Wednesday, June 3, 2009

The Whole Enchilada

Several people have asked me: "What exactly is being done to the house?"  At first I thought I would post some of the architect's drawings, but I honestly don't think they will help that much, mostly because they can be hard to read, and also because I can't post on here drawings big enough that you'll be able to read them.  So I'll do my best to explain the work, both big & small, with a few pictures scattered throughout.

There are three major portions of the project:

1) Renovation of the existing house.  This includes new paint & carpet throughout.  Addition of fire sprinkler system.  Most rooms will continue to be used in the same way, though a few rooms in the basement have been repurposed.  Most notably, the existing chapter room will be made into more study space (so that every student will have desk space) and the two bedrooms in the basement will be converted to dorm-style bathrooms (with toilet stalls and shower room) and a bigger laundry room.

2) Expansion of dining room.  A one-story addition will be built on the west side of the house off the existing dining room.  There will be a crawl space beneath (rather than a full basement) and a sunporch above (with access from the second floor).  The expanded dining room will be able to comfortably seat all chapter members during a formal dinner.  
Recent photo of the dining room expansion area.  
The cinderblock walls for the crawl space are finished. 
The posts in the middle are the piers that will hold up the floor.

3) Three-story addition, plus basement, added to south wing of house.  The addition will add more student rooms, increasing capacity from 65 to 90, a large chapter room, expanded kitchen storage, and expanded cold dorm (sleeping space).

Here's the rundown by floor:

Basement
Renovation: Demolition of two gross/moldy shower rooms at the base of the stairs; conversion to nice bathroom.  Conversion of chapter room into additional study space.  Addition of separate HVAC unit for dining room.  Conversion of student rooms to large, dorm-style bathrooms and laundry room with built-in folding tables.  New carpet and paint throughout, including the guest room.   
Expansion: Addition of four student rooms.
Recent demo of gross/moldy bathrooms in basement.


First Floor
Renovation: New entryway flooring.  Repainting/makeover of "cheetah" bathroom (small half-bath).  New paint and carpet in formal, card room, library.  Expansion of kitchenette (kitchen space for students), including new counters, cabinets, sink, addition of ice and milk machines.  Remodeled handicapped-accessible bathroom.  Expansion of house director's suite, including addition of kitchenette & washer/dryer.  Refinishing of dining room hardwood floors plus new paint.  
Expansion: Expanded dining room (big enough to seat all chapter members).  New rear exit from stairwell.  Addition of new chapter room (big enough to hold all chapter members).  New HVAC unit for addition.  Expanded kitchen storage & shipping/receiving space and entryway.  New utility/housekeeping closet.

Second Floor
Renovation: New paint and carpet throughout.  New flooring in president's bathroom.  Cable TV added to student rooms.  
Expansion: Sun porch above dining room expansion.  Four student rooms.  New utility closet.

Third Floor
Renovation: New paint and carpet throughout.  New flooring in cold dorm.
Expansion: Extended cold dorm.  

2 comments:

  1. Can't wait to stop by next semester to see all the changes! Will it all be finished by August? And will the new chapter room have THE carpet?

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  2. I can't wait for people to see it (in fact, I can't wait to see it start to take shape myself...)! No, it will not be finished by August. The existing house renovations will be done, and the dining room addition, but the extension of the south wing will not be finished by the time the students move in. That pesky sewer line I wrote about at some point is still holding things up...

    THE carpet will not be in the new chapter room, because there is not enough to cover the whole space. However, we have saved it, so hopefully we'll be able to use a portion of it somewhere. We definitely want to preserve it because it is something special and many people have memories of it. :)

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