Fresh Start Studio

Week 6 flies by -- still busy here at the lake!

Today marks the end of Week 6 here at the house project. The new roof was finished last weekend and windows and doors were installed -- they were two weeks late! I've also watched them demo the doorway and ceiling in the stairwell as well as the laundry room. Only a plastic zipper door separates the downstairs from the chaos now. A team of electricians descended and left lots of saw dust downstairs, lovely.

The pace will slow a bit next week as we start waiting on materials to arrive. I have several more things to order -- the cabinets and appliances order will be finalized next week. Plumbers are here Saturday and we still have beams and skylights to go in. Whew -- I won't mind a bit of a slow down :)

going to get a lot more ugly...

before any pretty kicks in...  We are down to the thinnest of layers on the front exterior. Fake stucco -- be gone!

It's a plan -- a floor plan

You can see a smidgen of our new floor plan in the new June banner here at Fresh Start Studio. The drawings are mostly finished (after several changes of course) and I've interviewed four contractors -- next week, we are pulling the trigger to get this show on the road.

Great Book: "What Your Contractor Can't Tell You"

Written by construction manager/owner rep Amy Johnston, this book has proven to be essential for me to get up to speed quickly on all the practical matters involved in remodeling/construction. This is not the pretty side of interior design; it is the competitive, sneaky, and devilish side that involves budgets, contracts, insurance, contingencies -- and did I mention budget?

Amy's tone is conversational and friendly and she tells it like it is. She covers all the phases from a successful design to getting the punch list completed. Not all of it applies to our project, but I'll be cherry-picking everything I can. I plan to post some of my favorite tips here on the blog. I also find it interesting that the book is written by a woman in this very male-dominated industry. I bet she's taken her knocks.

If you have any remodel/repair/construction project -- small to large -- that requires a contractor, I highly recommend this book!