Even with the snow, the steps have now been leveled and an aged, rusting metal strap that supported the massive granite landing has been replaced. Our construction guy did a wonderful job with the brickwork underneath, so I’m feeling confident we picked the right folks to work on a historic building.
We’re about to approach the city for construction and occupancy permits. We’re finalizing the design for the first floor bathroom. We want to lose the tub but keep the shower. Responses to our survey showed that a large majority of people want to be able to bike or jog and then get a shower before meeting with clients. Not surprisingly, nearly 100% of female respondents want us to have a shower as an amenity. The challenge we have is that the entire bathroom has to be handicap accessible, and we’re having a tough time getting the facilities and needed clearances in such a tight space. We can move a short wall, but one long wall is a brick load-bearing wall and the other would cut into our already small kitchen. The fact that the building itself isn’t accessible is something we’ll attack at a later time, like when there’s no snow on the ground.