Project History
The purpose of the project was to restore the house and bring it up to standards while adding features that my mother wanted added to make here forced retirement a little more comfortable. We are talking Central air, access ramps and make the kitchen more usable. We were not talking about Granite counters or stainless appliances or luxuries, just the basics. To make it more handicap accessible (mom was permanently disabled) the kitchen was going to have two low under counter refrigerators and a undercounted freezer. Once I had finished the interior and had the air up and running Mom was going to move in and I was going to take out a mortgage to finish the exterior with new windows and brick on the front fascade. Once I completed this I was moving on to rebuilding mom's house which was in dire need of a complete rebuild and update.
When the disaster first struck I was commuting a 150 miles a day and I knew I could no longer handle a project of this magnitude without serious help. Previous Investment was already hovering around $25,000.00 already sunk into the project. Fixing up the house one room at a time was child's play compared to the amount of work now in store for me.
One of my first steps after the disaster was to contact Whitaker Architects PC in downtown Sand Springs. They were very helpful and we both thought this restoration was something that they could take on and manage quite well since I was commuting and the scale of the project had changed. We set about scheduling the possibility of starting with elevation drawings first, so we could preserve the character of the house throughout the rebuilding process, but unfortunately this effort was immediately terminated before it could really be started. I could not hire Whitaker because the insurance company was balking on paying until fault could be determined.
At
the same time the insurance company was refusing to put things in motion
all the groups involved in the disaster started pointing fingers at each
other saying the other was at fault. There was a discussion the
day of disaster where it was agreed between representatives of Northern
Pipeline Construction Company, the City of Sand Springs and ONG that the
City of Sand Springs would take the responsibility. The City is limited
by state law to a liability exposure of a maximum of $25,000.00.
To completely repair the house is estimated about $71,000.00.
They reached this decision without either mine or my mother's input and completely suborns our rights as a taxpayer, homeowner and victim of their mistakes. This is totally wrong.
Planning
There are several components to the project and it is going to take a lot to determine the scope of the work. It can be safely said that since I can not get a construction loan to mortgage the property that it will take about $36,000.00 cash on hand before I can actually begin the work on the house. This is the amount it will take to restore the foundation and basement and close up the house to the weather after lifting is complete.
The actual project will have to be broken in to it's component parts but below are the basics
• Reconstruction of garage
• Removal of Contents
• Removal of Debris
• Calculation of materials
• Calculation of Labor
• Disconnecting Utilities prior to lifting
• Lifting the house (pictures of neighbors house was done in March/ April of 2004)
• Restoring the foundation and basement
• Repairing damage to sill plates
• Insuring House is Level
• Closing in the house to weather
• Reconnecting the utilities
• Recertifying the wiring
• Recertifying the plumbing
• Connecting the Central Air
• Construction to repair front of house damaged
• Drywall , plaster and painting
•Finishing interior
The house is about 1225 Square feet on the main level with about 600 square feet of usable basement space.
|
|
Walls |
Ceiling |
|
Living Room |
532.8 |
215.0 |
|
Master Bedroom |
545.4 |
227.2 |
|
Study or small BR |
440.1 |
121.5 |
|
Main Hall |
228.6 |
51.9 |
|
Bed Hall |
144.0 |
24.0 |
|
Guest Room |
475.2 |
166.9 |
|
Main Bath |
234.0 |
45.0 |
|
Pantry |
216.0 |
32.0 |
|
Kitchen |
477.0 |
168.0 |
|
Dining |
350.4 |
119.9 |
|
Entry |
120.0 |
54.0 |
|
Total square feet surface |
3763.6 |
1225.6 |
The garage is separate but the foundation for the garage was undermined and the stem walls are splaying outward. The garage will have to be torn down and rebuilt.
House awaiting start of Project. Notice the temporary painted plywood frontage on the house. Red Chevy Astro van Is in driveway and house is to the right. The Ice Storm in Dec 2007 stripped the tree limbs from the redbud. this picture looks to be taken in February just after the limb trucks hauled away the debris
It will take a while to get things rolling but I a deep abiding faith I'll see the day the Oshan foundation crew will be driving steel beams under my house and lifting.