Wednesday, March 9, 2016

Now That's an Open Floor Plan!!!

As luck would have it, I had to be out of town when the guys removed the walls on the first floor.  It killed me to miss all the fun!  So as soon as my plane landed back in Portland, I rushed over to the house to see the result.

Now, I thought I knew what it would look like.  I have spent hours and hours working through the floor plan design, trying to envision the rooms with the walls eliminated.  But despite all that, reality exceeded my expectations!  I couldn't believe how fantastic it is!!!  With the walls gone, the house feels twice as big.  And the rooms just flow together, to create a wonderful living space.

Let's start with the view from what used to be the enclosed front porch.
Before
Going
Going
Gone!!
See those big LVL beams across each opening?  They are triple thick and carry the load from the walls we've removed and the weight of the new dormer.  That's why we needed to pour the new footings in the basement.  Oh, and the blue insulation?  That's the stairwell to the new second floor.....it will be opened up later, but now we're trying to keep everything warm with our cold Maine winter nights.

The first peek without the wall to the sunroom shows just how much sunlight starts to stream into the living room.  Now it will be a nice bright space!
See what a big, beautiful room it's going to be!

We took out a 15 foot wall between the living room and dining room, doesn't it make a huge difference?


And last but not least, the kitchen now feels much bigger and brighter.  The refrigerator will be moved to the other side of the room and there is no longer a pinch point for traffic going back and forth to the dining room. The best surprise in here?  Original red birch floors were under that vinyl tile.  It's like winning the lottery to find them!


We still need to update electrical, move some radiators and install a kitchen, but it's already a huge step forward.  What do you think?  



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13 comments:

  1. Love it! Great designs from you folks. Mary

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  2. Amazing! You must be a neat freak even during construction... it looks pretty clean.

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    1. Ha ha - no one in my family would call me a neat freak. But it is important to keep a neat worksite for safety reasons!

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  3. Thanks for sharing, great progress! Everything looks wonderful!

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  4. Any trouble matching the wood/floor where you removed the walls?

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    1. We have had red birch floors in other houses and it's surprisingly easy to patch and have it look good!!

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  5. I just LOVE LOVE LOVE your vision. I,too, love light and so this simply makes me HAPPY to look at it. Would LOVE to be able to afford one of your restructured homes and be a neighbor. Carry on! Can't wait to see the final results.

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  6. I just LOVE LOVE LOVE your vision. I,too, love light and so this simply makes me HAPPY to look at it. Would LOVE to be able to afford one of your restructured homes and be a neighbor. Carry on! Can't wait to see the final results.

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    1. Thanks Ann. This one is pretty exciting and makes me happy too!!!

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  7. Laurel, would you mind me giving me a rough idea how much it generally cost to take down walls, load-bearing and non-load-bearing? I have difficulty getting a good idea even after googling. I know there are a lot of variables involved, and am aware it really depends on different areas, so just a rough idea would be appreciated.

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    1. Hi Eri, I'm not sure I could figure out what it costs just for the walls. The guys are doing so many things, it would be hard to segregate just that cost (not to mention moving the wiring, plumbing, etc). Sorry!! I get bills from all the different trades and they lump a lot of work into each invoice.

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  8. You guys always do such a beautiful job. I look forward to each and every update!

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