Sold!

The Oakwood Cottages are coming right along. 916 Oakwood Avenue is almost totally painted on the outside.






912 Oakwood Avenue has the first coat of paint on the outside and is currently getting drywall done on the inside.









916 Oakwood now has the trim finished and it's primed inside. This week the interior will be painted and the Bamboo flooring will begin to go in!





914 Oakwood is now insulated, and drywall should go in in about a week.







Originally, I had planned to rent all 6 of the homes, but after thinking about it, I decided that it would create a better sense of community in the block to have at least half of the homes be owner-occupied. Despite the national real estate market, there is a strong demand for reasonably priced homes in Downtown Raleigh. Compared with smaller homes further away from downtown, these homes are reasonably priced at $225,000. Considering that everything is new, except a small amount of original siding and framing, that is a great price for downtown Raleigh.

A local Realtor, Van Fletcher, contacted me and has brought me a contract for 914 Oakwood and we are expecting a contract on 912 Oakwood! This community is coming together!

Some exterior paint and the sheetrock going in!

Quite a bit of progress has occurred in the last few weeks. The first house (916) has gotten the windows and skylights in, the siding finished, the roof on, and is now in the process of being painted. Saving the old siding where possible means lots of labor for preparing it to be painted so that it blends with the new siding on the new part of the house. I think it's worth it to not waste old wood - tryin' to be green here!




The view from the back of 916. I think the balcony coming out from the master bedroom is pretty cool. It will have a city skyline view once the landscaping is done right.







There has been good progress inside too! The sheetrock is hung and will be finished within a few days. This shot shows the livingroom with the exposed brick fireplace - still to be repaired. The loft is visible at the top, with the master bedroom beyond that.









This is a view from the kitchen looking back towards the livingroom. The area under the stairs gets the washer and dryer.









Here is the upstairs master bedroom - looking at the bathroom door straight ahead, with the closed door opening over to the left, then the door to the balcony.

Wow - this is really exciting!

It's been a few weeks since I've posted an update. A lot's been happening despite the near 100 degree temperatures in Raleigh. Two of the houses are now framed inside & out.

Chris Kala (at left) is now back from vacation and so more progress will be made soon, I'm sure! Hi Chris!




The first house (916 Oakwood) has finished rough-in plumbing, electrical and HVAC. The windows are almost all in, the siding is going on and the roof should be on next week. Then we start painting.

Hopefully next week we'll get insulation in and maybe even start sheetrock!



This is what the inside looks like now - looking from the front doorway through the livingroom. The skylight still needs to go in the LR - that will brighten it up a lot. The exposed-brick fireplace stays - but will be opened up and sealed - used for gas logs. You can see the kitchen area behind the stairs, then the first floor BR beyond that (with it's own bath).

Upstairs is an open loft with a vaulted ceiling and skylight then the Master BR with it's own bath, a window seat, and a french door out to a private balcony which overlooks the City skyline. Very cool view!


Siding going on the outside of 916!

Check back soon for more updates.

They are taking shape!

This week was one of those weeks where we made some real progress. The second floor is framed on the first house. This is the view from the front.










Here is the view from the side. It's really nice to see something that was in my mind become reality. Thanks to Bryant's and Chris' creativity we were able to figure out how to get the stairs in and still have room for both a loft above the living room and room for the washer and dryer cabinet in the kitchen.










Wow - this actually looks like it's going to be a real house soon! Monday morning the electrician, plumber, and HVAC guys will be at the job site, starting work on this house. Bryant has been working overtime this weekend to get the floor system rebuilt and the new stairs in.








The other houses are moving along too. I'll post more soon!

Now this is more like it!

I got back from vacation today and rushed right over to Oakwood Ave to check on the progress of the cottages. Now we're getting somewhere. Bryant Chambers, my other trusty carpenter, has made some great progress. The foundations on two of the houses are rebuilt, and the other two are underway. The framing for the first floor of two of the houses is just about done. Bryant tells me that the first house will be framed in another week, so then we can get the electrician, plumber and HVAC guys to work. Yeah!

Here is the foundation for the rear section of the house - totally rebuilt.

Framing for the floor - rear section.










The walls framed for the new first floor bedroom and bath.

















Framing and foundation repairs under the original section of the houses.

Check back soon for more progress!

Permits for the first two houses!

On Thursday of last week, Chris (one of my trusty carpenters) took my permit applications to the City. After various corrections they wanted made, he was told they'd get them processed, maybe by Friday or at least by Monday and call him.

Well... as things go, they called me Monday with another question, then after I begged and pleaded (and paid $580) they issued permits for two of the six applications. The clerk in the office told me in no uncertain terms that despite what I've been told in the past and what the City website says, they have 5 days to issue permits and it will likely take all 5 days. Seems that doing them faster will interfere with the numerous personal conversations some of the staff there have going on that must be very, very important. Infinitely more important than interuppting them for a waiting permit application.

Do I sound bitter? I don't really mean to bash all the folks there, because some of them have been very helpful. It is just really frustrating to wait all this time, be told I could get permits in one day, then be made to wait 5 days. UGGH!

So, on the positive side, the foundation footer is dug on two of the four houses, and in process on the other two. We can get the inspection tomorrow and then begin pouring concrete!

Chris and Bryant tell me that it won't be long before I'll start seeing some framing! Yeah!

Keep watching for some more interesting pics as we get really moving.

Yes!!!

That's the word from the City of Raleigh Board of Adjustment. As long as I conform to the neighborhood overlay district - which means I can't let tenants park in the yard anymore (like that big 70' something Lincoln Continental that's been there for the last few months from my newly evicted tenant). It also means I have to use building materials similar to those in the neighborhood and include architectural features common to the neighborhood - such as porches. All of that was part of my plan anyway.

So, now we wait 10 more days until I get the building permit, then we pour new foundations for the back third. So, but the beginning of July we should see some framing!