For the past seven months Sun staff writer Karol V. Menzie and Ron Nodine, president of American Renovator Inc., have been chronicling in their Home Work column the renovation of Dick and Nancy Councill's Towson residence. This is the last of the series.
It's over. It's done.
When Dick and Nancy Councill stroll through their newly renovated house, they find a roomy family room and a tiled entryway/mudroom that opens into a spacious breakfast area next to a dream kitchen. There's a new powder room and a new study. And upstairs, there's a gracious master suite that seems to be sitting in the treetops, with closets galore and and a whole room just for ironing.
The white-painted brick Colonial cottage is once again the Councills' dream home, as it was a decade ago, when they moved in with their baby. Now they have three active boys -- and plenty of room for them to roam. The Councills are still somewhat awed and stunned after undergoing about seven months of demolition and construction.
So how did it go? Over the winter, their kitchen was moved first to the butler's pantry, then to the basement. Their elderly dog Jasper was confused by the plywood blocking her accustomed exit. There were some structural surprises, including exterior walls that had to be rebuilt. By spring, at the end of the project, some of the finishing touches took way longer than anyone expected.
But, all in all, they're happy. They even have some kind words for Ron's American Renovator firm. "He made it as easy as it could be," Dick Councill said.
"I guess what surprised me was how good it looks, how attractive it all was when it came together," Nancy Councill said. When the work is in progress, she said, it's hard to get a clear picture of where the project is going; it's all bits and pieces. And without actually knowing what it will look like, almost every item needed for construction had to be chosen beforehand -- floor coverings, appliances, hardware.
"I knew there would be a lot of choices," she said. "And there were."
One of her favorite choices was made early on. On their initial visit to Ron's office last fall, Nancy found in a Kohler catalog a sink and toilet in fluted white porcelain, painted with delicate florals, called Prairie Flowers of the Midwest. They would be perfect for the new first-floor powder room.
She fell in love, though the items were not inexpensive.
"We kind of did the whole appliance budget around me" getting those two items, she laughed.
But some days were worse than others.
"The worst part was toward the end," Nancy said. "Wanting it done, and there were all those little things that took so long."
Ron wanted it done as well, but Mr. Murphy, he of the famous Law, as usual had a hand in a project.
Even when the Councills' renovation -- adding up to more than 1,500 square feet of renovation of old space and construction of new space -- was substantially complete, the family still couldn't move into the new space.
Why not? Because there were several items, some special orders and some additional work that was added near the end that had yet to be completed. Dick didn't want to move in until everything was done, because occupying the rooms before they're 100 percent complete runs the risk of slowing things down even more. And anything in the way could get damaged. So waiting was a wise choice, even though the Councills found it frustrating.
Showing off the new study/computer room, Dick grimaced at a compliment on the custom corner shelving. "The infamous shelves," he said. "I think they were the last thing that showed up."
Most of the delays were unforeseen and unforeseeable. Some involved changes shown to be desirable only as spaces took shape.
For instance, the granite tiles for the kitchen counter had to be bull-nosed at the edge. As Ron's crew was installing them, the Councills decided it would be better if the corners were angled, rather than sharp, so the kids would not bang their heads on them. To accomplish that, the pieces first had to be cut to fit, then sent back to the quarry to be bull-nosed.
Some of the delays were caused by slip-ups or by suppliers. One of the master bath vanities was ordered wrong to begin with, and when the replacement came, it had a double door instead of the single door it was supposed to have. And there were a couple of kitchen cabinet doors that were warped and had to be replaced.
The vanity top in the master bath was a cultured marble, in a custom color intended to match the colors of the ceramic tile in the room. But when it arrived, it had way too much rust color in it, and Nancy didn't like it. So Ron asked for a sample (which he should have done to begin with) before the top was reordered. Although it was a good decision, it took time.
The cabinet knobs that Nancy picked were almost all special orders. They were ordered early enough in the process to be there when they were needed -- except that a few were overlooked and had to be reordered. And there were some light fixtures that came in an unopened, sealed box with parts missing.
