Buried treasure

It's been said that renovations are not for the faint of heart. There are the myriad of decisions that must be made, often well in advance of the actual project; the upheaval of regular routines; the debris; the stress; the cost; and of course the ever-present uncertainty of what lay ahead. We haven't even swung a hammer and we've been tested far beyond what we ever thought we'd have to endure at this point - with little to show for our time and energy beyond plans, calculations, and headaches.

So we gave our hearts some time to recover; a break from the decisions and questions and uncertainty, and we left well enough alone last week. Almost like hitting the pause button while watching a jugglers performance: all the balls are still in mid-air; arms outstretched ready to catch and release the next one; all focus frozen in time. Plus the weather is nice for this time of year, so we've been enjoying Spring come early - given what we endured last year in the pretext of being Summer - we deserve this bit of paradise while it lasts.

In between the lawn raking and window washing, we grabbed a shovel and some steel pry-bars and removed a cast concrete drain diverter sidewalk pad at the front corner of the garage. It was no small feat - having sat in it's present location for almost 50 years, wedged in place between gradebeam and sidewalk, and those nasty shrub roots and shoots that refuse to die...

But we did manage to wiggle it free and out of the way so we could dig down in that area to see what treasure lay buried beneath. We weren't searching for gold - though that would have been a welcome bonus - instead we were after a precious cargo of a different sort; one that might only appeal to builders: evidence of a concrete pile.

No, we don't need to see a doctor.

The concrete pile in question would be a very welcome sight, in that it would allow us to continue our plans of garage conversion, provided it was of sufficient size to carry the additional loads required by the new framing. So I dug down and after a few false finds which consisted of bits of excess concrete from the original construction and the odd root, I finally struck construction gold, and located a solid, non-movable surface inside the dark clay and soil hole I'd created.

With a bit more excavation - mostly by hand - I had uncovered the top of a circular concrete pour, about 18" in diameter, as best I could measure since a good quarter of the pile is hidden beneath the garage grade beam concrete, with a bit of exposed re-bar tying the two together, and with a bit more fine-tuned digging, the outside edges were revealed as well.





So our garage was built as we had hoped, with proper foundational support. I sent off details of our findings to the engineer for his consideration, installed some wooden stakes around the hole, tied them with bright pink survey flagging tape to keep the neighbor's kids from falling in, and called it a day.

We still don't know in which direction our next steps will be with this project, but at least we're slowly learning what we have to work with. Which is usually more than half the battle. In the meantime, we'll shine up our armour and hone our swords while we wait for divine inspiration.

I have to go. Bad.

So this kitchen / house reno is taking on a life of its own.

First I verified a hunch that with the new stairs having to meet current code and the new framing required to open up the dining room and kitchen walls, said new stairs wouldn't fit where we needed them to go.

Great.

Luckily we had plan B in the wings, a plan which is actually a better layout and solves more of the issues that we listed as being reasons why we wanted to renovate in the first place. Certain items on that list got shelved with our original plan, because plan A allowed us to renovate within the existing footprint of the house as it stands now. No new foundations, or roof additions, just open up a few walls and move a few things (like stairs.) Plan B also allows us to remain within the existing footprint: we'd expand into the attached single car garage.

Yes, I'd lose the space that is currently home to my tools and small workshop and storage, but we'd gain a breakfast nook area, a main floor laundry space, and the existing living and dining rooms would either remain as is, or grow slightly larger.
It's a win -win - sorta win. The sorta being that my tools would need a new home, but that's a story for another day.

With Plan A now wounded, Plan B was summoned to the front line to fill in. B was given the once-over to review the details and get current with its nuances, and then it was off to battle. In this case, the battle was a call to the City to inquire about what's involved should I wish to convert my attached garage into living space.

Well. Serves me right for asking questions.

In this fair city, and quite likely in most across the land, the existing By-Laws that were drawn up years ago to serve as guides for development and community planning issues haven't exactly matured with the pace of society. In my particular case, the by-laws dealing with accessory parking on residential lots doesn't fit with the traditional image of a sub-urban development, with its rows of garages fronting the street, front doors and entrances hidden in the shadows, out of sight from the road, cars parked in front of those garages since the inhabitants have more "stuff" than they'll ever need, and it's all stored in that garage, instead of their 2 cars, boat, camper trailer and snowmobile.

Yes, I know - I've seen your garage. You park on the driveway too, I know.

And so do we. And that's the problem. All residential lots must be served by a driveway that leads to a parking space that does not encroach past the frontage of the dwelling on the lot. For those homes that have rear lane access - this isn't an issue.

For residents like us who live on a Bay with no rear access, our driveways lead from the street to an area on the lot that is reserved for parking, usually a garage or carport, or just a surface beside the house, large enough (8' x 20' typically) to park a car. And that's where we are supposed to park.

But if I were to convert my garage, I'd be losing that parking space that meets the by-law.

Yeah so? you ask?

Well, I would require permission from the city by way of a variance to park in front of my garage / house. Even though that's what we do right now. As do many of you, I know. I checked again this morning on my run.

The City Planner in charge of my particular area was a nice enough man, but he didn't know how'd he'd rule if I were to apply for a variance. he looked at the aerial view of my lot and noted that "you have room behind your house to expand the living area, without the need of converting the garage. I see a deck there." No shit Sherlock - and I intended that to be a deck and not park of the house! I got the impression I was fighting an uphill battle, as he wasn't a "fan of cars parking in view of front yards."

