When you’re standing in the middle of a blank canvas, it’s hard to know where to start. Until the fire alarm starts beeping. Guess we’ll start with a walk to our new neighbor, the Smith’s gas station, for some 9V batteries. Protecting our new investment from fire seems like a sound starting point… even if we aren’t going to be around to hear the alarm 24/7. Hmmm…
So here’s the run down – the place has good bones. The layout works relatively well for us, which means no major reconstruction. It’s a wood frame house, so the work that needs to be done is a little simpler than dealing with brick. But here’s the laundry list of what we are facing in the months ahead:
ADA bathrooms. Based on the seating occupancy as determined by our square footage, the city determines we need two bathrooms. No problem. And then we learned that BOTH bathrooms need to be ADA accessible, even if they are both unisex bathrooms. Now, you couldn’t ask for two owners more empathetic to ADA needs (Becky worked for the MS Society for 7 years and Scott worked for the National Ability Center), but this feels a little overboard. However code is code - this is why we hired an architect!
Shoring up the porch. The porch is old and deteriorated, the best solution that will serve us well for the long term is to tear off the existing porch and replace it with cement.
A kitchen. The space was used for retail prior to our purchase, so there is no kitchen at present, but the plumbing and wiring are there. Lucky for us, we aren’t installing a full commercial kitchen, we just need a 3 compartment sink, dishwasher, hand-washing station, electrical for ovens and induction burners, designated filtered water lines for tea, refrigeration and storage.
Kitchen requirements. While we aren’t putting in a gas range and hood, we still have to ensure the floors, walls and ceilings are up to code – so tearing down some wood paneling, addressing some drywall issues and installing the proper surfaces.
Landscaping. There is no sprinkler system and the yard hasn’t been maintained in over a year. Lots of weeds, weed trees and junk to deal with. Plus we’ll be installing a patio and pergola out front along with a little patio alongside the house to the north (hoping to re-use the brick pavers from the existing pathway).
Office and Prep area. The building has an upstairs that looks like grandma lived there 40 years ago. Closets have to be emptied. Wallpaper needs to come down. Carpet needs to come up. But this feels manageable because it’s just cosmetic, the space is solid – so it’s just installing new, clean surfaces.
Paint. There will be a lot of paint – the entire exterior and interior. Color selection is one of Scott’s favorite pastimes, just ask him.
That’s it. Well, and then the actual install of the counter, picking light fixtures, furniture, shelving… all on an ambitious 4 month timeline, which includes our busiest season over the holidays.
Clock is ticking, I better go pick up a rake, or a hammer…
