PHASE #1
of Home Remodeling Project
"If we would have just left the darn thing the way it was -- just think of how
much time, grief, and money would have been saved!"
[On
to Phase 2] [Seen Enough]
[Project Overview]
[Home Design Reference]
[Lien Waver Example]
[Buy
a House] [Heating & AC]
 In the
beginning my house in White Bear Lake, MN looked like this - virtual walk thru of what it looked
like prior to destruction and reconstruction. I hated it -- zero curb appeal... But
I wasn't moving, great neighborhood, it was two blocks from a neighborhood beach,
five blocks from a public beach and public doc, and five blocks from a
private city boat dock, etc. Love the location... What do they say in real estate --
location, location, location... This house had it, only it wasn't great to
look at.
The house was originally built in 1898 and was a small summer cottage. In
fact, all of White Bear Lake was at one time a summer resort town where wealthy people
from downtown Saint Paul would take the train up to spend
the hot summers resting and relaxing at the uncommonly clear water lake - Yes, Minnesota actually does have summers. It is only cold
December through March.
Over time this small summer cottage received many additions. Its porch
became living space at some point and the upstairs was an
apartment complete with steps that lead up to it from the west side. The
condition of the home prior to the renovation was that of a complex union of
may add-ons. The one and a half story house was nearly a full two stories
because of the excessive dormers that had been built. The complex union made
for some very tight crawl spaces where there was little if any insulation
and occasionally some leakage during major down pours. The house had a full
bathroom on the second floor that was very cramped, and a three quarter bath
on the first floor. Beyond that there were two two large bedrooms on the
second floor, one study, and one sitting room that we used as a bedroom -
the arrangement worked, but was far from idea.
When our renovation is complete, the house will have 4 bedrooms, 4 bathrooms,
two studies, a second floor laundry, and a third floor loft that also
doubles as one of the bedrooms. The front
of house -- faces SOUTH (on 9th street). Check out the star-burst and the
no-slope roof. Has some wooden logs as
joists in some parts of the basement, we are talking OLD! The side of house -- faces EAST (or White Bear Lake
which is just 2 houses away).
 From this side of the house you can see a few different
types of siding used on the house. Although it all kind of looks the same, some was
manufactured siding, some was wooden shingles, and some was wooden siding. There was even
a couple layers of siding in some places. The sophit and fascia also consisted of many
different types of materials and styles -- it is as each dormer was build with completely
different materials with no concern for blending the look into other areas of the house.
Back of house -- faces NORTH
 
Previous owners installed a deck with built-in hot tub (which is below
roof/trellis on deck). They also
remodeled the kitchen and living room (neither of which we touched during this project --
well at least not yet).
 However, where all these roofs came together (just above the beyond the skylight) there
as a mystery leak. In a driving rain, water would fill a light fixture in the hallway that
connected Abigail's room to the bathroom. Getting to this leak would be nearly impossible
as with all these different roof systems coming together, they presented obstacle upon
obstacle to traverse the attic -- which was not much more than a very tight crawl space.
Check out dumpster -- this is a prelude to the future... Are you ready to see what
happened? In our wildest dreams nothing could prepare us for what was to follow...
Are you sure you are ready? If so, click on to phase 2 below... [On to Phase 2] [Seen Enough]
[Project Overview]
[Home Design Reference]
[Lien Waver Example]
[Buy
a House] [Heating & AC]
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