Renovation feels a lot like planning a wedding, but so much worse. If you choose the wrong dress, you only have to wear it for one day...but if you plan the wrong layout, flooring and fixtures?? Well, you're kinda stuck with it.
First, some background.
When we were in the market for a house last year, we were more concerned with lot size than house size. It made more financial sense for us to renovate/add-on and have something that could grow with us.
Good thing I married a man who knows how to make things like that possible. His main profession is in the medical field (Medic at Kaiser primarily, medical device sales secondly), but his passion is in construction and real estate. He comes from a family of contractors, and grew up in a marginalized neighborhood in West Oakland where families in his community took turns to build each others homes.
Long story short. By the grace of God, we found a modest 3bd/2bath 1,840 sq ft Tudor Style home on an 8,900 sq ft lot (!!), right near the Oakland Zoo. With 14 other offers, and a cash offer $70k higher than ours, we still landed the house.
The house had been in the homeowner's family for decades and they wanted to sell it to someone who would care for it just as much. After a phone interview with Shobab, and discovering connections in all kinds of ways (no surprise there), the homeowner took favor in our little family. Not even a counter offer, she said it was ours.
On August 15th, 2015, we officially became homeowners...along with an entirely new set of headaches that comes with a home built in 1929.
At first sight, Shobab had a vision of what he wanted to do: Turn the garage into a studio loft, extend the basement, build a bigger deck, add tiers to the sloped back yard to accommodate a garden, play yard, BBQ area and half of a hoop court.
Of course, all of this takes $$$...and lots of it. After a ton of planning, another loan, some financial juggling and major career opportunities, we began the garage renovation phase of the project 8 months after we moved in.
First thing we did? Take down 4 large, mature, dead and dying trees. Conveniently, this is exactly what my company can do.
At 7am on a Saturday morning, one of the ridiculously talented A Plus crews arrived to set-up and handle business. A 60-ton crane backed onto our lawn, the street slowly filled with the A Plus fleet and 10 guys in uniform huddled in for their daily safety meeting and to finalize the plan of attack.
By noon all 4 trees were down. By 3pm the majority of the brush was cleaned up and trucks were pulling away, and by 5pm the stumps were out. It was a beautifully orchestrated production that made me proud. (To give an idea cost, it should have been a $13k job, we paid 2k.)
Here's a quick highlight of that day.
Now that the trees were gone, we could start on the renovation.
To bring it back to wedding planning. There were just SO many decision to make!! What theme? Color scheme? Style? So naturally, I turned to Pinterest.
It's interesting how quickly I narrowed my options after realizing what I didn't like.
It turns out I like the modern, clean look, but not cold or contemporary. Then I pinned a million things and found different options of the what I liked that fit our budget. Shobab happens to like the same thing, which made it even easier as we helped each other pare down options.
We started off with an initial budget of 30k...but I'll get to that later.
Prior to the start of the project, while I was busy trying to be inspired by HGTV, Shobab had followed the progress of a contractor through 5 projects before we started ours. He did his homework on permitting, plumbing options, zoning...you name it. He used many of his "connections" to get the best price on material and appliances. He even figured out that if he took off some work to manage the contractor's guys, he could save us over net $10k just on the contractor's management cost alone. He literally did everything and left the design up to me. If that isn't romantic, I don't know what is.
As usual, I waited until the last second before I had to design the floor plan required for permitting. I jumped online to find a free floor plan app, researched a few "best practices", compared several other floor plans that closely matched my vision, and then quickly put something together.
If I would have known this design was actually going to become the blueprint to the entire project?...I think I would have put an ounce more thought into it. I was just dragging and dropping objects into the app thinking, "hmm, tub goes somewhere in this vicinity, sink over here...eh, I guess toilet looks good here....". (2 weeks later I was staring at a pipe in the middle of the bathroom wondering who in the hell thought that was a good spot for a toilet).
When the permit was approved, Shobab wasted no time. The next morning 5 guys showed up, ready to work.
After 4 months of a mixture of craziness, excitement, stress and exhaustion. We now have a gorgeous, 800 sq ft. luxury studio loft, an additional source of income and I have extreme confidence in Shobab's abilities.
