The Joys of Home Ownership

A couple of weeks ago, I woke up at 2:30 am to the persistent barking of my adorable Labradoodle puppy, Willie. He’s been with me for several months now, and I’ve learned that he does not bark his little head off in the middle of the night without a good excuse.

As I pulled on my robe and headed downstairs, I heard what sounded like the shower. On the way down, I peeked into the bathroom. When I saw no water coming from the showerhead, I realized that Good Dog Willie was alerting me to something serious. And thanks to my dog alarm, I was able to get the water turned off and mitigate the damage.

The next day, I learned it was a cracked galvanized steel pipe that went under both bathrooms and had spent about 90 years buried in about six inches of concrete. Its time had come. My plumber explained that both baths had to be taken down to the studs and completely replumbed.

Gulp!

Then, at his suggestion, I called my insurance company and learned that, while I had to pay the plumber, State Farm would cover the demolition and most of the reconstruction.

Relief!

After a trip to Home Depot Expo to see what was available, I came home overwhelmed with the vast array of tiles, fixtures and other bathroom “furnishings”. So I called a favorite client and architect, Joe Prefontaine, who just hung up his own shingle at Design Simply.

His first suggestion – restore, rather than renovate, both baths. He’s helped me put together period materials that look gorgeous and would have been right at home in 1914 when my house was built. So we have a plan, and he’s going to be working with the plumbers and renovation contractors to make it happen.

Like some people who try to sell their houses with no professional help, I almost fell into a big mistake of trying to put together a huge project without professional help. Joe has saved me many hours of trying to figure out what I want, and he’s saved me from trying to refit a 1914 bathroom with materials and fixtures that would be more appropriate to a hi-tech loft condo downtown.

How embarrassing would that have been?

A lot of people who undertake major home improvement projects rely heavily on their contractors during the planning stage. While there are some contractors who can bring great ideas to any home improvement project, a good architect like Joe Prefontaine can bring a lot in terms of understanding the way the new bathroom, kitchen or addition fits with the historic character of the house. He also has a greater knowledge of the wide array of building materials available. And he has impeccable taste.

He’s helping me to make choices that will make my friends think that I have great taste. And that’s worth his fees and then some.

My face lift will have to wait.

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