Morningside Renovation

Our Journey Through The Renovation Process Of Our Future "Forever Home" In Morningside (Atlanta,GA)

Tag Archives: remodel


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Not Throwing in the Towel – Just Yet

As for our little project, if you’re a glass half-full type then you could say that we’ve made a wee amount of progress. Wee as in tiny, small, minuscule,slight, etc… But, at least we’re moving forward.

Interesting last several days which I’ll try to recount: first I received an interesting call from two past clients of our former GC.  One just wanted to compare notes as to the various issues which they’ve uncovered as well as their past experiences with him while the other wanted to get my opinion on our experience with him and if we would consider using him again.  Pretty easy guess as to my answer – I really can’t believe that he’s still out there marketing himself, hopefully through various efforts that we’ll be short-lived.  

Now, on to that which is positive.  As you may know I’ve tried to divorce myself from this house and our dream quite a few times and while I’ve come so very close numerous times, presently I just can’t find the strength (sense) to do it.  So even though there is a significant financial gap as to what we’ve budgeted and what it will now take to complete the task, I’m determined to make it happen.  How? I’m not totally sure, but I have faith that somehow we can get it done without sacrificing quality of finishes or our initial plan (maybe there’s a little touch of insanity). We have a couple of highly competent GC’s that we’re deciding between which have thankfully offered to assist us in various ways, however I still have a fairly large hill to climb.  No doubt that it’s going to take more than a team effort so please feel free to offer any advice, tips, suggestions, etc…but Please- only positive talk.  I know 99.9% of the population would have abandoned this “dream” weeks ago but it’s something that I just can’t let go of, at least not yet.

First step, the architect which was hired by our GC contacted my wife and offered to assist in any way possible.  He had heard about all that had transpired and volunteered to do whatever he could to make it right and assist in any possible way.  His first task, re-draw our roofing plan. We’ve been told by numerous contractors that our current roofing plan was a little extreme, basically it required over double the amount of materials as to what a similar home with a comparable square footage would require.  His second task is to confirm all of his past measurements as we’ve had questions arise as to the inaccuracies of them, not sure if this will reduce the overall costs but hopefully it will help to eliminate some of the future surprises. Last, review and look for inefficiencies and ways we can achieve our overall goal that could also reduce the construction costs, not expecting much with regards to the last request.

Truthfully, after discovering that a few of our past issues were created due to the architect’s inaccuracies I haven’t been his biggest fan but almost everybody deserves a second chance.  We gave our former GC 3 to 4 “second chances” so Julie talked me into granting the architect a second one.  We shall see but I’m not really sure how it can hurt.  We need to utilize every resource possible so hopefully this will prove fruitful.

Second Step…hopefully coming soon


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I Fix Things

Great weekend with the family,a lot of pure quality family time which was definitely needed.  We have so much going on and so many decisions that are on the cusp of being made that getting lost in our boys is a welcomed oasis. 

I was able to sneak away for a few hours to split some wood at the house.  I’m not really sure why I find it so therapeutic to sling a 12 lb sledge-hammer but for some odd reason I love it. The exercise as well as sweat is great and the results are rewarding, however it’s the quiet time that affords me the luxury to actually think about everything. 

This past weekend was no different, it was an absolutely beautiful day and I had been at it for a little while when I started thinking about our current position with the house which shortly led me to reflect on the last 14 months and all that we’ve been through as well as experienced.  For 2 people who share the mindset that you create your own road and it’s solely up to you to do so, we’ve been taught through experience during these last several months that there are times in life when you’re thrown a  Sandy Koufax curveball.  We can’t change what has happened, but we can learn from it and then decide whether to move on or step back up to the plate.  Personally I feel that we’ve handled everything remarkably well but at times that just isn’t enough for me. 

You see up until now I’ve had a fairly successful track record of fixing things and I thrive on it.  It doesn’t matter if it’s a broken toy, a gate, an old wheel barrow… I fix it.  Of course this mindset might have slipped into our relationship at times but I tend to think that’s pretty much the norm for guys and I’m hopeful that I’ve gotten better on the listening and validating front.  Not sure if this “fix it mindset” is derived more from nature or nurture but it’s there.  Hurry up and make things right, get it back together or on track – fix it.

I was taught years ago that the key to hitting a curveball is patience.  Of course determination and focus is imperative but patience is the key.  You have to wait, wait until the ball starts to break before you swing.  Patience is not one of my strengths.

Also, I came across a short but great article recently on remodeling – definitely worth the 2 minute investment: 3 Ways to Keep Your Cool During a Remodel.


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Hail Mary

With the air beginning to feel slightly more crisp in the morning it only means one thing – Football Season is Back!!   One of my most favorite times of the year.  Besides the peak of spring, the beginning of football season is simply magical.

I love college football and can literally watch any game with absolutely no preference as to who’s victorious. While college football is my staple, I’m somehow becoming even more of a fanatic of my beloved New Orleans Saints which I have followed since before they were known as the Aint’s.

Now living in Atlanta, home to our most despised archrival – the Falcons, I receive my fair share of derogatory comments when either myself or my boys are wearing some sort of Saints attire.  It’s generally all in good fun and frankly it’s the cornerstone of what keeps this rivalry so active.

