Electrician and Architect 2

This past Sunday, we met with the electrician for an hour to go over re-wiring the house. We have aluminum wiring and it's been bugging me since we moved into the house. There have been many updates to the code since the house was built, so we'll need to be adding GFCI's, new circuits and perhaps a few other things. We also asked to have additional lighting, some new outlets, and apparently we need a 220 for the new oven we need. The stove/oven is original to the house and you can't get the same style any more. Tom also wants to install solar. About half-way through the meeting, I started getting very nervous about the cost. I've been thinking we don't need the lighting, maybe fuses in the garage subpanel aren't so bad, etc.!

The architect was originally going to bring 2 designs that we could choose from as a base. He ended up bringing only one. He said the space was much more difficult to work with. That made me feel better since neither Tom nor I (nor any of the friends I asked for help) could come up with anything that was perfect. Luckily, Tom and I both liked the design. The only thing I didn't get was an additional hall closet. What I did get that I LOVE is a corner tub with windows on both sides! I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it doesn't fall out of the plans as we deal with money and city requirements. The architect found out that we can't build over the entire balcony with applying for a variance, which will most likely really extend things.

The next step will be to meet with the architect and finalize the designs so he can start on the engineering plans. By then he'll have met with the city to see what our options are. We may have to shrink the size of the space we're adding on (keeping my fingers crossed that we somehow don't because I love the design the way it is!)

Electrical and Gate

During our last meeting, Ronnie mentioned that he would try to bring the electrician to the next meeting to scope out the work. I figured we should figure out exactly what we wanted. I ended up sending him a 2-page list of stuff that would need to be changed. I wonder if I'm typical, or overly detailed. I'm curious to see his reaction. Of course, 10 minutes after I sent him the list, I added two things. The architect already warned us that late changes would be expensive. I figure I still have time, though! :-)

On a related topic, we ordered new gates a while back. Nessa had destroyed 3 of them already, including one that was only a few months old. We decided we needed to go with iron so she couldn't bounce off of them. They were installed this morning and I really like them! Nessa seems to appreciate being able to look out of them and so far she hasn't jumped on them.
Left side gate
Right side gate

Remodel!

After talking about it for years, we're finally taking the plunge. We first met with Ronnie, the general contractor at the start of the year, but then Megan's activities, our guild show and Tom's travel got in the way. This past Sunday, we met with Ronnie and an architect and I actually wrote a check! Ruth, the architect's assistant took measurements of the whole house; I was mortified as I didn't expect that to happen for another week or two. She could barely get around some areas! We have another meeting set up for next Sunday and we should have the first set of designs to look at. Ronnie will also be bringing an electrician to scope out the work needed to completely re-wire the whole house. We have aluminum wiring and it will be replaced with copper. I made a list of all the electrical in the house along with some upgrades we want and will be sending that to Ronnie once I get it all typed up. Now to get the house cleaned up and find someplace to store the stuff we're keeping.