A short little update

We are off to the races!  Architect has been retained and he has already made a few important phone calls on our behalf, checking with both the TRCA and the City of Markham Heritage group.

We've learned that digging a new basement will likely be a no-go, because of floodplain issues.   And we are not sure yet, about whether a garage will be an allowable option.  So, building enough storage into the home will be a key factor for us.  A crawlspace IS allowed, however, and there is a lot we can do with this in order to safely (and dryly) store our stuff, but it is not the most comfortable thing to have to navigate!

The amount of expansion allowable for habitable space (space that we live in, use for mechanical/electrical equipment, etc) is a number based on 50% of the existing main floor footprint.   

Next steps are a site measure to verify the existing building and property, so that as-built drawings can be done.   

We agree that the space we use the most really comes down to three areas of our house - the kitchen/dining area, the living room, and our Master Bedroom.   This is where we will focus our efforts, leaving the original part of the house to serve for office space, a music room and extra bedrooms.   

In looking at the photo attached to this Blog post, you can see exactly where we'd like to remove the old Salt Box addition, and the back porch/breezeway too, leaving the original structure in place...but perhaps doing something different with those dormers.

I will call this project a 'slow moving vehicle' for the time being.  It will be a while before we are into Conceptual Drawings.