I had an few suggestions for him, but I kept quiet.

As part of my application, I'd be advised to get as many neighbors supporting my application to sign off that my parking on my driveway, slightly past the front of my house, but still wholly within my property, was not an issue for them, in which case my request for a variance would have more weight, but would still be up to Mr City Planner to weigh all the factors of my case before making a decision.

Neighborhood support shouldn't be an issue, as some of the people directly affected by my conversion also happen to park in front of their garages and not in them too... just like we have for 14 years...

Honestly? I feel like a schoolchild needing to raise my hand so I can go to the bathroom, when I really, really have to go.

I never did like authority, and I never once wet my pants.

Often in the silence you'll hear what what is needed

It's been a rather odd week.

Odd as in 'not normal' or different or unique. On many fronts.

With Spring Break coming to a close, coinciding with the Easter holidays my little family saw more of each other than we normally do, and while for some family groups this might spell chaos or danger, for us it was an enjoyable time to remember who we are individually and collectively. For while we each have our own roles that we play daily in our respective lives, we also share a bond that transcends those daily roles, and unifies as for better and for worse.

We marked Riley's height on his bedroom door casing on April Fool's day, apt I suppose, his head level and flat against the wooden trim, feet firmly planted on the floor, and I needed him to re-steady himself in position after the first marking because we did not believe where the line sat, so much higher than the previous record taken only six weeks earlier.

The second trial confirmed the first, and it shall be forever noted that he quietly grew an inch and a quarter in six weeks, momentarily measuring 5'-4" - at this rate his parents are in danger of being overtaken by summer's end. Eleven and a half years old, and hitting his first real growth spurt.

Saturday saw me complete a task that for some time has been rolling around my brain, an outcome that was inevitable, I knew, and one which Mother Nature has been slowly uncovering for me over the years.

I shaved my head.

Seriously.

For a number of reasons actually. I was continually headed (no pun intended) down that path a bit further each year, whether I liked it or not, and figured with spring now upon us it would be the right time to reveal what secrets lay hidden under the remaining areas of thick hair - did I have some hideous bump back there protruding unseen, or maybe a scar from childhood that would become much more evident without its protective covering? The answers to those questions are no, and no. The ol' bean looks quite well actually. And now's the time to get it used to the sun, before it turns my melon painful shades of red.

I've also found over the past year of running that my head gets very warm, very quickly, and traps massive amounts of heat up there, which quickly sends currents of perspiration cascading down my forehead stingingly into my eyes, and over the back and down my neck, testing the latest moisture-wicking properties of my running gear to the extreme.

Bald is much cooler. And aerodynamic too!

The mirror still hasn't quite figured out whose reflection it is sharing with me as I pass by, but I'm sure that will slowly become routine as well.

Maybe it was my newfound smoothness, or maybe the long weekend, I can't quite say which, but something had me reviewing a previous house renovation plan that we had decided wasn't the best solution to our problems, late into the morning hours Sunday night. I was drawn back to the ideas I had assembled on the screen, intrigued by the flow of spaces, and effortless solutions the drawing presented.

I had spent the three previous days in communication with the structural engineer as we finalized the lintel sizes and beam requirements and support framing necessary to reroute the loads from the current wall layout to the new design and was updating the drawings to place everything so we could apply for the necessary building permits.

As I checked and double checked the positions of floor joists, removing ceiling panels and measuring to a common reference point, making sure the drawings accurately reflected the existing conditions, I felt a change in the air. A curious palpable energy shift that left me uneasy but with much more calmness than I had been feeling all week.

It was with that quiet calmness that I revisited the earlier plan. And also with that same calmness that I confirmed the relocation of the basement stairs, the critical first step in the design and process of creating more space for the expanded kitchen, that I confirmed those stairs would not be able to be placed where we intended.

For with the relocation, the new stairway would have to be code compliant for rise and run dimensions (which our current 40 year old stairs are not) and the resulting changes would mean we'd be building a longer flight of stairs, and with the increased length, we'd run out of room at the base of the stairs for a landing that would also meet code. I couldn't just back the entire flight of stairs the required distance, due to the main support beam for the house and the necessary supporting framing for the new lintels and beams...

The new stairs were stuck between a rock and a hard place. And so was our plan.

The quiet calmness allowed me to linger in the midnight darkness of my office, accepting the circumstances of this dilemma, and understanding why I had been drawn to the other design earlier.

So much for lighting and tile samples. Now we're considering a plan to expand our living space by converting the presently under-used attached single car garage into the new kitchen and breakfast nook, complete with a row of windows overlooking the deck and backyard, and leaving those existing stairs right where they are. We'd be able to move the laundry upstairs, and expand the current dining room to formal dining room status; the living room would remain unchanged; and we'd close off the existing front porch area into a true front door entry with a door that actually faces the street...

Sure we'd lose the garage, but with the one year anniversary of my table saw accident approaching I'm very much aware that last year's new adventure began more lasting changes than previously thought. Unfortunately, with this latest discovery, our renovation plans may have to be rescheduled somewhat. Cuz if we're seriously looking at garage conversion / expansion, I'll need to clean that space out which means I need a new place for my tools, but then we'll also need to completely gut the interior of the garage space to allow for insulation and vapour barrier and floor framing...

I think it's time to listen for more silence...