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One of the first things we decided to do
after we got married was to expand our living space. With Mark's two
girls getting bigger and with the addition of our baby girl, we simply ran out
of room. When we moved in together, we were living in
a two-bedroom apartment above a large, two-bay garage. We decided to
turn the garage space downstairs into living space, which meant we'd have
to build a new garage so we could get the cars out of our future living
room and kitchen!
We never would have attempted such a project if it weren't for Melissa's parents. Over the last 30 years or more, they've taken on too many projects to mention, although it's worth noting that they're the ones who built our garage/apartment in the first place. Below you'll see a few of the photos we've taken along the way, but you can click on the "Photo Album" buttons to see more. We actually broke ground for our new garage foundation on April 28th, 2001. Because our land slopes, we had to build up with rock in order to form a level foundation. With a lot of effort and a lot of help from family (especially our brother-in-law, Keith, who is one of the toughest, most tireless workers on Earth!) we built the wall up several feet in some spots to form a level surface for the concrete. |
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May, 2001 We finished building and bracing the frame just in time to have the concrete poured on May 5th. We ordered more than enough, so we used the extra to fill in and level out the ground behind the house, where we plan to put a patio. |
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On Mother's Day (May 13th), we moved more
than 250 square feet of sod so we'd be ready to spread gravel. On
May 17th, that gravel was delivered - over 20 tons! We finally
finished distributing the pile that weekend and had our first load of
lumber delivered on the 21st.
On May 23rd, we built the south wall of our garage. But because the wall was so heavy, we waited until we had a bunch of extra hands to raise it. Fortunately, our nephew Ayden's Christening was that weekend and we had plenty of friends and relatives in town. (Special thanks again to Keith, and also to Derek, Andy, Jim, Brian, and Shawn.) With their help, we raised the south and east walls, and started on the north wall. |
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By Memorial Day, May 28th, we were on the
roof. We got all of the roof trusses up and started covering them
with sheets of OSB (waferboard.) On May 30th, although some of the
roof was unfinished and we still needed to cover a few 2x4 walls with
plywood, we decided to start on the porch foundation so we could connect
it's roof to the garage roof before we started on the shingles.
We started putting up drip edge and flashing on June 9th, and we began putting felt paper and shingles on the roof on the 10th. Although we didn't get the entire roof done that day, Mark, Mom, and Dad finished it on June 12th just before a heavy thunderstorm hit! |
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Summer, 2001 We spent the rest of June doing "trim work." Although it didn't feel like we were doing much, we actually completed a lot of little projects which we couldn't put off much longer. We finished putting up plywood on the studs, framed out and installed two doors and two windows, cut the opening for the large shed-style door in the back of the garage, and added 2x2s just under the trusses to give us a solid surface to attach J-channel for the soffit and facia. We also finished caulking the joints between plywood panels to seal out the rain and weather before painting the outside of the garage. |
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| We took the first week in July off for our 1st anniversary, and spent most of it working around our house. We painted the garage early during the week and put up the soffit and facia on the 4th of July. Later that week, we waterproofed the new front porch (along with the upper deck and the playhouse) and mixed up a bag of concrete to fill in some of the gaps where the old house foundation and the new porch floor met. | |||
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November, 2001 We closed out the summer by putting in a few new windows (a gorgeous garden window over the future location of the kitchen sink, and a large picture window, flanked by two casements and topped with an eyebrow.) The garden window and the eyebrow window were courtesy of Tom, my best friend's husband who also happens to be a general contractor. Right after Thanksgiving, Tom began running the plumbing and drains that would handle the kitchen sink, the bar sink, and the bathroom, all of which are located on the south wall of the house. |
