Still going strong

At 9 PM they're still working away, laying floor in the new corner they created, and "wire man" Mike (Iraqi for electrician) is still crawling under the house.

More day one

Fred & Mike wreaking havoc in OUR kitchen.

Day one (continued)

I went out to pick up a few things and returned to find LOTS of work done. Fred had torn down lots of walls and many of the ceiling joists and here's another picture of the rental-side kitchen. The big high ceilings have made it such a great room, even though it's small. Mike & Buck look at door options. Note the level of dirt NOW.

Sands' Contracting - Day One

Let's survey the situation. Notice how clean and fresh they all look. Mike, Mike and Buck look over electrical work and Fred and Buck survey the stuff in the back yard. Let the fun begin!!

Before the crew

The last few days Mike has been working hard to get things ready for Buck and a couple of his construction crew. He mostly tore down ceiling sheet rock to expose the high old original ceilings. We were left with the studs from which the sheet rock hung, and lots of wires, vents and pipes - all of which were the reason the sheet rock was put there in the first place. It's hard, hot work and he was glad to have a nephew come help with the kitchen. The picture on the left is the rental-side kitchen after clean-out.

Your turn again

While Mike & I travel, we have constant conversations about this house and some questions have come up on which we need your input. We're trying to decide which things might be worth the investment.

Given that we are renting out half of this house, and that it will be in a rather upscale rental district (yes, some people really do want to live in or near the French Quarter!) please weigh in on these choices:

1. a) Regular tub and shower.
b) Jacuzzi type tub - and shower, of course.

2. a) Granite countertops (probably granite tiles)
b) Fake stone (like Corian or Silestone)
c) Tile
d) Good formica

3. a) Off-white paint throughout
b) Light mocha or beige with white trim

4. a) Gas stove
b) Electric stove

5. a) Side-by-side fridge-freezer
b) Fridge with top freezer (cheapest alternative)
c) Fridge with bottom freezer

6. a) Stainless appliances
b) Black appliances
c) White appliances

7. a) Blue and gray stone-look tiles (bath and kitchen)
b) Beige "travertine" tiles

8. a) Gas fire in the old un-used fireplace
b) None

Just a bit

It's sorta hard to wait to get started. And it's sorta hard to show you what I've done in the last few days. Changing locks, moving things in the house, getting utilities and canceling some others, are all things that are pretty boring - though necessary. So have a look at our wonderful woodwork that's waiting to be painted and placed. After a couple of weeks, we'll get started. Mike has a very ambitious schedule worked out, and I'll be learning fast. Sounds like fun!!

Mike's truck

I guess most guys want a truck - and Mike now has a legitimate need for one. This one's shiny, cheap, looks like it will do the work - and we won't have to worry about no AC for many months!

How's this one?

While I get utilities switched over and try to learn how to get around, (while Mike is away for over a week) I've looked at more houses. So what do you think of THIS paint scheme? I kinda think I like rose & green.

Sweat equity

So this is what the term sweat equity, means! Yeah, he gutted that first room by himself!

The real fun begins!

We just keep having one productive day after another. This has got to stop!! Thursday we bought a cute old pick-up (photo later) for a good price and then took off for New Oleans. I dropped Mike at the house and I headed to City Hall (o nooo! on my own?) and had no trouble in getting the final building permit. By the time I got home, he'd done this!

Long Time, No Post

The fun has really begun, so the time to post has shrunk. We signed papers on Tuesday- after a bit of last minute where-did-that-electronic-money-transfer-go panic. But it all worked out and the former owner went back to trying to empty the house. He's left us a lot of great things.

Wednesday we received permission from the Historical District Landmarks Commission to do all the work, and almost finished getting a building permit. For all that's NOT working right after Katrina, the city government has really done well to expedite that whole process. As we walked around City Hall chatting with people, getting papers, filling out forms, joking with folks and talking about the GREAT Saints' game Monday night, Mike kept comparing it to the government offices in Cairo. He spent many hours over many years in those crowded, smoky, inefficient offices - this place is GREAT!!

More photos later.

Colors! Your opinion wanted!

These are the two closest neighbors around us.

As you can see from the drawing from 1854, the house was originally white, with green shutters. We learned a couple of interesting things about New Orleans colors recently. First, white was basically the only color they had in large quantities in the early 19th century, so most houses were white. Second, in order to make the green, powdered copper was mixed into the paint! It was highly toxic and started out a bright, almost apple-green shade. Over the years it would gradually turn darker, which brought people to gradually think of Vieux Carre (French Quarter) green as a dark color. Today houses are anything BUT white in this crazy city.

You chime in after looking at the next few pics - what color we should choose for our cottage?

With the roof being slate tiles of blues, grays, some green and some purples, maybe a blue would be nice. By the way, the x painted on the house is common here. It is left from Katrina: when rescuers checked a house, they made notes about what they found in this way. Some are high on second story walls, near the roof!

I was really thinking a soft yellow might be nice.

Bryan, our real estate agent, says this is a great color - and very "in". This is a popular French Quarter hotel.

This is the house today. It's in a quiet neighborhood just a block from the French Quarter and there are lots of interesting houses and interesting people around. We can hardly wait to get in and get to work!

Well, here is the earliest drawing we have of our Creole cottage - from an 1854 Sheriff's sale. At this point, in fact, we are a bit presumptious in calling it "ours" since we won't sign papers for another 3 weeks. But we're too excited - and need to make too many decisions quickly - to wait. We'll post more details later, but for starters, what do you think about the doors? Do we return them to the original placement as in this drawing? Or do we keep the 1930s "storefront" corner door in the previous photo?