By popular demand, here are some questions that we have been asked a time or two. Click on the question to jump to the answer below.
Do you plan to finish the basement?
How much farther will you have to travel to get to work each day?
When will you move in? (updated 2/10/2003)
Will you have a sprinkler system?
What's this stuff about "Chris' Room?"
What's that great music on your slide shows?
What software did you use to make the slide shows?
Are the lyrics of the songs synched up with the pictures on purpose?
What parts of the basement finishing project did you do yourselves?
How many square feet is it?
2,184 square feet of finished living space. This does not count the
basement, which will not be finished by the builder.
Do you plan to finish the basement?
Yes, we do. We had the builder finish the stairwell for us in
preparation for that. Rod drew up plans, filed them with the city of
Olathe, and got a building permit in March 2004. When completed, our
basement will be divided into media room, game room, 1/2 bath,
closet, and an unfinished workshop/furnace room. Approximate total of
585 additional square feet of living space. We hope to have this
ready to move in furniture by 2/28/05; but we are also trying to pay
as we go rather than take out loans, so that may slow us down
somewhat. You can keep track on our Basement
Progress page.
How much farther will you have to travel to get
to work each day?
Sheila's drive will increase from 6.5 miles to 11.3 miles (+9.6 miles
round trip, 48 miles/week).
Rod's walk will increase from 8' to 17' (+18' round trip,
90'/week).
How big is your lot?
Not very big, quite a bit smaller than our current rental property
(but a lot less hilly, so it will be a breeze to mow). The exact
dimensions are 67.5' front, 64.58' rear, 118.43' left, 116.4'
right.
When will you move in?
Our scheduled closing date is February 25. We are scheduling
appliance deliveries for March 1, and our movers for March 3. That
will be the first night we expect to stay overnight at the new place.
We should have telephone service by the evening of March 4.
What color is it going to be?
The outside will be "magnet," a very dark gray. Our trim will be a
lighter shade, "grey cliff." Our front door will be "purple
spectacle." For our main interior color, we chose "crisp khaki," a
dark tan. One bedroom (Rod's office) will be "Himalaya," a kind of
sea green. The guest bedroom that Sheila is calling her "dolphin
room" is going to be flaxflower blue, about the color of this page.
(Update: since the builder failed to paint this room the right color,
Sheila and I painted it ourselves and the name of the color is ocean
view.)
Will you have a sprinkler system?
No, at least not to start with. The lawn sprinkler system can always
be added later. A fire sprinkler system would probably be a nice
thing to have but they're a little out of our budget.
What's this stuff about "Chris' Room?"
Just a joke with our friend Chris (Helmick). He asked where his
room was, so Rod decided to declare the small attic space over the
garage Chris' room. I guess that makes Chris sort of like Greg Brady.
Groovy!
What's that great music on your slide shows?
The song on the first photo page slide show is "Our House" by
Madness. We took it from the compilation album "Millenium '80s New
Wave Party." The song on the second photo page slide show is
"Neighborhood" by David Byrne. It is from his album "Look
Into the Eyeball" which Rod highly recommends and Sheila
tolerates better than most Talking Heads albums. The song on the
slide show on page 5 (which actually incorporates pictures from pages
4-5) is "Once in a Lifetime (Live)" by the Talking Heads, from their
Stop
Making Sense album.
What software did you use to make the slide
shows?
I used iPhoto
by Apple to make both the slide shows and also the photo pages with
thumbnails. It's a great application, very user friendly and packed
with features. Best of all it comes bundled with every new Macintosh,
so rush out and buy
one today.
Are the lyrics of the songs synched up
with the pictures on purpose?
Sometimes. :)
What parts of the basement finishing
project did you do yourselves?
Rod drew the plans, did the framing, helped a little on the
plumbing, ran the speaker, telephone, and cable TV wiring, installed
vents and access panels, primed, installed the vanity cabinet and
lavatory, installed base moulding and quarter-round, cased the
window, drew plans for the cabinetry, installed the "hockey puck"
light fixtures, installed the dimmer switches, installed and grouted
tile around fireplace and added decorative wood trim around the
fireplace.
Sheila and Rod together did the moisture seal, painting, installed
the laminate floor, stained the cabinetry.
Sheila assisted our friend Sue on the wallpaper border, and by
herself she did a ton of cleanup and helped Rod bring in
materials.