A resident is looking for recommendations for plumbers who’ve worked in Canal Place I before.  They’re also looking for suggestions for contractors or companies familiar with our building’s unique windows.  And lastly, they’d like to know: In general, is there anywhere we can see examples of custom work other owners have done on their Canal Place units, for inspiration?

I know there were some remodeling discussions in old posts, such as this one about opening walls upstairs, this one about closets, and this one about bathroom remodeling.  (I’ve just categorized those posts so that they’ll all come up now if you use the search feature in the upper right and look for “remodeling.”)

People are invited to share things they’ve done in the comments here but so far as I know, the comments don’t allow photos.  If people would like to e-mail photos to me, I can either post them on the bulletin board or else come up with some sort of gallery set-up once I have a few minutes to spare.  Another option would be a discussion group on Facebook, but I really don’t want to take on anything else myself.  We’ve done some interesting things with our window sills that we could share.

If anyone is considering a bathroom remodel, they should be aware that the management is working on putting together the information from the recent water survey regarding low-flow faucets, shower heads, and toilets.  The numbers (costs, savings, etc) that the company who did the survey is offering residents should be ready in another month.

And finally, on a different subject:  For those who have asked, I do intend to add more info to the website about the Canal Place Association Board, its members, and some of its procedures; I just haven’t gotten to it yet.

I can’t help with this one since all we’ve done is replace a vanity, but I’m passing it along.  Please feel free to respond in the comments or to e-mail me and I’ll post your reply.

Here’s the question:

I’ve been thinking about expanding my upstairs bathroom and wonder if anyone has done so, and has photos or tales of woe to share.

Turn about is fair play, and the resident who asked about opening up the upstairs hallway is now kindly sharing closet designs he had done up:

“Thank you so much for the information you provided regarding the hallway upstairs.  I knew there was wasted space there.  Also, a side benefit to redoing that area there is to block off the air movement between apartments.  I get some odors coming up through that area.

I got the following request for info from a resident.  Following it is my response and some photos of what we’ve done.  I’ll be happy to post any other answers people want to share!

I’ve lived at Canal Place One for almost 3 years.  I’ve fixed and upgraded several things so far.  I am thinking of my next project.

When I was looking, I remember seeing some pictures of some upgrades people had done to their apartments.  Specifically to the kitchen.  I saw an arch way to the kitchen and then over by the refrigerator another arch way to the living/dining area.  I was wondering if anyone would be willing to share some dimensions on that and if there were any challenges to moving any of the electric on the wall between the kitchen and the living/dining area.

The wall in the hallway was fairly straightforward and not only gained us generous floor to ceiling bookcases but actually widened the hallway by an inch at the same time.  The loft wall was trickier and the shelves had to work around ductwork and plumbing (at the left of the photo above you can see the gap where the ductwork forces a break in the shelving).  I believe the original contractor simply boxed everything in to keep costs down; boxing was faster and cheaper than making detailed use of the space and it saved him from stripping the paint and graffiti off the columns. I’ve also been told that the bottom floors of the building have metal columns rather than the prettier wood ones.

When we redid the kitchen, we didn’t open up the wall to the living room but we did add a stained glass window (BTW, any time you open a wall, I believe Lowell requires a permit).  Our contractor didn’t have any trouble shifting the wiring to the side to allow for the opening.  If you were opening the whole wall you’d have to actually move the thermostat rather than just the wiring.

 

To anyone considering remodeling: Please do make sure you get any needed permissions from the Association and permits from the city before any major remodeling.  Check with Cathy if you’re not sure.  While it may sound intrusive, it’s actually for everyone’s protection—and so we don’t have any do-it-yourself catastrophes that damage property and drive up insurance!