' worth of branches in our front yard. I haven't seen it myself (as I'm afraid to do so), but needless to say, I'm sure the neighbors hope the chipper shows up today.

Here's an artistic representation of the trees before and after:
This is potentially not good for our standing in our new neighborhood. Chipper, please come soon!

Oh, and on a totally unrelated note, Greg, Paul and Ryan head to the city office to try to get permits today. Good luck, boys.

Prutting and Co.

Oh, forgot to say that we're working with Andrew Friedman at Prutting and Co. for the construction. Prutting's portfolio is outta sight. Check it out here!

Budget rationalized; project moving ahead

It's been a few weeks of budget review and "value engineering" (read: cutting things out), but now we have something that we may be able to afford building. Hooray!

Greg goes in for permits next Wednesday. Fingers crossed for quick decision making on the part of the county permit guys.

House gutted

We (or rather, Greg and our guy friends/neighbors) ripped that house apart Saturday. No more kitchen. No more paneling on walls. No more carpet in basement. No more downstairs bathroom.

Unfortunately, we neglected to take photos of any of the demolition madness. Perhaps we'll take/post some this week. Until then, just imagine unfinished floors and walls.

There is no going back now. Yikes.

New exterior perspective of the house

Wowsie. This is gonna be one sharp house. I think I may be in love.

And now a word from our sponsors...

That's not true. But we are diverting from the new house news for a moment to cover some very exciting new product news. We're getting a Mac this evening—hooray! We've been trying to hold off, but the PC hard drive is failing and forcing our hand (insert supressed squeal of glee here). The Mac will have to take up temporary residence at our old house, but will find a new home next spring in the sparkling new home office loft.

Yay, yay, yay!

Demolition man

We're having some folks over next Saturday to start on the house demo. Need to try to remember to take some good "before" shots in advance.

Bored? Come on by. Destruction will be ongoing all day. Email me if you need directions.

And, because we love demolition and Grace Jones, here's Demolition Man by Grace Jones. Enjoy! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SM3HO6cLF44

Detailed drawings

We have new drawings from PMa that include details on all of the lighting/wiring/switches/outlets/etc. It's a bit much to look at, but maybe there are some detail fiends out there who will be interested. Enjoy!

Builder vetting, stage 1

Met with 2 different builders at the house today. Talked to both about what we wanted to do, what was feasible, and how they'd bid the project. Next step -- they bid and we check out the costs. I'm officially nervous...

Insanely great initial design drawings

Leedys are blown away by initial designs; in particular, the master balcony, the bonus loft for the kids, and the overall design of the stairway and great room -- excellent design and flow. Thanks Paul and Ryan!

Finalizing insurance

Meeting w/insurance guy at the house tomorrow. Hoping to finalize everything before we start to tear it apart. :-)

Fingers crossed...

Pics from the first weekend

I shot a bunch of photos when we were at the house today. Here it is in original form.
http://www1.snapfish.com/snapfish/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=3019155017/a=3810202_3810202/otsc=SHR/otsi=SALBlink/COBRAND_NAME=snapfish/

Got the keys!

We picked up the keys yesterday, so we are officially the owners of a mid-century home in Garthwick. Let the adventure begin!