TUCKER'S HOUSE From the Ground Up Meet my house. I love this house. I bought it about five years ago for next to nothing. I only put a few thousand down on it. With low overhead, I am able to put lots of time into music which is how I like it. Here it is in the winter. I know what you're thinking. "How do you live in there? It's so small." Yes, you're right, it is. Here's how it works: I have a basement with a bathroom and kitchen and on the main floor I have managed to squeeze in a bedroom, living room and office. You'll see how I've done it when you read on. Here it is on the inside. To the left is my bed.I built a platform the size of a double bed mattress which I screwed it to the wall and supported four feet in the air so that I can have enough head room to use the stairs to the basement (underneath the bed). You can see my sofa (living room) and that's Maggie asleep in her dog donut. To the right, and out of frame, is my office. Lot's has happened lately. It all started in May of 2006. Sit back, now, and enjoy the action packed story of my little blue house. MAY 16th, 2006, 11:30pm Maggie was asleep in the donut and I was tapping away at my keyboard when all of a sudden. BAM. The loudest noise. My computer went flying. I was certain someone had set a bomb off outside my house. When I went outside, here's what I saw. A young guy has been speeding down the back alley beside my house, hit a speed bump, went airborne, lost control of the car and smashed the back end of my house. His car spun around and he ended up sandwiched between my house and the dry cleaning business next door. Police came and charged him with reckless driving which is lucky for me because that will work out well for me and my insurance company. It doesn't look so bad but what happened is the whole house sheared at the foundation wall and slid about an inch off its original position. This means my house isn't structurally sound anymore. I had always planned to do a second story addition with a walkout to the roof. Now that won't be possible with the house as is. MAY 18th, 2006 The guys from Con-Tech came and shored up the concrete block and covered the area with plastic and plywood as a temporary solution to moisture and security. They did a great job. Though it's not official at the moment, Terry Smith, the engineer that the insurance company sent says he feels we'll need to knock down three walls and the roof and begin again, building the house, more or less, from scratch. Could this all be good news for a girl who graduated from architecture school? Here's a sketch of what I'm hoping to build. I had always been planning a second story with a walk-out to the roof but now that insurance is paying for my first floor rebuild, including a new roof... NOW IS THE TIME TO RENOVATE!!! My drawings are in for preliminary review with the city and will soon go to Committee of Adjustments. This is a process where a hearing date is set so that neighbours can come and speak their minds about the proposed construction. Stay tuned for more updates. This is very exciting. I will be getting a new house before snowfall of 2006. Cross your fingers that it will be a little taller this time! - Tucker Finn