Juniper Hill Cottage

finding a contractor in the wild west

10/30/2019

After working long and hard on the concept, design, plans, drawings and such with an architect, who would've thought that finding the contractor to execute the plan would take even longer and be even more overwhelming?

Wanted: The Perfect Contractor, dead or alive

First, a little bit about our experience here on our Juniper Hill Cottage project.

And finally, we've got some insight on what we would have done differently, and a few tips for you to consider.

I realize that we sorta skipped over the design process here, but I promise we'll get to that in another blog post -- look for an article soon where we talk to some architects about the ins and outs.

the chicken or the egg?

In our case, we had a pretty good idea of what we wanted to accomplish and this wasn't the first time through on a construction project for either of us.

We chose to jump right in with an architect so as to fine tune what we were going to do, with the idea that we would then be ready to shift into execution mode.

Process Dilemma: Which Comes First?

~ post continued below ~

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The renovation master plan

8/8/2019

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This post is the third chapter in our Bungalow journey - continuing on from "A Coat of Paint Does Wonders."

In the last chapter we covered a huge 9 year span of time in just a few paragraphs - time flies when you're having fun! We managed to update and refresh this old house without getting into the heavy stuff until the twins were off to college and we had downsized to this little bungalow of ours.

Now, here in the summer of 2019, we are just beginning the actual renovation project that we've wished for and dreamt about for so many years. It's hard to believe that we are finally on our way.

But before we get all into the mud, concrete, and lumber ... I wanted to take a moment to share the "master plan" as it were.

Honestly, it's a little scary to share your plans in writing for everyone to see. It's feels like we are making a commitment that is set in stone (pun intended).

It takes as much energy to wish as it does to plan

We all know, of course, that renovations of old homes never go exactly as planned. Surprises pop up daily. Challenges seem insurmountable weekly. The weeks turn into more months than you ever imagined possible. Somehow, there is just mud and dust everywhere!!!! And it turns out all this is truly unavoidable, no matter how carefully you've planned.

A goal without a plan is just a wish.

Antoine de Saint Exupery (1900-1944)

~ blog continues below ~

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