Renovations Were More That I Bargained For

November 9, 2010

In my last post I recalled the events that led to the founding of Dancing Firs.  Today I’ll share with you  some of my reminiscences on my renovation challenges.

You may recall Donald and I were living in two side by side bungalows.  The first challenge was how to turn one suite into three, while at the same time retaining one of the units as my home.

The next challenge was roof integration.  One of the bungalows had a flat roof.  The other was a regular hip roof.  In my mind this was very unattractive.  So the challenge was how to integrate the two.

My next step was to hire an architect.  Her and I meet many times to discuss how improve the aesthetics of my roof.   Her biggest problem was that the flat roof was over 2 feet lower.   Regardless she submitted drawings to the roofing company.  The roofers were actually quite good and had suggestions on how to accomplish what I wanted in an easier way.

But it seems there was a bigger problem.

Once the roofers got on top and had a thorough look they concluded that there was so much rot that the roofs of both units had to be removed and replaced at a much higher cost than I budgeted for.

Once I realized that this was going to be a major undertaking and not just a matter of fixing a roof, I thought to myself, ‘I might as well’ change the front entry, add 1000 sq feet,  put new windows in, demolish the old garage, build an attached garage,  add a hot tub, build  new decks, build a new courtyard and a cistern to collect the rain water from the roof, and a add new driveway.

In addition the City of White Rock building department wanted me to bring the 62 year building to the present building code.  Finally all the walls, wiring and plumbing had to be replaced.

“Whew!!!”, — it makes me exhausted just thinking about it.

The good news is all of it has been done and my guests can now enjoy the aesthetic appeal of these enhancements.  On this website you will see numerous pictures where the fruits of my labour are presented.

I hope to see you soon!

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