This is a partial journey of this house transformation. We changed so many things, I couldn’t possibly capture everything in one post. We took out walls and raised ceilings. Then the changes to the front elevation and rear elevation were huge projects! We also transformed the large front yard. Basically, there was no area that remained untouched.
You might even be wondering why we chose this house. Let me just say, it actually had more right for us than wrong. I’ll explain 🙂
Near the End of 2007 Our Lives Were Forever Changed
My beautiful little sister lost her battle with depression.
She left behind 2 beautiful children. My niece Noel was 16 at the time, my nephew Hunter was 8. Here they are all grown up.
At first they went on to live with my mom. Then eventually, my mom, niece and nephew all came to live with us about a year later. We went from just being the two of us – to a full house. Made complete with 4 dogs 😊
We realized quickly that our home was not big enough for all of us. So we started looking around. We were trying to find something with a suite for my mom. So she could feel somewhat independent. But it just wasn’t happening on our budget.
Then One Day Mom Spotted this House for Sale
It had plenty of parking, a large yard, 5 bedrooms and 4.5 baths. Everything we needed for our new family – except no suite for mom. We later made her suite – a reality. And I will eventually write more chapters about our house transformations. There were a lot!
Very Much Needing to be Transformed: We Purchased This in 2010
This home was the sales office for the neighborhood. That did not mean “model home” or “fancy”. It didn’t even have a mailbox. It was a sales and construction office with a PO Box.
So our first purchase was a mailbox 😊. And I had to find stone masons to erect the mailbox structure. I also had to find a “cap stone” for the mailbox. Somehow, I found both.
The layout of bedrooms and bathrooms works very well for our needs. And we made it even better after we converted the whole upstairs to become “mom’s house”. Complete with her own kitchenette and separate entrance. The kids also had bedrooms upstairs.
And my Prince and I have the downstairs. Even the dogs could tell the difference. They would go up and down the stairs. But at night, they knew which “house” to sleep in :).
It took us 5 years for this house transformation because we were doing so much of the work ourselves and paying cash as we went.
But No DIY for the Front Elevation: We Hired Contractors!
As much as I hated the front elevation, it made more sense to change things on the inside before tackling the outside.
We took about 2 years to change much of the interior. Then the time FINALLY arrived when we could do the exterior house transformation!!
Oh my goodness. Whoever designed the front elevation of this house must have been experimenting with every shape they could find. Check out the old front door. The shape of the front entrance was different from the shape of the front door. We had all sorts of shapes going on 🙁
We had 3 different arch shapes. An oval. And don’t even get me started on these dormers! Ugh.
We worked with an architect to help us redefine the exterior of this house transformation. We settled on a plan where we removed all that cast stone and replaced the brick on the corners with natural stone. And the other prime directive: get rid of those dormers!!
The next step was finding the contractors. We needed framers, stone masons, window installers and an electrician.
My mom spoke fluent Spanish. She would drive around nearby neighborhoods and find laborers who were doing great work on amazing homes. Then she would talk them into contracting with us. We saved so much money because we were able to skip the middlemen.
A General Contractor (GC) is Initiated for this House Transformation
Somebody needed to lead this project and lead these crews of men. That somebody ended up being ME. I made the decisions about our renovations. I ordered all the materials. Plus I also had to schedule the work – in the right order!
Thankfully, I speak some Spanish myself. The contractors quickly learned I was a force to be reckoned with. I was the “Jefa”.
So it Begins
Prior to the new windows being installed, the cast stone had to be removed from around the windows. And did I mention, we were living in this house while all this work was being done?
Proper Scheduling is So Very Important
I don’t remember how we bumbled our way through this time. I just knew I had to schedule the delivery of the replacement windows prior to when the framers would be ripping out the old windows. Here are the windows stacked in the garage.
Did I mention we changed the shape of the new windows? Here’s a photo with old windows, new windows and no windows. Fun times!
I laugh now as I look back at the photos. I still had my drapes up when they were removing the old windows. Not the best scenario but we somehow survived, lol.
Contractors Doing Their Thing
One of the happiest days was when the dormers came off. Yes, we had a tarp on our roof for what seems like an eternity. But the dormers were gone! All cast stone was almost gone. New windows were in as shown below.
Natural Stonework for this House Transformation
Let me just say – having any type of natural stonework is a big job! We had to have a large 20-yard dumpster on site for all the cast stone and brick they removed.
I also learned that all those tons of stone we bought would somehow become stone fragments in the dumpster. Just part of it. That dumpster was on site for weeks! And we had to pay every time that dumpster needed to be emptied. I lost count of how many tons of stone we had delivered. And how many times those fragments had to be emptied from that dumpster.
Making Progress at Long Last
At some point after the new windows went in, the framers created the window arches on the second story. Put in the gable. Removed the last bit of cast stone (that oval window) and installed this wonderful big picture window over the front door.
But for me, the biggest transformation was the new front doors. Here’s a closer look before that part of the stone went in.
On the Job Training
I am so thankful for the artisans that my mom found. They were not only amazing and kind but also patient with me. I had to learn so many new things from them.
For example, when it came time to do the arch around the front porch entrance. My lead stone mason (Rojello) asked me when the lintel would be delivered. Uh, what is that? I have no clue what you’re talking about.
In case you don’t know either, a lintel is a thick steel beam placed across the top of an opening. It’s used above empty spaces to support the weight of the structures above them.
I had to ask Rojello to draw it out for me because I was clueless. Then I somehow found a company in Dallas, that specializes in these. Here’s a photo of it (below) before they covered it with stone. It’s been 13 yrs since we had this done, we must have done it right 😊
Here’s a couple more before/after photos. It still amazes me.
The post for this front yard transformation is here.
Take Away
There will be MANY bumps along the way in any remodel. It’s just not easy to retrofit new and old. But it is possible if you do your research.
And make up your mind about what you want in your remodel. Set manageable goals. Do it in phases. It might take a while. But if your mind is MADE UP, you WILL get there.
Here’s to Making it Fabulous!
Please Share
Know someone else who might find this helpful? Please don’t forget to LIKE and SHARE, it really helps me 🙂 Easy buttons found just below.
Feeling Motivated? Find Even More Inspiration for Overhauls
Check out these other posts for DIY Overhaul Projects
You might also be inspired from other posts in my DIY category