Renovation Begins

It didn’t take long before the process of renovation at my stately Victorian fix-and-flip, newly christened Isabel, started with a vengeance. Isabel was almost begging for some love, and from the onset, she gave me clues that she would be supportive throughout the process by presenting tiny treasures. The first tiny treasure, was a ceramic cherub hanging from a left-behind curtain rod. This little angel looked out upon the empty rooms and sent his blessings. Things were proceeding pretty smoothly the first month while I searched for a general and sub-contractors, foundation repair, roofers and more. The before pics will give you a hint at the work that lay before us.

I found my roofer while salsa dancing as he moonlighted as the doorman. My plumber dug a trench in the snow for my best friend and got kudos for his work and effort. Foundation repair was a bit more difficult. “Mansplaining - Episode 1” happened after I told a salesman that I was researching his suggestions because I was having doubts and he told me, “Honey, doing research is unnecessary. You just need to leave this to the people who know what they’re doing.” I went with someone else…someone reasonable and fair who told me to research all I wanted. My window guy is one of the first heroes of my story. He was referred by my salsa dancing roofer and saved me thousands of dollars by saving my historic windows instead of replacing them. Then, the search for my General Contractor began. There was a brief encounter with a self-purported “Black Irishman” who I thought was a shoe-in for the job but who ghosted me in week two before even sending over an estimate. He told me his truck had transmission problems and then never responded to another phone call. I wonder if he’s still stuck somewhere in the Rocky Mountains waiting for a tow? There was “Mansplaining - Episode 2” when another GC walked in to the home and told me my “ideas are irrelevant” and to let him do what he wanted to do. I often feel things work out as they’re supposed to, and the same best friend who recommended the plumber had just had her kitchen redone by New Image Remodeling with incredible things to say about her contractor. The owner, Juan Sosa, is the hardest working, most talented contractor I’ve ever collaborated with. He is my hero. This team was a gift, but then my little ceramic sentry disappeared and took with him the smooth sailing.

Month two, first we had a sewer issue and had to dig the line out to the main sewer in the middle of a busy street. Cost $10,000. As we prepared for foundation work to begin, it became evident that the extra paid during inspection to uncover nasties like lead and asbestos had not been thorough enough. That $1200 asbestos inspection only checked a small section of the home…the wrong section, when we checked the rest the price rose to $4000 then $8000 then $16000 and eventually topping out at $40,000 a whopping $38,800 over budget! This was the overage before any real work actually began, but begin it must, so foundation quickly followed behind at a cost of $71,000. Now, it would be remiss of me not to add that $120,000 is a lot to pay for a house filled with really good looking construction guys but if there was a bright side that was it, even though that price tag had me choking up hairballs…ahem asbestos balls.

While digging out the basement, more treasures came to light. We found ceramics and really old lightbulbs, and two 120 year old, cut-glass, Dapper Dan gin bottles from the Colorado Alcohol Company that was in existence from 1837 to just before Prohibition in 1920. The bottles are in pristine condition with the labels still intact.

Another found object was the wooden, hand-whittled praying man that began this post, definitely another sign from the Isabel that she knows we’re loving her and working to restore her original beauty. We lost an angel and gained a prayer. And so, with prayers in hand, angel on hiatus, a basement full of eye candy, a carriage house desperate for attention and a whole bunch of money, we were able to get Phase 2 in the books. Isabel now has all the support she needs with a huge metal “girdle” i.e. metal beams running the length of the basement. There is original brick still showing and plans for a 500+ bottle wine cellar to be installed. Isabel has also been stripped bare in preparation for her full restoration. She is clear of toxins, and, like any woman who has lived a little…a lot…,she doesn’t intend on having any more toxic relationships because she now realizes her own value. The carriage house/garage has a new roof and a strong support system, and is looking at new life as an art studio or rental unit. Every step of the way it’s amazing to see how putting love into something can reveal surprises, change perspectives, and free an inner light that may have been muddied and hidden from lack of care.