outside has come to a halt...

damn weather has brought the outside to a halt but i wanted to give my cousin, Shawn, from Premier Concrete & Stamping LLC, a shout out in the meantime so here are some progress pics.  he is also installing concrete floors in the bath & kitchen so stay tuned.

before

and here he is.

i see stars...

although stars equate to structural issues, i do like the look of them (please ignore that each of them are pointing different ways; in the end, they will conform).  they make a house look 'not so perfect' which is what i appreciate.    

i am loving the black windows! once the brick & marble is power washed...they will be striking...like a 'mini-me' brownstone.  the windows are to be the design focal point of 412, inside & out.  they cost a pretty penny but everything else will be simple to bring out their beauty.

p.s. construction permit was approved!... without having to meet with the neighborhood.  i pleaded my case with the zoning reviewer (basically, that i wasn't increasing 412's print; just constructing it safer and that the zoning map had the additional space not on my deed as mine).  i still have the real estate lawyer on retainer to correct the mistake.

going forward, 412 riverside will be more exciting with before & after photos!  please keep checking in.

permit nightmares to rear wall redesign...

i wasn't going to post until 412 had a permit (the construction one) but i think we should have it by next week (hopefully, i'm not jinxing it).  412 plans were submitted the week before labor day to amend the current permit because of having to rebuild the rear addition.  l&i sent it to zoning because of the demolition & of course, it was the friday before the labor day holiday.  zoning has 5 days to review and on the 5th day, which was really 2 weeks later, they requested site plans along with the deed which we submitted last friday.  so now we wait again & hopefully, not 5 days!

in the meantime, wallpaper scraping (still not finished) and redesigns of the rear wall have been happening.  originally, a small balcony was going to extend off of the 2nd rear bedroom.  however, due to value engineering of the budget (over budget of course!), the balcony has been nixed.  it's not necessary anymore since there is a roof deck right above.  also, my brother had brand new windows that i can use...the dilemma was how many 412 can handle.

mike palmer drew up the options below:

the favorite is #3 & of course, it is the one that can't be done due to space?  something like that.  so it looks #1 or #2 is the new 412 rear....maybe with some woolly pockets?

break...

needed one to get re-energized.  in the last week since i closed on 412, i met with joe palmer, contractor, and we walked through each room making decisions, such as, demo walls, move the door to the opposite side, expose roof ceiling, etc., etc., etc.  

we did decide that the first thing that needs to be done is demo so we know what we are dealing with which will lead the design process.  oh, and i get to be in charge of removing the wallpaper in the living room...so excited!  

in the meantime, since the exterior, most likely,will  follow after the demo or simultaneously, i had to decide on kitchen windows.

i really want this:



but I think i have to settle for one of these: