Sort of like the woman who marries a man saying “he is the man of my dreams”, and then tries to change him into some dreamy man… Now that the place is ours it is time to change it. There is a lot to love about this house and property: the view, the flat-ish ten acre lot, the log cabin style house, the location, the easy access. But the house needs some work, some of it was apparent from the first time I saw it: the roof is shot (which helped with the price negotiations), the fascia around the roof is rotten, the furnace and hot water heater are probably original to the house – 1970 and must be replaced. The hot tub is probably not worth keeping. The downstairs patio door hardly opens. The garage doors need work. And it is almost impossible to enjoy the view from the house. These were not surprises.
But in the inspection and subsequent visits a few other things became apparent: the water pump is noisy, lots of the electrical wiring is DIY style and needs to be straightened out: reversed polarity for many of the outlets, double tapping on the electrical panel – this means that two wires are connected to a single circuit breaker – which is dangerous. The walk through doors to the garage don’t close. The kitchen door lock doesn’t work. The downstairs shower is pretty skanky, the upstairs claw-footed bathtub needs re-glazing.
I knew from the get-go I wanted to work with a local architect so the work would be done right and to have them oversee the work in case I could not be on site. Thank you Google, for introducing me to the architect I selected: Gerou & Associates. Phil and his associate Melissa had visited the house when I was there for the inspection and impressed me with their professionalism and later they presented a great proposal with some references. I called 3 of the references and all were over-the-top enthusiastic about working with them. I liked that they had done some modest remodels and some sensitive work on historic structures. I got a bid from another architectural firm that did not bother to make a site visit and it came in dramatically higher. The decision was easy. The Monday after the closing I asked Phil Gerou to move ahead as fast as possible. I told him I was in a hurry but he should feel free to tell me if I am pushing them too hard.
Soon after Gerou’s crew went over and measured the house so they could model the as -built existing conditions into the CADD program and took photos to help them remember and visualize. They proceeded to do the CADD work and also to develop proposed changes. I had explained that I didn’t want a new house or a cabin-mansion, that they should work within the existing footprint. I suggested that the roof could be raised, there be a deck on the south side of the house, and gave them free rein to make suggestions and propose how to make a nice house into a wonderful modest getaway cabin for two people and guests.
So when I went back in February with the Jersey Girl we met with Phil and Melissa at their office and went over their proposed remodel. It was a thrill to see how professionals with vision and experience took the existing structure and those parameters and drew a cabin much as I had imagined but far better. Both the JG and I were thoroughly impressed. The excitement was building, the dreams might just become reality.