First meeting with potential contractor

It was a very productive meeting. We learned more about what will need to get done before demolition can happen!

We will need an architect/structural engineer who will tell us what walls are load bearing, which according to the contractor is actually the wall closest to the back door. We originally thought it was the wall closest to the front door.  The architect will need to call up the village municipality to see what is required to submit the paperwork and fees involved.  The architect will need to draw up a plan which will then need to be submitted to the village. The village board will eventually have to vote about our permit so potentially this could hold up our project.  There will be costs involved. I will put down the amount when I find out what it turns out to be. An inspection will have to take place too before any work can be done. Everything needs to up to code.

Another thing which we didn't know about is that we will need a lead inspector. Someone has to come in to test whether we have lead in our paints. Also we need to also have carbon monoxide monitors on each floor as well as in each bedroom. We need to check for lead outside of the house too because it affects the sliding door that we plan to have. The door will lead from the dining room to the patio. There will be a fee involved.

We want to take down the walls leading from kitchen to dining room and the wall between foyer and dining room. We will need some type of beam support. The contractor mentioned an archway -not sure I like that look.

We need to figure out how to vent the range hood whether it will go up into the roof or sideways to the outside.

Also whether the soffits above the current cabinets are hollow in which case we can extend the cabinets upwards a little more.

The heating ducts will have to be moved.

There is a 6 inch difference in height between the kitchen and dining room ceilings.

There will be number of "trades" people involved:

. Architect/ Structural engineer
. Lead inspector
. Contractor
. Kitchen designer
. Electrician
. Plumber
. Stone masonry
. Flooring