Category — Renovation

The guys from Stinson Builders did wonders again today. They took out the last vestiges of the old walls, on either side of the kitchen, and inserted headers to support the load of the roof on one side and the ceiling on the other. They did this by sawing into the ceiling, taking out a slot and placing LIM headers.

The work looks amazing.

The rear addition had sunk up to 1.5″ in places and needed to be leveled out. Sinson Builders did an amazing job of creating a floor I can spin a top on all day! Is it just me or is a perfectly flat floor a thing of beauty? (maybe it’s just me.) [Read more →]

Fast and furious framing! Brandon and his team bumped out the kitchen wall, made a new stairway (after removing the old), framed the new bedroom wall and the basement (as well as added Foamular insulation panels) and moved two windows. Watching those guys work was quite a wonder. [Read more →]

Demolition has started. We have been tearing down just about everything. Fortunately I have wonderful friends who have broken their backs, punctured their flesh and generally made themselves miserable to bring this house some new life. First I would like to thank those who helped: [Read more →]

I met with the brilliant people at Landscape Architecture inc. today and went over their designs and ideas. It’s amazing seeing the level of creativity and knowledge these people have. We had met once before; walking around the property and me babbling on. [Read more →]

OK, so I recently bought this house. It’s a small 1955 rambler on the border of St. Paul and Minneapolis, in Desnoyer Park (a very unknown gem in the Twin Cities.) I purchased it with some significant renovation work in mind. I have a limited budget and I would like to go “Green” as well. Through this renovation blog you can learn the process I went through, learn from my mistakes and successes (mistakes can be successes too!) and hopefully have a good time doing it. Wish me luck.

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Jason Stinson has the most amazing sub’s (subcontractors.) They just do great work and are great people, across the board. My most recent experience with this is Stafford Home Services. They are a one-stop-shop for Electrical, HVAC, Low voltage and all the services in-between. Low voltage being media rooms, recessed speakers, sound systems, security systems and the like. [Read more →]

When I began the process of finding a new home I was fortunate enough to start on the right track by using Charlie Neimeyer as my Realtor. “Start things on the right foot” they say, and I certainly did. Charlie not only helped me find a great house but also a great contractor. Jason Stinson, of Minneapolis-based Stinson Builders Inc., built Charlie’s house from the ground up, so he was certainly familiar with Jason’s formidable talents. [Read more →]

You can’t start a good renovation project without a good architect. A good architect knows not only the form and function of a home but incredibly important details like how a person lives in a space and maddeningly complex things like codes, appliances, materials, good contractors, certifications, rebates, etc… Now that is a tall order. Fortunately I found all of that, and more, with Phillip Broussard from the St. Paul-based Architron. [Read more →]