The Preparation Phase

The Johnson Home Renovation Project – Started with an idea and expanded and expanded.

Drawings and plans were drawn and re-drawn and then finalized. We started in July with the first informal discussions, then August with preliminary sketches, September with initial blueprints, October with final blueprints, and November with approved building plans.

In October, I moved over a dozen very large azaleas to the back yard and cleared out all the plantings in the front yard to make way for the porch. (The azaleas eventually were re-planted back in front of the new porch)

In November, we had the huge old dying silver maple taken down and the stump ground out.

In December, footers were dug and filled and then yanked out and re-dug and re-filled deeper.

Just before the end of the year, we closed on the mortgage to pay for it all.

In the process, we finished all the myriad of decisions:

… Trex or Brock decking for the porch (Trex) Trex - The Deck of a Lifetime

… Andersen or Patriot windows (Andersen) Andersen Windows

… colors for the siding and shutters and roof (White, Black and Grey)

… styles for the fans in the bedrooms, office, and breakfast room (Hunter) Hunter Fan Company

…15 or 30 year mortgage (closed on 15 year at 7%) LendingTree - When banks compete, you win!

… and on and on…

And where are we going to put all that 16 years of junk accumulated in the attic ???

Well, 4 minivan loads of empty cardboard boxes were recycled.

The "Wonder Chair" went to the Hope House....and 9 loads went to Salvation Army.

All was ready for the roof to be taken off the day after Christmas 2000.