It wasn't an easy project and I didn't anticipate several things. Here are the biggest 4 lessons I learned:
#1. You'll need lots of cash. If you're not contracting a firm, most likely you'll be paying your workers in cash. Think about bleeding cash at a rate of $1000 a day, just for the labor. This changed my perspective of "down" time and the tremendous cost of a project not running smoothly. Even with Shobab forecasting everything 3 days ahead of time to make sure the workers had the exact materials they needed, something so small (like the right size nails) could hold up the work. At times, Shobab was making 3 trips a day to Home Depot.
Just the Home Depot receipts alone.
#2.If you're on a budget, expect to live like you're literally broke. The cash part also means that you can't put it on credit. This was a blessing and also the greatest hardship of the project. Blessing, because it prevented us from going further into debt and it gave us a firm, no room to play around, "budget". Hardship because this also meant that every dime we had went into the project. Even with double incomes from great jobs, not having been in debt prior to the house, we were literally surviving from check to check (without touching our savings). The substantial financial stress we experienced was a new challenge in our relationship we were forced to learn about and work through.
#3.Things will not to go as planned. Either the tiles you took 3 hours to choose are discontinued, or the toilet pipe is a foot from where you want it, we constantly had to adjust the plan. Without Shobab on the job making SO many decisions on the fly, it would have played out so much more inefficiently and much more costly. It made me think that all the seemingly fake issues that come up on HGTV shows really aren't staged.
One of the biggest "oopsie's" we had was with the spiral staircase. We measured the required area that we thought we needed, built up the walls around it, and ordered the stairs. When it came in, we didn't take into account the direction of the opening, and there was just no way it would fit. We lost $400 on the shipping cost alone and argued about the alternatives. In the end, it was Shobab's design that won. And he did an incredible job of executing.
#4. Try not to be bitchy. This kind of goes in line with #3 where things won't go as planned. As the one who had very specific ideas in mind with design....there were a few too many times I would come home to find something that was NOT what I had in mind. "Babe, that backsplash is 6" longer than the screenshot I texted you!!". Slowly but surely, I learned to trust Shobab's instincts, allow the process to flow, and then decide if it was really something to fuss over. Because with Shobab, things move so quickly, a wall will already be up, textured and painted between the time I leave for work and when I come home. The process taught us both boundaries in each others work, to know when to back down, to know how to better communicate, and to really appreciate each other's strengths.
Oh, and back to our budget of 30k? It came out to a little more than 2x that. And we still have the landscape to go.
Below is a photo sequence over 4 months. I had no idea a home project could be this efficient. Major props to Shobab, impressive work babe.
Location of Detached Garage from the street
Before Renovation: Marking out extension
Before Renovation: Inside the 245 sq ft garage
Week 1: Tear down wall, build forms for the foundation
Week 1: Start to open up roof line, prepare footings and install rebar for foundation
Week 1: From the inside - old concrete demo'd, lying pipes for plumbing
Week 2: Hauling the 800 lb, 20ft beam for the roof support
Week 2: Roof line open, beam installed, foundation prepared for concrete, Yaelle for scale.
Week 3: $4000 worth of concrete later (approx 45 CY), foundation is done!
Week 4: Exterior framing goes up
Week 4: From the inside looking out
Week 6: Exterior siding and roof, beginning install for windows, doors and skylights
Week 6: Inside view of skylights (added the middle one as an afterthought).
Week 7: Inside framing for the loft, bathroom and closets go up
Week 8: Electrical and Insulation complete
Week 9: Sheet rock going in, outlets and lighting installed
Week 9: Exterior installation, preparing for stucco
Week 10: Stucco and trim pattern to match existing Tudor style
Week 12: Interior almost complete, time for the floors, appliances and finishes
Week 16: My Pinterest perfect kitchen. White subway tiles, Custom cabinets, GE appliances, Carrera marble counter tops
Week 16: Another Pinterest inspired design: Dark grey tiling, accent white tiles, jacuzzi tub (before glass doors).