A few of the delays were caused by changes of plan. When the kitchen appliances were going in, the Councills decided they would like to have inserts to match the cabinetwork on the dishwashers and ice maker. Normally that's a simple thing to do, but these particular dishwashers required a special kit from the manufacturer to install the panels.
Originally, the contract had called for vinyl shutters, but Dick wanted real wood shutters with real hardware, as on the rest of the house. When Ron started researching hardware, he found he couldn't get an exact match. The Councills approved another style that was very similar. These are not items that can be bought off the shelf at the hardware store; it had to be special-ordered.
And beyond all that, there were a few other little things that had to be reordered or replaced and a few extra small things the Councills had Ron's men do "while you're here" that delayed the job.
While this may seem like a lot of mishaps, it really isn't with a large project.
Think about it: There are about 40,000 components to a project like this, and thousands of people involved. If you took just one item and followed it from selection to delivery, you would find there are a lot of places where something could go wrong.
And, of course, cost is always a factor. A project of this kind, with renovation and additions, costs from $80 to $120 a square foot, depending on the amount of labor and the finishes chosen.
In the final analysis, both contractor and clients think the job went well and stayed on schedule until near the end.
Ron found the Councills a pleasure to work with, understanding and cooperative throughout the project. And they appreciated some of the extra touches he put into the job -- salvaging original exterior windows to install in the bedroom and laundry room, so light from the staircase windows flows into those rooms. He also added closets at the top and bottom of the staircase.
"He insisted on some things we wouldn't have thought of," Nancy said. Her initial reaction to Ron's suggestion to install kitchen appliances in the basement, so they wouldn't be without a way to prepare meals for even a day, was "yuck," she said. "But he said, no, it's no trouble, you'll like it." And they came to appreciate the convenience of the move. "Especially with the kids," Nancy said.
But the best assessment -- and this is true of any project -- came from Dick's answer to the most important question: Now that it's all over, knowing what they know now, would they do it again?
"Yeah, probably," he said, with a smile.
Renovation tips from the Councills
After spending more than half a year on their renovation and addition project, Dick and Nancy Councill have some advice for others who are planning major work on the home they're living in. Here are some of their suggestions:
* Instead of blocking off construction spaces with plastic sheets, the Councills used plywood nailed to a temporary frame, and taped all the edges so dust could not seep out.
* Plan to keep some kind of kitchen throughout the project. It will make life immeasurably easier.
* Stay flexible during the project, and be ready to react to unforeseen circumstances.
* When you have to make decisions, think about options, so you have some choices in mind as work goes on. That way, if the cabinets you wanted have been discontinued, for instance, you will have a couple of backup choices in mind.
* Keep a checklist of everything you've ordered, and as things come in, check them out with the contractor to make sure they're right. If something is wrong, you should have time to send it back and get a replacement and still stay on schedule.
--Karol V. Menzie
Renovation checklist
Items done as of Feb. 5 to the Councill project:
-Stake out/excavate
-Pour footing
-Demolish roof
-Install drain tile
-Foundation walls
-Pour slabs
-Framing
-Install windows
-Exterior doors
-Shingle roof
-Siding
-Gutters and downspouts
-Rough HVAC *
-Rough plumbing
-Rough electrical
-Insulate
-Drywall
-Interior doors
-Interior trim
-Paint interior
Cabinetwork
Ceramic tile
Install bath hardware
Finish HVAC
Finish electrical
Finish plumbing
Install hardwood floors
Touch-ups
Clean up
Final inspections
Landscape
* Heating, ventilation, air-conditioning systems
Ron Nodine is owner of American Renovator Inc., a Baltimore design-build remodeling firm, and former president of the Remodelors Council of the Home Builders Association of Maryland. Karol Menzie is a feature writer for The Sun.
If you have questions, tips or experiences to share about working on houses, e-mail Ron at hw@renovator.net or Karol at karol.menzie@baltsun.com. Or write c/o HOME WORK, The Sun, 501 N. Calvert St., Baltimore, MD 21278. Questions of general interest will be answered in the column; comments, tips and experiences will be reported in occasional columns.
Pub Date: 7/18/99