We have another baby in our lives besides our actual baby. No, not a dog. Not a chia pet — a house renovation. A couple of lovely friends who know about the house sich have suggested that I "start a blog about house renovations," which sounds fabulous, but let's just say that Ethan would (justifiably) lose his sh** if I started another blog. (Two is quite enough). So... I thought I'd write periodically about the reno here.
The skinny on the house is that it's a teeny old Victorian (1886!) that survived the 1906 earthquake and earthquake-induced fire but had never really been updated in a whole century. It still had a creepy dirt basement running the length of the house that was only really usable for storing trash and skis and creeping people out. Space in San Fran is super scarce, so when we bought the house, we were psyched that the previous owners had started the permitting process to turn the creepy dirt basement into another floor, plus a garage. Three years later, we're finally doing it. It's probably going to give me even more gray hair than I already have. But if we pull it off, it means we can live in our house for a lot longer. (Those outside of SF: I know it sounds crazy to excavate UNDER one's house and take out tons (literally) of dirt so you can dig another floor or two. I know it sounds crazy that you have to do all this while not changing the facade of your house because it's historic. I know it sounds crazy to not just move to the suburbs and bypass all this trouble. We city people are crazy. I think it's something in the water. Luckily, we're living in a temporary apartment while all this is going on because our house is literally not accessible right now. It's probably for the best – Ethan (I mean, ahem, Leo) wouldn't like all the noise and sawdust.)
PHOTO CAPTION: The big hole under our house.
Oh my, bless you. We sold my tiny 1920s bungalow, bought a totally not updated 1950s rancher, and renovated it all while I was pregnant with twins (we too lived in a temporary rental while the reno was happening). After surviving that, I'm pretty sure I can survive anything. We plan to add on to the rancher in the next few years, but I'm still too shellshocked from the first renovation to talk about the prospect.
ReplyDeleteI think I remember seeing pics from your reno on FB! Didn't your husband do some of the finishes himself? Very impressive. And yeah... I am not quite sure we know what we've gotten ourselves into!
ReplyDeleteYeah, my husband did a lot of the manual labor himself. We hired out what we could, but he put a lot of sweat equity in himself. I was overwhelmed just shopping for everything (light fixtures for a whole house, anyone?) and planning.
DeleteI know, we just have 2 bathrooms to do (no kitchen or anything) and I'm totally overwhelmed by all the decisions. (It's not all that big of a deal in the scheme of life, but when you're trying to be budget conscious and practical but still find things you won't hate in 2 years, it can get a little old FAST. I have gone to so many of those stupid showrooms. I hope I never see a faucet again soon. Last night I dreamt about them).
DeleteYou forgot to mention that the dirt basement was also good for storing bodies.
ReplyDeleteIs that YOUR house? I was walking by it last weekend and I had to take pictures of it, because it looked so cool all raised up like that. What are the odds that someone I know lives there? Good luck with what is clearly a highly involved process. ;o)
ReplyDeleteHi Mandy! Apparently it is a "neighborhood attraction." Oy :) Thanks - hope you're well!!! Thanks for reading. xox
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