Whistle while you work!

We are finally making progress! Let the framing begin!

Grinding to a Halt

Nooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!

This is kind of how I'm feeling, and I don't know whether to cry or scream...

Our project has been moving along nicely for the last two and a half weeks, but the progress came grinding to a halt yesterday due to the unexpected (on my part) need for a consultation from a structural engineer. I'm still not clear (nor is our contractor clear) why we need a structural engineer since the bones of the house are looking good and the walls we are removing are not load bearing walls. But, the architect won't sign off on inspections until she's had her consultation so a consultation we will have.


Attribution:

Image: 'orange sherbet face'
http://www.flickr.com/photos/77421543@N00/428301781

Giants Win, Yankees Lose!

We just started with the demo of our house and uncovered an old newspaper in the floorboards. This is the July 28, 1933 edition of the Daily Mirror. Pretty awesome!

This Old Frame House from 1938

Here is a picture of my house from the 1938 Tax Assessment.

The above picture is from 1938.

And this one was taken recently -- in 2011.

All those innocent contractors hired to do a job were killed - casualties of a war they had nothing to do with*

Holy holy, we've signed with our contractors and now we are all "full steam ahead!"

Is it possible that we will one day get to live in this old frame house that we bought?

* This is a quote from Clerks
Dante Hicks: All right, so even if independent contractors are working on the Death Star, why are you uneasy with its destruction?

Randal Graves: All those innocent contractors hired to do a job were killed - casualties of a war they had nothing to do with.

Attribution:

Image: 'gas system'
http://www.flickr.com/photos/7729940@N06/5155708227

Inside this Old Frame House

Inside, we have a LOT of work that needs to be done. Here are some pictures before we get started on any work.

The ground floor is one big open room. Do you like the two tone wall that has no real rhyme or reason? At least the floors look nice (although, we unfortunately will need to rip those up to make sure that our foundation is sound).

And what unused room is complete with out the "wet bar" with a lovely 1980 style glass brick wall and a mysterious hole where an oven used to live (read: removed because the previous owners were probably renting out the bottom floor illegally). Ooooh, Ahhhh!

And of course, I would be remiss if I did not mention and document the dilapidated 1880 staircase (barely wide enough for me to walk down) that makes me fear for my life every time I walk down them?

Ohhhh honey. We have a lot of work to do.

The Paper Chase

We received a proposal from our Architect last week, and this week we signed a contract with her so now we are finally moving forward. First thing to be done now is to have her come to our house and measure so she can get the drawings started. She will then come back and incorporate our "wish list" into a plan.

Attribution:
Image: 'Panama Real Estate - Contracts'
http://www.flickr.com/photos/23065375@N05/2235529638

The Before

I guess its time to start documenting what our old frame house looks like now. Without further ado: the outside!

The waiting game

Once you have your architect and contractor all set up it's time to start filing for your permits. Put on your comfy pants, because you're in for a wait. Here is the order of things for our project:

1) Historic Preservation/Division of City Planning (30 Montgomery Street, 14th Floor, Jersey City 07302)
* Timing: 45 day window (this might take a while)

2) JC Municipal Utility Authority (555 Route 440, Jersey City, NJ 07305)
* Timing: 45 day window (turn around usually faster)

3) City of JC Zoning (30 Montgomery Street, 4th Floor, Jersey City 07302)
* Timing: 45 day window (turn around usually faster)

4) Passaic Valley Sewage (30 Montgomery Street, 4th Floor, Jersey City 07302)
* Office Hours: Monday 10-12; Friday 10-12
* Timing: They should review on the spot and sign off. They will let you knowi f additional information is needed on your forms.

5) JC Building Department (30 Montgomery Street, 4th Floor, Jersey City 07302)
* Timing: I don't know yet.


Attribution:
Image: 'A Very Long Wait'
http://www.flickr.com/photos/26312642@N00/5902685774

Architects and Contractors and Engineers OH MY! (Or, the clock is ticking ... tick tock tick tock)

It turns out that we can't do anything with our house until we've found an architect and a contractor. The reason for this is that in order to get permits for any of our work, architectural plans must be submitted to the Jersey City Historic Preservation Commission, the Jersey City Municipal Utility Authority, the City of Jersey City Zoning office, the Passaic Valley Sewerage Authority, and the Jersey City Building Department.

And we've decided that before we get a contractor, we want to work with an architect to put together plans so that we can have a few different contractors bid on the job. So first thing to do is find an architect... which is easier said than done. We've asked our friends for recommendations, talked to homeowners of local open houses that had nice looking recent renovations, and scoured the discussion boards of http://jclist.com/.

Ultimately, our architect was recommended by the contractors that did a beautiful renovation a few doors down from our house.

Our lease on our renter ends soon. We'd love to get our house renovated by the time it ends, but right now that hope doesn't seem realistic. The clocks ticking....

Attribution:

Image: 'Eternal Clock II'
http://www.flickr.com/photos/21046489@N06/5925546380

Sold!

My husband and I just bought a house in Jersey City. Our house was built in 1880 and now it needs a whole lot of TLC. Jersey City is known for the how difficult it is to get recantations started ... and finished. Add to that fact that our house is in a historic district which means that our neighborhood is beautiful, but it also means that this process is likely to take that much longer.

I'm hoping to document this process from start to finish so we can remember what our house was like before we started, and also to help out anyone else who buys a home in Jersey City that needs to be renovated.

Attribution:
Image: 'Four letter word'
http://www.flickr.com/photos/74519193@N00/147953721