Deforestation

In honor of the recent Earth Day celebrations, I thought the next post should chronicle all the trees we had removed from the front yard.

BEFORE

Need I say AFTER?  The bizarre little tree in the bottom left corner of this picture has now been removed as well.

Don't worry, when the renovation is complete AND assuming we have money left over for landscaping, we will be planting many replacement trees.  The 101-year-old trees were kind of a nuisance since they hadn't been trimmed in as long!

This is what people mean when they say "tearing it to the studs"

It took more truckloads than I can recall to haul off everything we took out of the house.  We will spare you the demo in progress pictures and go straight to the studs...

The hole under the stairs is the path to the "basement," which is a term I use loosely.

We're hoping to put a piano underneath that stain glass window.

Living Room

View from Living Room to Dining Room

View from Kitchen to Front Door

Utility Room

Other view of Utility Room.  Door to Backyard on the left.

The Master Shower will be in the blank space above these windows on the landing of the stairs.

View from what will be the Master Bath to the Master Bedroom.

View from Master Bedroom to Master Bathroom.

Looks so small without walls...

This is was the yellow tiled bathroom we are calling "Hattie's Bathroom"

FAQs

Since we launched this blog about a week ago (now the most viewed renovation blog featuring a home located on the 600 block of NW 16th Street in Mesta Park), we have received numerous questions concerning various details of the project.  Here are the answers to your burning questions:

1.  How long will the project take?

ANSWER: We hope to move in by late Summer or early Fall.  Keri is assuming it will be Thanksgiving...

2.  Where are you living?

ANSWER: This question correctly assumes two things: (1) we are not living in the Mesta Prairie and (2) I am too cheap to pay the mortgage on our old house and the construction loan at the same time.  We are living with my (Reagan) parents in Edmond.  They have a big house so we don't end up stepping on too many toes.  We have pretty much invaded and taken over the upstairs, which is an upgrade from our old house: we went from a 2 bed, 1 bath, to my parents' upstairs, which is 4 bed, 2 bath.  Not bad.  Plus, no bills!

3.  What are the specs of the house and/or are you changing the layout?

ANSWER: The house was originally 4 bed, 1 bath as constructed in 1910.  That's why they call them Prairie Four Squares: four bedrooms in each corner.  We are taking the two front bedrooms and turning them into a master bedroom and bathroom.  We will actually lose a room, but gain a walk in closet and a large (relatively speaking) bathroom.  The rest of the house is pretty much staying the same from a layout perspective.  In all, the house is about 2,100 square feet.  There was a small addition on the back of the house, we think in the 1950s based upon the old newspapers stuffed in the walls, that will serve as our utility/mud room that also features the downstairs guest bathroom.

4.  Where will Hattie Mae go to school?

ANSWER: We are a long way from answering that question, even though we talk about it nearly everyday, but we are thinking there are some very attractive public school choices in the area, most likely Wilson Elementary.  There is also talk of a charter elementary school in downtown OKC, which I understand will be the last of the Maps for Kids projects to be completed.  We will see how that develops too.

Demo pictures coming soon...