The Scope Document

A large portion of my job is project management so i can’t help but make lists and checklists.

• It helps to make sure everyone (Sarah, me, the builder) is on the same page.
• It helps when talking to multiple builders and makes sure we have told them all the same thing.
• It acts as a checklist for us when reviewing drawings.
• it helps prioritize our needs and wants so we can manage the budget

When Sarah and I started talking about the project, i started keeping a list of what we wanted in my head. It soon got a bit out of hand as my brain is not that large. I also started to get a bit aspirational and way out of scope. Remember that we started with new cabinets and shifted to a new foundation, so the fact that i even realized i was getting way out of scope means it was pretty bad.

1. General Basement

This was not very controversial.

Item	priority	Notes
Suite: 2 br/1 bathroom + private entrance	A	discussed having entrance under front porch by stairs
separate electric meter	A
Separate heat source	A	radiant floor or baseboard
kitchen with full size appliances inc’l dw	A	Will move our fridge down there so we can have matching appliances upstairs
More/larger windows if possible	A
sound proofing	A
Small outdoor sitting area off S end of suite into front garden	A	Lower down pocket spot.

2. Laundry / Mechanical Room

This is where the services come in, the furnace, hot water heater etc. all live. We lived in lots of places with shared laundry and it doesn’t make any sense to us to have multiple washing machines in a small house.

Item	Priority	Notes
Shared laundry room with inside access from both main and suite	A
Room for stacked washer/dryer and a stand up freezer	A
storage in laundry room for us	A	does it need to be secure? We don’t think so. We need quite a bit.
Counter space in laundry room	B	Makes it easier to make beer or dehydrate fruit
Water service into laundry room	A	main shutoff is currently at front of house and we can’t have that with a proper suite.
keep old laundry sink but put on a pedestal	A	Sarah to look into getting it re-enameled.
Main electrical panel in laundry room	A
basement exterior door into laundry room	A
Space for drying racks or creel from ceiling	A

3. Back deck off kitchen

We haven’t used our current deck in years because it is rotting. This is likely our own fault because of deferred maintenance but let’s not dwell on that. We have not really set a size for it because we don’t know what our options are. Our friends Dave and Jeanette have an awesome sectional on their deck and we have spent many hours out there having drinks and solving all the worlds problems.

Item	Priority	Notes
New deck with cover (vaulted)	A	It rains a lot in Vancouver and we really want a dry place to sit. We have seen some examples.
stairs onto deck from yard	A	This will be the main entrance from the back yard
secure shed under deck with min 7 ft ceiling	A	Room for bikes, garden tools, lawnmower etc.

4. Kitchen

Really? This is what started it and it comes in 4th? It is just the way my brain works. I started at the front of the basement went outside onto the deck and through the back door into the kitchen. It all makes sense.

item	priority	notes
new kitchen cabinets	A	NW corner – lazy susan underneath? Upper cabinet on diagonal
make addition bigger both north and east for 6 person dining area	A	3 ft east for basement stairs landing and 3+ feet or more north
doors onto deck (french or garden doors)	A
storage	A	goal is more storage than we have now. shouldn’t be hard. We made an ikea plan
island (dry) with plugs	A	Thick wooden countertop, drawers on kitchen area sides, shelves at ends for cookbooks?
insulation in the kitchen	A	we currently have none. This will be required by the city but we want something easy to check off
range hood/vent	A	Stainless steel vented outside
dishwasher!	A	built in! yay!!
kitchen floor	A	Rob to lift existing tiles but no idea what to replace it with.

5. Other Miscellaneous

This is where we looked around and the list really started to grow. Doing a job this big is pretty disruptive so we thought about what other stuff might fit. For example, if we are going for an energy audit and retrofit grants, we should include all of that stuff if we can afford it. If.

item	priority	notes
Gas or electric fireplace in lr	A	Need to figure out what happens with chimney out. We could just plaster it over but we both like fireplaces
Built in bookshelves in LR to W of current fireplace	B	could come later. I think this is really a “c” but is something we have talked about a lot.
New closet window	B	could come later.
New windows for stained glass on w. side	B	could come later. We will remove the stained glass and mount again inside.
New front LR window	B	could come later. picture window middle, with sash windows either side. double hung?
new front door	B	could come later.
Blow in insulation in LR wall S & W	B	could come later but we could get a rebate to reduce this

6. Outside

The yard will need to be re-landscaped and there are multiple things that annoy us about how it is currently setup. I think i was most surprised at how this list grew once we got it rolling

item	priority	notes
Electrical each side of house (4)	A
new pole for laundry line to back deck	A
taps both sides of house (or W and North)	A	On the addition/laundry room walls makes it easiest. Current tap has shutoff in basement bathroom
lights down east side of house	A	I should have done this when we did our re-wiring.
Exterior drainage	A	This will be required for the permits but right now our eavestroughs drain into the yard
Solid back fence on alley	A	6 ft. Currently it is 4ft high chain link and people hop over it to see if they can steal stuff.
gate for car	A	For secure parking
remove parking pad	A	Will get destroyed during reno but we want to make sure we are quoted on hauling it away.
single parking spot in yard with permeable surface	A
prep for path down east side of house	A	Rob and Sarah to finish with salvaged brick from chimney
New evestroughs	B
gate for people	B	we can use the car gate if this is expensive.
in ground sprinkers/drip	C
prep for car charger	C	this is the future. Would be nice to have the wire in the walls before we seal it up
Solid fence on west side	B	6 ft Neighbours yard is a dump. And privacy
New front fence with lychgate	A	4 ft?
Solid fence on east side	B	might wait as house will likely have new owners soon

7. Upstairs

With the exception of running some forced air up up there, this is aspirational and from what we have learned so far, well out of our budget.

Item	Priority	notes
Heat upstairs	A	Since we have the chimney out seems like the right time to run a duct up.
shed dormers upstairs	C	I’d like this if we can afford to have the exterior work done and some gyproc loaded through the upstairs window
bathroom upstairs (plumbing roughed in, i will finish)	C
New upstairs window	B	Could come later but might be part of energy audit

I am sure we have forgotten something….