Hey neighbors!!
Deciding to remodel your home can be a big decision. Sometimes it is hard to decide if it will be worth all the effort you will put into it. We have 6 children, the youngest of which is 18. Three of them still live at home. So, when we had the opportunity to turn our huge back porch into an extension of our home, as in turning it into livable space, we decided to run with it. What started out as a covered, deck with railings and skylights, turned into an extra bedroom, a larger living room and my husband's study.
It took a lot of work. We had a friend come up from Alabama to help, so this was not like hiring a 3 Day Remodeling LLC. You know where they actually have designs in hand and an estimate of time as well as how much it will cost you. We actually sort of made decisions as we went along. We still need to make a few improvements, like a closet in the bedroom, but for now, I am pretty impressed with what we were able to do.
Our friend drew up a small plan of what we were going to build and with our approval went and purchased supplies and had them delivered. This was so helpful because much of the lumber needed would not fit in our cargo trailer. We decided to just leave the skylights in, which ended up being a bad choice because we are now having some leaks when it rains hard and we are pretty sure the roof is leaking near the skylights. That is a repair coming up soon!
After it was all framed in, we chose a pine wood for the walls. I love the wood as it makes the house look more rustic. We did the same type of walls when we built the gym for our daughters to practice TKD and for my husband to exercise. Since we already had a couple ceiling fans in place, we added a couple more with lights too. The floors are done in tile and vinyl flooring.
Our difficult problem was we did not want to try to hook into our AC/Heat unit, so we have window AC's and safe, electric heaters. I am a little uncomfortable with the heaters, so I am hoping we can come up with another option in the near future.
Once we completed the add-on and everything inside was completed, we added siding to the entire house to make it all look uniform. We did the same with the gym.
Is there anything I would change? Yes! I would definitely get the AC/Heat tied in with the original unit, or add a second one. I would probably have gone with fewer of the double hung windows even though they are easier to clean. Also, I would have done the closet right away instead of living without it and then having to move everything to make the change. It might be best to go with a regular contractor if you have that option. He probably would have been able to warn us of some of the things that are presently issues. It was definitely a learning experience. I shared a few pictures of the adventure from what it used to look like to right up as construction finished. Hope you enjoyed it!
Deciding to remodel your home can be a big decision. Sometimes it is hard to decide if it will be worth all the effort you will put into it. We have 6 children, the youngest of which is 18. Three of them still live at home. So, when we had the opportunity to turn our huge back porch into an extension of our home, as in turning it into livable space, we decided to run with it. What started out as a covered, deck with railings and skylights, turned into an extra bedroom, a larger living room and my husband's study.
It took a lot of work. We had a friend come up from Alabama to help, so this was not like hiring a 3 Day Remodeling LLC. You know where they actually have designs in hand and an estimate of time as well as how much it will cost you. We actually sort of made decisions as we went along. We still need to make a few improvements, like a closet in the bedroom, but for now, I am pretty impressed with what we were able to do.
Our friend drew up a small plan of what we were going to build and with our approval went and purchased supplies and had them delivered. This was so helpful because much of the lumber needed would not fit in our cargo trailer. We decided to just leave the skylights in, which ended up being a bad choice because we are now having some leaks when it rains hard and we are pretty sure the roof is leaking near the skylights. That is a repair coming up soon!
After it was all framed in, we chose a pine wood for the walls. I love the wood as it makes the house look more rustic. We did the same type of walls when we built the gym for our daughters to practice TKD and for my husband to exercise. Since we already had a couple ceiling fans in place, we added a couple more with lights too. The floors are done in tile and vinyl flooring.
Our difficult problem was we did not want to try to hook into our AC/Heat unit, so we have window AC's and safe, electric heaters. I am a little uncomfortable with the heaters, so I am hoping we can come up with another option in the near future.
Once we completed the add-on and everything inside was completed, we added siding to the entire house to make it all look uniform. We did the same with the gym.
Is there anything I would change? Yes! I would definitely get the AC/Heat tied in with the original unit, or add a second one. I would probably have gone with fewer of the double hung windows even though they are easier to clean. Also, I would have done the closet right away instead of living without it and then having to move everything to make the change. It might be best to go with a regular contractor if you have that option. He probably would have been able to warn us of some of the things that are presently issues. It was definitely a learning experience. I shared a few pictures of the adventure from what it used to look like to right up as construction finished. Hope you enjoyed it!
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