A Change is in The Air

November 9, 2007. There will be big changes coming to Jetson Manor over the next couple months. We've hired a contractor to add-on a Master Bedroom Suite (the contractor's words, not mine) and a large screened-in porch off the back of the house. In addition, there will be a little renovating of the downstairs bathroom and basement (more about that later). Why a screened porch? Well, ever since the Asian Tiger mosquito (picture at right) invaded the Washington Metro region---about 5-7 years ago---you can't sit outside at any time of the day without lathering on mosquito repellant and having citronella candles aflame....and still you'll get bitten.

In this area, having a screened porch is the only way to enjoy sitting outside. I expect we will use the porch a lot for most of the year since we like the outdoors. However, we'll have to do a lot of landscaping in the backyard but that will be focus of later posts. Anyway, I like the plans we finally developed after a long time of trying to get everything we wanted, where we were allowed to build it (there are a lot of building codes and restrictions), and within our budget (which is still more than we would've liked....but that's the price of living in the Washington metro area).

As you can see from the plans, the Master Bedroom Suite (MBS) will be of average size, something like 13 x 13 with a nice bay window and will have a nice walk-in closet. with a nice walk-in clothes closet for Jane. I expect my dressing area will still be in the basement, but that's okay with me. The "new space" to be added-on are indicated by the dimensions and contractor comments (you can click on the picture for an expanded view)--the rest of the current house has no comments (just blank space) for reference. Our current bedroom will be redecorated (by Jane and I) and converted into a home office. A door from the MBS will lead out onto a screened breezeway that will connect to the screened porch. Right now the back of the house is getting ready for construction (see picture below) and I've tried to salvage anything I can (mostly pressure-treated pine, flagstone and gravel to reuse later. We had our final walk-through meeting with the contractor on November 16th. They plan on starting the Monday after Thanksgiving and we're hoping that they'll be finished by the end of January.