The project begins...

Welcome to my chronicle of our big house adventure that will be taking place over the next four or five months.  This is the place I'll be sharing updates of the project as it happens!  Here is a view of our house, located at 29 Plant Avenue in Webster Groves, MO, from the street.  The house is a century home, built in 1883 for James F. Allen and family.  It faces Lockwood Avenue, because at the time it was built, Plant Avenue did not exist, and was in fact the property line for this house.

Our project involves hiring a house moving company, which will come in with their system of hydraulic jacks, etc. and pick up the house.  While it's raised, they will excavate the old, crumbling stone foundation (which dates to about 1876) in preparation for pouring a new, hopefully waterproof foundation with higher ceilings.  While it's in the air, the house will be rotated 90 degrees, so that the architectural front of the house will face the street.  

We will gain nice living space in the basement:  a bedroom for Alex, a small bathroom, and a rec room area.  We will also enjoy having a real front door and front porch.  The true front door opens into a foyer with a view of our beautiful staircase.  This sure beats having everyone come in through the kitchen/back door!

In phase two of this project, when our budget allows, we'll be reconstructing the original front porch.  Old photos show this porch going all the way across the front of the house on the upper and lower levels.  Look for some better old photos soon, along with some pdfs showing some of our architectural drawings!

The project is set to begin around Memorial Day and should be complete in about two months.  Meanwhile, we have a whole basement to clean out.  That'll keep us busy until the big day.