Week 16: View of the 240 sq ft upstairs loft space (before cable railing install).
Week 16: Exterior stucco, painting and wood trim to match original style. Redwood deck in process.
(Thank you Lumber Baron for all the real good wood!!)
Week 18: View of deck, new redwood fence, and the beginnings of the next project.
Week 18: Another view of the backyard and retaining walls for the tiers.
I'm relieved this part is over. But when owning a home, work seems like it will never be done. The landscape is on the agenda next. A whole new undertaking, and another blog :)
I may have dropped my last name, but I haven't yet dropped the habits associated with it.
For one, I don't advise the last minute Hon scramble when traveling with an infant. This past trip to Jamaica, I worked as late as I possibly could and sped home in time to have 30 minutes to pack before we rushed out the door. Needless to say, I forgot more than a few necessities. It usually isn't a problem when traveling within the states, but you never know what other countries don't have or how inconvenient it is to find a convenience store (But at least this time we went to the right airport on the right day!)
After some ordeals this last trip (and in China), I'm now starting to put together an everything pack of necessities that will forever stay in my suitcase. No more paying off locals to drive into town to buy a pack of diapers.
Also in typical Hon fashion, I left my phone on the plane going there, and then my purse on the plane coming back. Thankfully, both times they were recovered...but not before Shobab nearly got arrested darting past security at the "No Re-entry" point at 2:30am.
And just so you know it's not just me, during our trip, my older brother was traveling through Thailand and messaged me this, "So um yea. Lost my phone. Putting it in LOST MODE, which means I need to put a contact phone number just in case it is found. I'm putting yours..."
Lol, probably not a good idea bro since I just lost mine twice.
Update: A message from bro this morning -
"Things I lost in Thailand: ID, credit card, iPhone 6, other credit card, atm card, wad of cash"
And finally, some pics from Jamaica mon ;)
She LOVED the ocean! Kept trying to swim off on her own.
So awesome to have been able to spend the vacay with my mom and aunt! xoxo
At Dunn's River Falls lookin like some youngsters.
While rocking Yaelle before bed, if I'm not catching up on social media and disrupting the peaceful darkness with my glaring screen, I usually try to use that time to pray, meditate and recenter my energy from the day.
Tonight, my thoughts kept bringing me back to the same theme: Words.
I've been witnessing the growing struggle of Yaelle trying to express herself through her limited vocabulary. Yet, she has somewhat successfully been able to communicate much of what she wants through one word; the cutest and most animated, "Yeah!"
If she's yelling about something, I'll just start asking her questions like, "What do you want?", "Do you want to play the piano?", "Do you want to go downstairs?", although she says "Yeah" to almost everything, it's not until you hit the right question she wants you to ask that she responds with several and much more enthusiastic, "Yeah's!" while bouncing up and down. Her freakin cute little "Yeah's" give me so much joy, I'd ask her a million questions just to hear her say it.
Which led me to my next thought...how happy are people around me with my words?
In my work, and specifically content marketing, words are everything. It can make a campaign successful or flop. It can open a conversation, lead to a partnership, or glossed over and dismissed.
My words exchanged in my relationships-- how I talk about others, how I talk about myself, how we talk to each other-- will either build up or tear down. I'm learning that there are truly no "neutral" words.
And it's just not what I say, but how I say them. I know I can be pretty offensive without realizing it...until I see a look on someone's face...or I just feel kind of yuck afterward, like I should just keep my mouth shut some times.
There's these verses in James 3 that liken our tongue to the rudder of a ship, where something so small can actually direct the course of something as great as the Titanic.
If I really reflect on things I say, I'll see that it can guide my thinking, which can sway my heart, and in turn influence my actions. I want to be someone who has a positive impact on my environment and those around me. The most challenging is at home, when when my guard is down and efforts to control my words are much lazier.
If we are as only as good as our words, then I should be on a diet of what comes out of my mouth rather than what goes in. Maybe I'll take a page from my daughter's playbook and metaphorically bounce up and down and say "Yeah!" to everything and see what happens.