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February, 2002 Since the last update, the house looks more like a home than ever! With more help from Tom, we put up tracks for the drop ceiling in the kitchen and living room. Later, Mom, Dad, and I installed the linoleum on the kitchen floor. On his last visit, Tom helped us bolt the kitchen cabinets into place, mount the countertops, and get the water running at the kitchen sink. Next we reconfigured the supports around the steps, finished the drop ceiling in the family room and bathroom, hooked up the rest of the plumbing, and put down carpeting. March, 2002 We've installed all the ceiling tile in the living room, and Dad hooked up the ceiling fan (we'll finally have light in that room!) and the heat vent. Mom and Melissa painted the ceiling tracks in the other two rooms (we're going for a brushed bronze look in the kitchen and a copper patina in the family room) and after a two-week wait for the special-order panels, we were able to close up the ceilings. |
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April, 2002 |
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May, 2002
Over the first weekend in May, Mom, Dad, and Melissa framed out all of the walls upstairs, creating the perimeter for the master bedroom, closet, and bath. The next step involved running wiring for outlets and lights (Dad's job.) After that, we began drywalling, spackling, painting, and carpeting. Once that was done, we were able to move our bedroom and begin work on the nursery (which required no more than new carpeting and a fresh coat of paint!) June, 2002 By the end of June, we had just about finished the master bedroom and the nursery (and not a moment too soon, with the baby's due date just weeks away). Between vacations, parties, and family reunions, we kept busy by continuing to hang door and window casings, decorations, and other items that make a house feel like a home. July, 2002 Construction came to a total stop at the end of July with the birth of Sabine! Up to that point, we worked to get a few more "big" things done, including installing a set of sliding glass doors downstairs in the family room, as well as replacing the old wooden door in our kitchen and a single-pane window in the family room. November, 2002 Still plodding along trying to get a few
more things accomplished before Christmas. The biggest challenge is
in finishing the master bathroom, which needs wallpaper border, linoleum,
and plumbing! |
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March, 2003 We finally replaced our scary steps! You can't see the floor below as you're climbing them anymore! This was a particularly difficult project because you need to pay attention to the "rise and fall" to make them comfortable to climb and to reduce the hazard of tripping. Each tread is cut from a 2x6, with a rounded bull nose (I planed the edges down myself!) Later, I built a closet underneath the stairs which offers plenty of storage and hides and electrical box and other necessities underneath. Special thanks to Walter Lobacz for help
with this one! Figuring out how to cut the stringers was no fun at
all, but he made it seem easy! |
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Summer, 2003 We had a vented gas fireplace
professionally installed by the Fireplace Gallery, but opted to do the
mantel ourselves. I also put doors on the cabinets in the library.
It looks so much better now that you can't see the file cabinets and other
items inside! |
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January,
2004 We remodeled Rory and Jaime's room! They picked out their own colors and we found a way to make it all work! We added a really cool mirror, banana palm sconces, new desks, and lime green satin bedspreads with orange pillow shams and palm tree bolster pillows. The girls even got to help do the painting! I must admit, I didn't think it would
look so hot when they first showed me the color swatches they had in mind,
but I really love it! |
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October, 2004 Finished the fireplace mantel, just in time to show it off during the Pumpkin Party! |
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January,
2005 Dad and I installed the new light fixture in the stairwell. Next comes touching up the spackle and adding a fresh coat of paint. Hopefully in the spring I can put a new window in and keep all our warm air from seeping out next winter! May, 2005 We installed a new sink and vanity in the original upstairs bathroom. After several adjustments and the necessary replacement of one downstairs ceiling tile, we succeeded! |
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December, 2005
New kitchen flooring! Finally! February, 2006 We painted "Welcome" in 21 different languages around the perimeter of the kitchen to dress up the walls a little. July, 2006 Thanks to area flooding in June, we lost two floors of carpeting. We replaced those in July and August with tile and wood-look laminate. October, 2006 We finally installed the attic stairs in the girls' room, giving us easier access to the storage area in the crawlspace under our roof! |
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This page was last updated November 23rd, 2006. |
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Copyright 2001-2006©MJSM |
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