This isn't going to be a fancy project post... since we have just scratched the surface on getting started with our reno.  But I wanted to go over a little of the process of refinancing our house to help demystify the process of using home equity.  There are a lot of reasons to refinance!  I our first refinance we used our equity to consolidate a couple of our loans (add the balance of multiple loans into a single loan) and use the remaining cash to renovate our kitchen.  This time, we are using the entire sum for renovating, and we are lowering our interest rate as well. 

*Quick Disclosure: I'm not an accountant, real estate agent, or mortgage underwriter.  So, I'm really writing from my own experience.  Your own financial needs and planning will vary!  Don't be afraid to ask questions from your own financial institutions. 

We have a lot of things coming down the pipe this year for the house!  Unlike a lot of our projects, these require a lot more professional help.  We're working to add a second bathroom to our basement, upgrade our HVAC from a conventional A/C and gas-fired furnace to a heat pump and electric blower equipped with back-up heat, and replacing our asphalt roof with a metal one.  It's a lot of work to coordinate between four different contractors, and a lot of financial investment in our house.  Luckily, pretty much every dollar of this project we'll recoup in equity.  Second bathrooms alone are a big boost around here!  

The bathroom is really a huge boost to our house.  But the space we have to make it happen is pretty tiny.  It's only about a 8' x 7' space... and the electrical panel is in the corner.  So, we're shifting our laundry into a closet next to the electrical panel, and adding a teeny three-piece bath behind it.  I have a vintage cast-iron sink that will fit next to my favorite toilet, and I'm adding a little shower stall in the back corner.  

The space has a lot of random electrical lines going through it, plus the refrigerant line for the old A/C condenser.  So, first things first, we're doing a decent amount of demo.  The floors in here and in part of the basement library are going to get pulled to add plumbing, and the old electrical and refrigerant lines are coming out of the ceiling to make way for updated circuits.  Electrical begins... today!  

The last project I finished in our kitchen, just after doing our phone niche, is a kids' station.  It has all the things we need to communicate as a family, and a few fun things for the kids to do and play with when the little ones toddle in.  I had planned on making this since we completed the kitchen in 2019, and with other project leftovers, I was able to do it without much more than a piece of trim and things already on hand.  It was a quick project that took about two half-days (welcome to kid-life and paint drying time, after all) to complete.