Getting Started with our Cape Cod Remodel

I wasn't sure about posting our latest project but after about a year of searching the web for Cape Cod remodel ideas and not finding much, I figured I'll blog our journey so maybe it can help give some good ideas to someone else out there!

First things first, we started working with our architect in February 2015.  It's now the end of October 2015 and we're JUST starting the actual building.  The easiest part for us was finding the architect.  He lives in the neighborhood and we've seen a few of his projects and loved his work...so, fortunately for us, that was a no-brainer!

Next came the design phase - we pretty much knew what we wanted going into this whole project.  Initially, this started because we wanted to redo our small galley kitchen.  However, this meant to expand the kitchen into our second story sun-room, which gets very cold in the winter because it's not insulated well.  So, how do we insulate it?  Add a room below it!  So that's the plan.  We also knew we wanted to add dormers to the second story, a portico/porch to our front door, and keep the roof line the same.  We love our cape cod and we want to keep that charm!  So after about 3-4 meetings with our architect, we decided on the design.

Next came the civil and structural phase - this didn't really involve much on our part since they just came to survey the property.  After about a month, the civil and structural drawings are now included in our plans.

Next came picking the builder - this was our toughest part so far.  Our architect suggested 4 builders.  One was just out-of-the-park, way too high of a bid so we counted him out.  Now we're down to three.  After about 3-4 months, we finally decided on our builder and are very happy with our decision.

So now the plan to officially start the project in about a month and it will take about 6 months to complete.

Now it's time to find a storage unit, buy boxes, start packing, hire movers, donate a lot of stuff....man, this will make choosing finishes, appliances, paint colors, etc. feel like a breeze, right?!