A RENOVATION IS LIKE WATCHING SAUSAGE GET MADE.
PART TWO
Welcome back. We left off last week with some packing tips (take full advantage of the construction dumpster).
For reference, it is late January, and we were living amongst plastic bins filled with all of our possessions. I packed us each a suitcase (I’m a control freak), which I unpacked for a sense of normalcy (still a control freak). Over the course of the next four months, we barely even reached into the plastic bins for other stuff.
You may be asking yourself “they wore the same clothes in May as they did in January?” And I would ask you, “have you ever experienced spring on Nantucket?”
Also, we mayyyyy have moved back home a month earlier than we originally told our builder, Julius Pasys, owner of LithConInc., that we would need to (#DreamClients). So there’s also that.
February was a transformative (read: messy) month. A friend warned me, “A renovation is like watching sausage get made”. At the time, I had no idea what he meant. Now I do.
During February, the kitchen was demolished, our old pine floors were removed, new closets were framed, some of the new windows and doors were installed, excavation and foundation work was done for the addition, and – the addition was framed. When I saw the addition framed, I knew our architect, Matthew MacEachern of Emeritus, had nailed the design. Visits to the house in February involved a lot of “oooh, ahhh, no turning back now” comments. (Follow Emeritus on Instagram here).
Thank you to everyone who purchased art in February, because I had literally and figuratively taken a sledgehammer to our biggest asset – and that was panic attack inducing.
It rained a lot in February and early March, and I was worried about our addition “getting wet” before it was weather tight. I learned how important the AdvanTech subfloor system is, why it could be exposed to the elements, and how it would ensure we wouldn’t have squeaky floors down the line. Kate Rumson of @the_real_houses_of_ig is using it in her new build, and shares a ton of details about it if you want to know more. Neil has stopped reading. Don’t be Neil.
By mid-March, you could stand inside our addition and get a real sense of what it was going to be like in a few months. (The rest of the house? Sausage mid-stuff. The flooring for our entire house was stacked in the guest room, the walls and ceiling were being plastered to remove the “texture”, and by the very end of the month – all kitchen cabinet materials had arrived).
Despite the organized chaos, I was surprised by how much I enjoyed the construction process. Sure, I spiraled a few times (white paint decisions anyone?!) but everything was relatively on time and on budget (anyone who has ever renovated is calling BS right now.)
Every time we stopped by the house, something new had been done. I know some of you would disagree – but I found the renovation process checked that “instant gratification” box. There was very little of that “two steps forward, one step back” dance.
By the end of March, the Andersen windows were installed in the addition, and the wall between the original house and the addition was knocked down. When Neil and I visited and saw that for the first time, my jaw dropped, and Neil smiled. Neil won’t admit this – but I saw it. And captured it with a photo.
April showers bring May flowers, and much is the same for the work done to the house in April. I’ll leave you with that questionable analogy until next time. Check back soon.
Next post: All white paint look the same and other lies your friends tell you to keep you sane.