Frornt porch improvements

This is the side porch. Most of the brick work of the whole house is in very good shape. The worst is this low retaining wall around the porch. Also the porch deck is sinking. Rain runoff floods underneath the concrete and in between the wall the the slab. The concrete caps of this wall are also crumbling and morbid. I dream of pulling down the retaining wall in the area from the column in the foreground, around the corner and to the column at the other end of the porch. Then excavating all the concrete and bad fill underneath and re-constructing a new concrete porch deck with drains. Then re-build the wall, installing a new concrete cap. In addition, the whole house needs to be gone over and pointed up by a qualified mason, especially the chimney. Maybe we could make sufficient repairs to the chimney to enable us to burn wood in it again. So all the fireplace, brick and concrete porch work would be grouped under this portion. I track the grounds keeping improvements in my Argenta Gardener blog. That is: http://bnbsgarden.blogspot.com/

Back of the house remodel

This is a scribble of my basic idea out back. I'm thinking that on the second floor, we should just improve the existing shed dormer structure and leave it the same size. The first floor may be roughly the size indicated by the outline. Improvements would be: remodeling the upstairs bath, replacing the tub with a shower. Downstairs: Remodeling the kitchen and adding a screen porch, remodeling the master bedroom and adding a nice bath there. Moving the laundry room to the area currently occupied by the bath. Putting a 1/2 guest bath where the laundry currently is. On top of all this, replacing the windows, shoring up the sagging framing, excavating out the right side of the porch and the basement steps. Repairing the damaged structure there and construction of new basement steps in an enclosure. My quest is to produce three plans: Cheap, not so cheap and whole hog for this work. Then I get realistic construction cost estimates for these projects and realistic appraisals for the value these projects will add to the property.

Carport plan take 2

This is the footprint of my basic idea for the carport/workshop. I have staked out an area 16' wide and 27' long. The portion in foreground is the workshop area. It is 7' of the 27' length. The structure has to be 5' off the property lines, as indicated. There would be a regular automatic garage door in the alley for the car. Already, I don't like this idea. I think the workshop needs to go on the side by the fence. But this is useful, to at least begin to get an idea of the space requirements and to lay down some numbers: 16' x 20' = 320 square feet. 320 square feet x 35 $ per s.f. construction cost =11,200 cost to construct. x 2 property value increase = 22,400 addition to property value. This is my first estimated guess at the cost/benefit analysis for this portion of the overall project. Accurate or not, I have finally stumbled over this first hurdle. I want to be careful to describe how I feel at this time for future reference. I feel like tearing my hair out. But I have made some progress. But the progress is minute compared with the time I have spent making it.

Creating plans

This is what I have so far for the carport. I staked this out and then added these lines in the paint program. The overall measurement is16'x27'. I have it divided with 20' for the length of the parking space and 7' for the storage and workshop area. This is just preliminary, but it gives a good idea of Becky and I have been kicking around. I want to document how I feel. The most difficult obstacle so far, by far, is overcoming the thought that for many reasons we can never do this, therefore what's the use in trying. Getting a tape measure, some stakes and a sledge hammer and laying it out was not hard. Nor is sitting here just working out some simple details. Yet it seems that there is this great burden, or some imaginary, impenetrable wall trying to obstruct any and all progress. I'm going to keep going. Let me reestablish my definite chief aim. I am compiling information with which to produce three plans to improve this property. The purpose of which is to improve our quality of life and to increase the value of our property. My imagination informs me that this course will reveal the most cost effective plan; the simplest and most direct plan. My imagination also informs me that certain improvements done within the proper costs will add substantial value. This study and planning phase will take time. I'm going over old ground, but I am working at beating discouragement. I set the deadline for having the plans done by January 1st, 2010.

What I learned at the library yesterday

We went to the library yesterday. I took some time to investigate real estate improvement. My basic idea of the planning phase was confirmed. I need to come up with three different plans. Plan "A" will cover everything we can dream of doing. Plan "B" will be mid way between plan "A" and plan "C" in scope. Plan "C" will be the economy plan, or the bare minimum. Each plan must be detailed and clear. Then, I have the plans appraised for the value each would add to the property. At the same time a construction estimate is prepared for each plan. The appraisals and the construction estimates must be realistic and unflinching. Our next move will be based on those estimates. In this way I begin to put our dreams to paper. This begins to move the idea of adding value to this property through definite improvements from being a wish to being an intense desire. I quote Napoleon Hill from his book, The Magic Ladder to Success: "It has been said, and not without reason, that one may have anything one wants, within reasonable limitations, providing one wants it badly enough. Anyone who is capable of stimulating his or her mind to an intense state of desire is also capable of more than average acheivement in the pursuit of that desire. It must be remembered that wishing for a thing is not the same as desiring it. A wish is merely a passive form of desire. Only out of intense desire will impelling forces of action grow, driving one to build plans and put those plans to work. Most people never advance beyond the "wishing" stage."

