NEW ROOF!

This is really starting to look like one cohesive house! The entire house got a new roof over the past couple of weeks. The roofline has changed to accomodate the addition. There will be a storage well of sorts up there - much needed - as well as a space to house air conditioning compressors.

To clarify, from left to right, first floor: existing 2-girl back bedroom & a small window to it's private bathroom, the new back entrance to chapter room foyer, and a series of three windows into chapter room. Left to right, second floor: Window Room, Back-5 (which will no longer be same size or house as many girls), and three windows to new 2-girl bedrooms.

In case you are curious... That tiger looking sign is the logo for Bona Fide, our contractor. They are amazing. Here's their web site: http://bonafide-construction.com/

You may also wonder why the siding on the existing part of the house looks a little rough. That's because we are removing all the vinyl siding and refinishing the wood siding that has been sitting happily untouched for years underneath. This will restore the house to as much of an original condition as possible. AGD did this a few years back and it looked so fantastic we were inspired to try. At first we were worried we'd remove part of the siding to find rotting wood, but have been happy to discover that so far the original siding is in great condition - all it needs is a little paint!

Second story and so much more...

Check out the difference a week makes! The sheathing is up and floor trusses are going in to support second story framing in the new addition. If this is what you can see from the outside, but what exactly has been going on behind this sheathing and within the house? Well, our fabulous, tireless project manager Elizabeth Hutcheson reports that among other things, she is finalizing quotes for windows and doors as well as plumbing fixtures.

Thrillingly, we are having the sprinkler system in the common rooms of the house replaced. No more unsightly metal boxes on the ceiling!

In the process of removing the old sprinklers, check out the ancient dining room wallpaper the crew found! (The pic with surrounding blue paint.) I remember the dining room a dark green with ivory paisley or flowers or something; when HCB put in new hardwoods they simultaneously painted the rest of the downstairs and thus the parlor wallpaper and dining room paper disappeared. I wonder how many layers these rooms have under their current coat of paint?!

Here is the gem of a pattern that was discovered as the crew demolished the door to the downstairs back bedroom (my old room).

When I lived there, Court and I painted the walls green; before that they were yellow and since then they ended up pink and white. Now HCB has a budget to paint rooms for girls; this helps control the number of coats these walls get and helps the girls plan since they know colors before they even pick roommates and rooms. I digress... For good measure, here's a picture of the back stair demolition. See the green to the right of the stairs? That's the old powder room post-demolition.

Up next - a significant portion of rewiring of the house will be complete! There's a nice surprise is in store for the library and parlor..

Chapter Room is Evolving...

Looking toward the front of the chapter room (looking toward our neighbor on Milledge). This is where we'll put some sort of raised stage. Also, note there will be exterior access; this door will only open from the inside to ensure security and safety.








Opposite the front of the chapter room (looking toward Henderson) - huge window, lots of natural light.










Wide side wall of chapter room (looking toward the back of our parking lot) - tons of more natural light.

Last but not least, the view from one of the chapter room doors (looking toward the front door of the house).

Send me your house pictures

I'll humor myself for a moment and assume that at least someone is reading this blog. So, for those of you who are - will you please email me photos from inside or outside of the sorority house? Maybe your room when you lived there or a photo from 6am before a Recruitment party in the dining room? Anything that shows the house as it "was." It didn't occur to me to take a million pictures of the house before construction began, but wouldn't it be cool if I could put together a slide show of before and afters? Send photos to flowers.jennifer@gmail.com with the subject line "Blog house pictures." Thanks!

Phase I loan is closed!

Michelle Rosenthal is my hero. She persisted and got International Headquarters' approval. And, as of this past Monday, the loan for Phase I of the renovation has been closed on!

Elizabeth Hutcheson and Bona Fide are keeping the momentum going...

Our next HCB meeting is this Sunday, June 7th. I'll aim to share more pictures after that.

IH Approval and the Study is GONE!

Michelle shared word today that International Headquarters has given us their blessing to close on the loan for this project. IH is not guaranteeing the loan, nor are they funding the project in any way as of yet, but we still needed their approval in order to keep things kosher with policy. That was our last hurdle before closing, so now we are good to go in that department.



Here are the latest exterior shots of the house. The foundation is poured, folks. This is a HUGE step!!

Notice the lumber that's off to the side of the work site - that's for framing, which is next. Also, notice we've removed the back room of the house - this is where the new entrance will be.



Taking a trip down memory lane... The room that has been removed is what younger sisters have most recently called their lounge/snack room. When I lived in the house ('01-'02 and '03-'04), this poor little space multi-tasked like it was nobody's business. We used it as a private study, storage, CLC bedroom, and even temporarily as a sister's bedroom in a pinch situation. Wonder what it was used for before all of that? This room was always in transition but inevitably ended up as the dumping ground for random storage items. I vividly remember the year I was a Recruitment co-chair for House Tours Committee and spent the summer doing random chores throughout the house with (sweet and oober-dedicated) committee members. One project was to clean and paint the study. But before we did, I took pictures of it. This is the room that is now gone forever! Farwell, study!

The Permit & Progress

Just in case you are still in disbelief this renovation is actually happening... Here's the official building permit!

The rebar for the new addition is in place. I've seen the design on paper, but seeing this picture really puts into perspective the size of the addition! The main level addition will be the chapter room, and then upstairs (the addition as well as the current back five, back-4-girl, president's bathroom and back bathroom) will all be transformed into 2- and 3-bedroom rooms with a new bathroom.

The old main level powder room is no more! This space will completely transform and essentially be the location for vending machines that will close off from the hall with a door. A fantastic alternative to the otherwise constantly trashed study/CLC room/lounge. But I digress...

One last homage to those of you who shared my sentimentality of seeing the deck removed... Rest more peacefully knowing that all of that old decking is going to a good home. It's off to be recycled!