So yesterday I was watching the Saints/Redskins game and even though we played well below our ability and Brees was having trouble hitting his receivers, we somehow found ourselves in a position to actually send the game into overtime.  With only 2 seconds left on the clock and 40+ yards to the end zone our only prayer was the always exciting Hail Mary pass.

The Hail Mary, a  desperate attempt for victory.  A play that has snatch victory away from many teams but one with a very low percentage of success.  This basic fact makes it is a favored highlight of ESPN, this last-ditch effort and attempt.

As I watched the play unfold and even after it was over I thought about the similarities of our situations.  One last desperate attempt to fulfil your original objective, one final heave. 

I’m going to continue to do all that I can to make sure our outcome has a different ending, the ref might have the whistle in his mouth but he hasn’t blown it yet.


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Batman Is Great But What We Need Is Superman

Ok, it’s probably time that I address a question that I keep getting asked?  I’ve received a lot of request wanting to know the name of our former GC and then some of you who know the identity have insisted that I name him, saying that it’s my duty to prevent this from happening to other people.  I agree and while the thought has crossed my mind numerous times, currently I’m going to hold off doing so.  Do know that when it’s appropriate I’ll make this information public as I too don’t want anyone else going through the same experience.  For what it’s worth we are in the process of going after his license as well as reporting him to the various trade and business organizations but the vast majority of our energy has been geared towards trying to make this house our home. 

So Saturday it was Max’s 4th birthday.  Of course when we bought the house we told Max that we would be having his party in the backyard with the full range of blowup jumpy things, etc… but as we all know that couldn’t happen.  Instead we hosted it at a local karate studio which actually turned out great!!  His “theme” was Batman as that is his new fixation and actually what he prefers to be called most days.  It amazes me how it truly seems as if only a few days ago we were bringing him home from the hospital for the first time and now he’s “fighting” an imaginary Joker and Penguin.  It really is going by way too fast.


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All In and Further Vetting

Late yesterday we received the last of the bids to complete our renovation/remodeling project.  We ended up meeting a lot of very experienced builders that we feel certain could handle and complete our project however we’re just going to focus on our Top 3 going forward.  We’ve met with one of them this past weekend and our plan is to meet with the other 2 over the long Labor Day weekend.  Hopefully we’ll get a better sense of their abilities, character, experience and dependability when we meet and as we’re contacting their references, but our other main goal is to discuss the plan in more detail and see if there are areas or ways to reduce the overall expense of the project to make it more justifiable. 

Also, our last contract was a fixed price contract however we’re starting to think that “cost-plus” might be more advantageous.  I’m planning on researching which is best before we commit, “cost-plus vs fixed price”, thoughts or advice?

Speaking of research, you can imagine that I’ve been trying to become better informed and/or more educated with hiring a contractor this time around.  Not really sure what we could have done different last time however I did read a ton of articles giving tips and advice when for hiring a general contractor.  See below some of the better ones:

After you’ve completed your homework and have implemented all of the necessary steps, asked all of the right questions and have covered all of your bases remember the most important one – Pray.  Pray that you’ll make the correct decision and if for some reason  you find yourself stuck in an ugly situation, that eventually the best will become of it.


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Waiting on One

So we’re still waiting on the final bid  to decide if we move forward with renovating our house.  We ended up interviewing 9 general contractors and once we receive this last estimate then we will have received pricing from 7 of them.  All of the contractors were either referred to us through people we know or their names are very well-known and respected in our neighborhood.  Basically the same process that we conducted the first time around except we’re casting a little wider net and hopefully we’re a little more knowledgable.  It’s still such a huge leap of faith that we’re going to have to make which I’m just not sure if I can do it.  We did all of this before when we hired our original general contractor; we checked references, viewed current and past jobs, verified licenses and insurance but obviously we missed something.  Pray, hope and pray some more I guess… 

Anyway, after we receive this final bid then the plan is to sit down with our Top 3 contractors to discuss their thoughts, address our concerns and find out where it’s possible to tighten the numbers. Price is definitely a huge concern and it will play an enormous role in our decision, however I also want to have undeniable confidence that this person has the knowledge as well as experience with a project like ours. The last thing I want is to be in the same situation in a few months.  Bottom-line though, we’re going to have to justify it financially and make sure we don’t have more invested in the house than what it is worth.  And…unfortunately it seems as if the “improvements” that our former general contractor made are actually going to increase the overall expense of the project since we’ve had to re-engineer the framing plan as well as make other adjustments, then throw in the fact that we’ve paid him a significant amount of money to take us through a certain point in construction and he’s only completed about 30%.  What’s the old saying, “throwing good money after bad”?  That could potentially apply in a couple of areas with this project so it’s definitely something we’ll have to keep in mind. 

On a different note, we all where at Phipps Plaza yesterday and on the way out we happened to stop at a phenomenal kitchen display by Inspirations Design Studio.  While the size of this display is larger and somewhat of a different configuration to our planned kitchen, Julie fell in love with it – see a picture below as well as a video.  

