Living my American-house dream

I am about to rebuild my house the American-way!

As a kid, I have this screaming enthusiasm watching movies of American families living on an American abode with the typical and timeless white picket fence touches. Whether it's the brood from Yours, Mine and Ours movie or the Perron family from The Conjuring, my fascination in anything built the classic American way is beyond.

The architecture that I'd like to imitate is the ranch-style cottages post-Civil war. They have the "Anne-of-Green-Gables" element in them and I definitely love the simplicity and how serene these houses look. And yet, they hold so much stories in them like tea time while the Red Coats are marching outside their colonial windows. Imagine red and gold maple trees swinging in the gentle wind of the suburban.

And now.. I have finally gathered enough moolah to renovate our 1950's Manila-styled house which my brother and I inherited from our grandparents. Luckily enough, I have all the "say" when it comes how I would like our porch to look, or how I want three bathrooms instead of just two.. Even the paint-scheme is going to be mine! :) How's that for lucky?

So today, I met up with an engineer slash architect for the renovation bidding because somebody tipped me on how efficient it would be if you have a contractor who would be able to bring your dream house into stones, make sure you have the fireproof, well-ventilated home and most especially to cut costs in every aspect. Plus, you get to have your house on guarantee.

Earlier this day, the contractor took the measurements of  our house, asked how I want the lay-out to look like and made necessary plan adjustments regarding our perimeter wall. He made a rough drawing and told me that he's going to hand me the plan come Friday, I think. And from there, I'm going to see if it would be cheaper if I let him do the project.

The thing about bidding is that you get to compare the price given by the contractor against how much you are going to allot if you will do the renovation by your own. So I hope that it would cost me less if I hire the contractor.

With the plan that he's going to hand over on Friday, I expect him to itemized the materials separately for the roof, the ceiling, the flooring, plumbing, the rewiring and the paint so I can decide if I want to make alterations.

I greatly expect that come mid-August, we'll be able to start the renovation. It would be my birthday gift to myself. I'm feigning with excitement. I even brought books for research! Hehe.

Wish me luck, I'm going to need it,

Joanne