After months of work, Karen’s plans for our remodel finally got the green light from the planning department yesterday. We celebrated by sabering a bottle of champagne last night, and this morning Karen — together with a neighbor she hired — started stripping stucco off the outside walls of our house. Next: Lots of digging, then concrete pouring (to reinforce the foundation), nailing plywood onto the outside of the stucco-stripped walls (to provide “shear” reinforcement in case of earthquake), installing concrete footings underneath the house … and, eventually, framing a second story and new roof.
When it’s all done we will have added almost 900 square feet to our house (which is only 1,100 s.f. to begin with), including two bedrooms, two baths, and a laundry room. Clara’s especially interested in the new bathrooms. “When does Mommy start working on the new potties?”
Karen has a new moblog, called Chaos & Construction, which will chronicle the progress. Wish us luck.