Ok, so maybe I lied in my last post...the Shaghai part of my China blog never came. I had every intention to post, but you know how it goes once you get back home and into the grind of things.
With that said...my goal for 2016 is to write more, and write better. I have a running list of blog topics I keep on my iPhone that I have yet to dip in to. Everything from, "My Top 3 most useful Apps" to "What I've learned as a mother".
For me, the biggest challenge is brevity. How do I condense everything I want to say into something someone will actually want to read? Where do I cut the fat and what's interesting and what's not?
I read something today from a content strategist at Facebook, "Start with empathy. Continue with utility. Improve with analysis. Optimize with love."
I mean, this principle can be applied even to my instagram captions.
Since I've moved into my new role as Director of Marketing, a few mental shifts have begun to happen.
Personal growth doesn't stop when you're an adult. When I was a kid I thought that adults have it figured out. Obviously, we actually never quite "figure it out". Actually, we realize how much we don't have it figured out. There are opportunities to learn all around us, especially with the kind of technology we have today. Specifically for me, when networking with women, I am now interested, more than ever, about their personal journey in their professional life. I've started making enrichment through reading and podcasts a part of my daily routine. And most importantly, I'm (slowly) learning what it means to make personal growth be in line with growth in a marriage.
Building at 2x the Mentality. Meaning, whatever I'm building, to factor in growth so that I prevent the feeling of becoming "overwhelmed". (Home example: learning how to cook more dishes in volume so I don't have to "prepare" for more guests. Work example: build a brand strategy as if I'm Apple.)
Schedule, Schedule, Schedule! OMG, if any knows me, I've always hated a schedule and I dislike routine. Well, that was when I was single and my company functioned like a start-up where structure was only a dream and I purposely didn't choose an office because I wasn't going to be in there anyway. NOW, if I don't schedule out my days, I might miss time with my daughter before she goes to bed, or let several days go by before reconnecting with my husband.
The Power of a Plan. I'm sure you've heard that annoying overly-used quote, "Failing to plan is a plan to fail." I'm finally starting to get it and how much truth there is to it. I've also experienced that with a plan comes the freedom of feeling overly-stressed and overwhelmed. A plan is simply to break up some huge intimidating project into smaller, totally do-able tasks, with a timeline.
So there's my impromptu brain flush of my thoughts going into this new year. If I've got to get better at writing content, I guess I'll just have to write more :)
Here's to more blogs in 2016!
Oh, and here's the latest pic of my sweet, hilarious and totally awesome girl:
4am wake up call. We're like a pack of zombies boarding our bus for the 1.5 hr drive to the airport to catch our 3hr flight to Beijing.
It's seems like the traveling from one place to another should have been miserable. Actually, it's become part of the great experience. We've been using all the down time to play games, tell stories, listen to the kids get on the mic, tell jokes and riddles and catch up on sleep. It's been pretty awesome to be shuffled from place to place with everyone you love being around and surprisingly easy. The kids are traveling super stars and have found ways to keep each other entertained in every circumstance.
7:45am, took a moment to enjoy this ridiculous view from our balcony and Thank the Lord we're all safe and well. Traveling with this many Hons (and kids) can get pretty crazy. We've already had a few close calls and I swear angels are looking after us. So thank you all for your prayers :)
The scenery here is unbelievable, unlike any other panoramas I've seen.
There are SO many activities packed into our days that it's hard to even digest what I've just seen/learned/experienced. For today's activities in Guilin we went to the Silver Cave, lunch at the Moonlight Resort, bamboo rafting down the Li Jong River, dinner, then the night market.
Wake up call was at 7am. On the 47th floor, I parted the curtains to this sprawling city view.
Guang Zhou is also one of the bigger cities in China. I'm sure there is tons of interesting history about this place too...but I zoned out the entire time our guide talked during our ride here (Her chinglish was so melodic.) I will say, having 2 tour guides taking us through China is the BEST. They have set up everything from our meals to the top hotels. We don't have to worry about checking in, buying tickets/fares, they just guide us like happy little sheep with iPhones glued to our faces. The 3 most asked questions this trip: Are we there yet? When are we eating? and What's the wifi code?
