Historic Remodel

One of my business associates has a rental home he bought a year ago. Last month the tenants unexpectedly moved out, leaving quite a mess. After we got the got the junk cleared out of the house, we decided to fix it up, and rent it out again. This home is part of a larger piece of ground he is looking to develop, and the plan was to demolish this home. Now we are looking to keep it, and rent it out again for awhile, and possibly convert it to a commercial use.

In the interim, my wife has put a tremendous amount of time into cleaning it. We don't think it was cleaned once in the 10 years or so the tenant was there. Structurally the house is in good condition, but it needs some TLC. The owner tore out the old kitchen floor, and I took on the painting.

In the spirit of sustainability and being green, we are going to attempt a green remodel, on a tight budget. Part of the picture is of course, saving the structure in the first place. For the paint, I selected Olympic paint since it is a low VOC environmentally friendly paint. The floor was purchased off of Craig's list as a left over piece of sheet flooring.

Over time we will have to replace the wiring, rebuild the back lean too addition that house the kitchen and bath, replace the roofing (structure is fine), replace the heating system, etc. I will keep you posted on the progress. For now, enjoy the picures of us actually working on the place!

Change is in the Air

As seems to be the theme this year all over the place, 2009 has brought a lot of changes to mine and my families life. With the tanking of the construction and development community (largely due to the collapse of the financial industry), I have been forced to make major changes in my business and restructure it. The sad side of all this, is having to significantly downsize our staff. I know I am not alone in this, as a lot of my clients have had to do the same thing. This economic downturn has been devastating to my professional community, and it is hard to affect the livelihood of people. However, it was either them or me, and since it is all in my name, I had to make the hard choices.

Of course, in the long term, this will allow me greater flexibility and the opportunity to explore new career directions. I am not sure if I will, but at least the flexibility is there now. Of course, I do love what I do, but I don't always enjoy the small business owner side.

The other significant change we are looking at this year is selling our home. Like a lot of other people, we wish to downsize and simplify. That we have yet to do. Change is never easy, but it can be exciting at the same time. Not to mention emotionally exhausting.

Oh well, Life goes on.

Note to Self

Ok, this past summer I built my daughter a beautiful Futon out of Knotty Alder. After the second major frame piece has cracked, I need to remind myself NOT to use Knotty Alder if something needs structural strength! OOPS!