Carport - cost and benefit

I finally made the connection of my idea for the design of the carport/workshop we are thinking about for the back. The inside would resemble the front of our house. My current thought is to place it in the southwest corner. in the photo of the back yard that would be in the right corner. The alley side would resemble a garage with a garage door. The structure inside the fence would be an open carport looking something like our front porch. The work shop would be on the right side and enclosed. Our "Gold Plan" would include replacing the windows on the house. The existing windows from the house would be used for the work shop. We were sitting on the porch last night and I realized that I want the carport to resemble the front of the house with the low retaining wall with concrete caps and a wide opening, and columns, leaving the carport side open. The workshop would be under the roof and consist of walls with the large windows. I was amazed that I had not made that connection and I was amazed at the connection, for now that makes my ideas clear, and the plan workable. Now the thing to do is to work up some detailed drawings. With the drawings I must determine to cost of constructing the carport and get a realistic, professional appraisal as to the amount of value this improvement would add to the property. We have no money available at the present for this addition, but that should not hinder me from going forward with the plans. Something will arise to make this project a reality.

Home inventory

Due to several break-ins in the neighborhood, the police have provided our neighborhood association with a form to record home inventories. This is a task I need to do. I also plan to do a photo inventory and put it on a disc or a flash drive. Becky is the current President of the Argenta Neighborhood Boosters, our neighborhood association. We are having an emergency meeting tonight to explore ways to combat this crime wave. The Police will also be there.

First Things First- Yakkity Yak

Property value is at the heart of this exercise- price per square foot. The purpose of this urban essay is to assist in our efforts to increase the value of the investment we have in this house. In this sense the effort begins and ends in the financial posting. I have begun a study that looks at where we began in terms of value, and considers improvement options for future value. The aim is to produce a comprehensive report which will state a clear-cut plan of certain improvements based on the value these improvements add. This value is measured in two ways: Number 1. The increase in the amount of square footage and the increase in the price per square foot of the house because of the improvements. And number 2. The improvement of the quality of life the improvements add. For example; an addition in back will add "X" number of square feet. This addition will create downstairs, a new kitchen, a new master bedroom & bath, a new laundry room and a new powder bath. Upstairs, the bedrooms will be enlarged and each have a bath. This will add square feet of floor space and create a new level of comfort and convenience. At the same time serious deficiencies will be corrected. However, this is an undertaking of major proportions relative to the structure of the house. Correction and improvement of fundamental structural elements is the greatest priority. Real value added must be better than lipstick on a pig. I intend to discover and document dollar amounts of the costs and the benefits of these proposals. An accurate study would give us a very sure budget. A sure budget would describe the nature of the improvements in detail. In the end I presume we could have a fair idea of the value which may be added to the property based on the intelligent expenditure of treasure in these improvements. An accurate study will bring the benefits verses the costs into clear focus.

I do! I most certainly do!

In early 2005 Becky and I found each other again. We had not seen each other since High School days. When we realized we are soul mates we began looking for a house to share. We started talking about our dream house. Becky took my notebook and a pen and drew the front of a house and said, "The front would look something like this..." She had drawn a craftsman type house with a porch and a gabled roof. Then she said, "The inside would look something like this with the kitchen in the back." She drew a floor plan like that. We began to look at listings in the Sunday papers. Soon we were going to the Sunday open houses. We forgot about her drawings. Our casual search became a big game hunt. Months went by and we went through all the usual ups and downs and many near-misses of house hunting. We were just about to give up on finding a house. We were driving around one Sunday after the open houses and she was saying something like, "...maybe God is trying to tell us that we should not get a house..." and we found ourselves in front of THE HOUSE. It had a little dime store "FOR SALE" sign tacked above the porch. And that began the adventure of buying our first house. During the time after the owners accepted our offer but before the close, Becky was having doubts. Just at the time of greatest weakness her little, forgotten drawing surfaced. Much to our great astonishment, the drawing was an exact match to the house we had found. That sealed the deal to our great joy. Here we are today three years later. Since then, we got married on the trolley and life has been more about blending our mutual families and getting her sons and my sons on their own ways. There have been trials and tribulations and happy events of our parents and siblings and friends and new neighbors. Now, maybe, we have felt the need to re-establish our own dreams. It is our time to define our life together in the ways we decide. Everyone else is of age and able to pursue their own dreams. We start by saying to ourselves, "If we could do anything, what would we do?" This is where our Urban Essay, Our Argenta Craftsman Home begins.