The color combination/contrast of the cabinets and the base of the island is exactly what she has been envisioning.  The countertops on the perimeter area are marble while the island is quartzite (mother of pearl – I think).  We originally were thinking of having marble on all of the tops but with having two young boys the quartzite, especially on the island, seems to make more sense due to its durability.  Makes we wonder which is the best countertop for a kitchen considering our situation?  I’m sure we’ll be reading a lot of reviews as to which is the best kitchen countertop, marble vs quartzite.  Suggestions/Advice/Comments?

As for the cleanup of the current job site, it’s driving me crazy.  Max and I have cleaned off the slab but there are still piles of discarded building materials everywhere which is just maddening to me.  I’m still wanting to get a dumpster but the price is astounding.  PLEASE feel free to let me know if you have any referrals for dumpsters or someone who will haul off this mess. I thought of having a giant bonfire however being that we’re still in the hot month of August I decided against it…actually it has a little more to do with the fact that I’d be violating a few city ordinances.


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Step by Step

Not a lot to add since my last entry.  We’ve basically been meeting with several contractors as well as their sub’s to explore the possibilities of moving forward. I really wish that we knew our future course however some of them are all over the board when it comes to pricing.  Interesting enough, it seems that those with more experience on our type of project tend to be more reasonably priced than the others.  We shall see though.

I won’t even go through all of the various mistakes and omissions pointed out by these GC’s and subs on the “work” that has already been “completed” by our former GC.  However they all say that we were extremely fortunate to have caught these mistakes when we did and that all work has ceased – versus discovering it later in the process…or 5-10 years from now.

As you know our former GC left the site in quite a mess: pieces of discarded boards lying all around (with nails sticking up), empty drink bottles everywhere, huge pieces of concrete rubble scattered around the backyard, etc… So last week I decided enough.  First up replace the tarp that was put on the house by our former GC, which has been slightly more effective than a window screen… with the result being that we now have to replace the ceiling in a few rooms and have lost the hardwood floors in a couple of them as well.  I had no idea who to call but somebody referred Bell Roofing.  So I called late one afternoon and by 10 am the next morning our house was securely covered (tarped).  It just doesn’t make any sense why it wasn’t tarped properly in the first place by our former GC when he was still on the project?  We told him numerous times that water was getting into the house.  Plus, he’s the one that opened up the back as well as top of the house.  No doubt he would have tried to charge us for the damage, “change order” is probably how he would classify it.

Next up, the foundation slab.  Max and I spent a few hours on Saturday morning cleaning it up by removing the various pieces of discarded lumber, nails, broken pieces of concrete and trash. I know, not your typical father and son activity but it was his decision; his favorite playground, swimming or helping me clean up the site.  He loves working over there, he seriously can’t get enough of it and of course I love the one-on-one time with no outside interference or distractions.  I wish this time in his life would slow down but in reality I know that before long there will be a 1 in front of his 3 and these moments I so enjoy with him will become less often as they will eventually take a backseat to his friends and other more “cool” activities.  (At least he has a younger brother)

Next on the list; getting all of this stuff removed from our property.  If you know of a place that rents those roll-off dumpsters and has a cheap rate PLEASE let me know.


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My Focus Needs to be Elsewhere

As we head down to Florida there are numerous questions rolling through our heads. Aside from the LAST stunt our GC pulled, the big question is what do we do?  Sell it or keep it?

He’s already taken a significant portion of our allotted construction funds and has also basically put us in quite a predicament due to the alterations and modifications that will need to be made because of his numerous mistakes and omissions.  At this time I’m not really sure how we can overcome this position if we decide to continue forward?

If we sell it, the “improvements” he’s made will have little value and will very possibly detract from the value of our house.  Plus, we still have the cost of cleaning up the mess that he’s left behind as well as repairing the existing house due to some of the damage (direct & indirect) that his crews have caused.

I’m just not sure of any answers, it’s a lose lose situation either way.  The thing is, we aren’t one of those couples that bit off more than they could afford.  We work hard, save money, budget and watch our expenses.  We’ve been looking for several years and finally found our potential dream and POOF!!!  Not only does it feel as if it’s gone but it possibly will also cost us even more money with either route we choose.

So here we are; heading down to Florida with some pretty massive thoughts going through our minds.  And I’m resentful, very resentful!!! Not only will all of this take away some of our focus on the boys but the true purpose behind going to Florida isn’t so much for the beach or a vacation but more so to be closer to Julie’s dad.  I won’t go into too much detail but after his accident, a year ago tomorrow, the beach is now a place where Julie feels the closest to him.  Outside of this “renovation” catastrophe it’s been a hard year for all of us and especially Julie.  Douglas, Julie’s dad, was such a big part of our lives and their father/daughter relationship was one beyond anything that I have ever seen.  If one day I can achieve even half of that relationship with my boys then I will feel as if I have been successful as a father and dad.  There have been so many times throughout this project where I have wanted to call him for advice on what to do, how do we handle something, what do you recommend, etc…which at times has only made the reality and pain seem close to unbearable.

Tomorrow will be about Douglas, Douglas and Julie. 

We Miss You and Love You Douglas!!!