at FULL potential

Here are the images of the Duval house that were taken for the listing. We had a staging company come in and sparsely furnish some of the spaces. The decor was not my favorite but I guess it helps define the spaces a bit. The first time I saw these pictures we were in Japan and I hadn't stepped foot in the house for months. I hadn't even seen the walls with drywall. For a while, all I could see were the things I would have done differently. But now that it is somebody else's home I'm just glad to have saved a special, old house.

long time, no...

Well, obviously I didn't keep up with the blog on the Duval project. We ended up moving to Tokyo and it wouldn't have been possible. We hired a general contractor to oversee the project and just sold the house on January 5th. The whole thing took way longer than we anticipated. As these projects always do.

We are about to start construction on our own house here in Bryker Woods, an old Central Austin neighborhood. We have been working with an architect for about a year to get the plans ready and we are finally just waiting on the city to review and issue us permits. So feel free to follow along as I try and keep up...

herd of TURTLES

Believe it or not we have been making progress. Slow progress but progress nonetheless. The holidays definitely set us back a few weeks. We needed drawings to submit to the city showing which walls we were going to demo and where we would be building new walls. I had an architect come out and start the measurements but she was moving too slow so I ended up doing them in the end. It was just as well. I basically knew what I wanted and was just using her as a draftsperson. So I downloaded some free software and did it myself. It took me a while though to get it all right so I don't know how much time we really saved. Money though, yes. Now we are just waiting for the city's review and approval which is supposed to just take a couple of days. But there is a backlog down at the city and it has been taking a couple months, minimum. It is somewhat of a disaster. Anyone you talk to in Austin that has had to work with the city in the last six months for residential building permits has some kind of horror story. So just add us to the list. In the meantime, I think there is some demo work we can do. Hopefully that is enough to keep us feeling like there is forward motion.

These drawings show how things will be, not as they are. Big picture - we are moving the stairs from the dining room to the front entry, we are combining an enclosed sunroom and bedroom to make a master suite, and the attic is being completely reworked. Suggestions? Speak now.

3809 Duval

Stats:

Address: 3809 Duval, 78751 

Neighborhood: Hyde Park

Year built: 1925

Square feet: 2837

Lot size: .25 acres

Bedrooms: 4 (including attic loft)

Baths: 3

Detached carport with attached workshop

Hardwood floors under carpet and linoleum

Original doors and hardware

Root cellar

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

an introduction

I guess saying a house has potential is a bit like saying someone has a nice personality. Anyone else remember that bit from "When Harry Met Sally"? It's the line you use when there isn't anything else nice to say. But in truth, potential is my favorite thing about a house. A lot of perfect houses don't have it and never did. It means there is something unique and special under all the dirt-caked carpet and peeling wallpaper. This is a blog to document our search for that potential and to turn it into reality. We aren't complete rookies in this process. We fixed up an old condo in Cambridge, MA doing most of the work ourselves. And we are living in a potential-filled old house that will perhaps one day itself grace the pages of this blog. Here we go...