It has long been the American dream to take ownership of a car. Most of us want that to happen as soon as we are entitled to a driver's license. Taking possession of your first automobile usually comes at an early age, when the maturation process is just beginning to take root.

After college, usually the next serious objective is marriage, which is followed by an even bigger dream— owning your own home. Even if your job doesn't bring about a succession of changes of addresses, chances are your first home won't be the last.

Often, couples find a home they like, and after a few years circumstances often dictate that they don't want to live anywhere else. However, you become inclined to initiate a makeover. Add a room, enlarge the kitchen and bedrooms. Design that special room for the down time in your life.

I can remember adding on to our house. It was an old house with charm, but the rooms were too small. The big issue was that our two kids had to share a bath.

Our daughter was older, and for a budding teenage girl there are two musts in life—a private bathroom and a telephone. Any parent who disagrees is headed for a frustrating coexistence.

A construction project is met with anticipation, excitement, anxiety, and constant worry. You know how you want things to look, you know how much money you have to spend, and you can't tolerate the likelihood of going over budget.

If you build or renovate, you should begin by remembering the long-standing adage that there are two constants in life—death and taxes—and then can add two more to the list: construction delays and cost overruns.

At last, the project comes to conclusion. You can't wait for that first night in your newly upgraded home. You can't wait to cook that first meal in your new kitchen.

We have been watching our neighbors Mike and Jennifer Fitzgerald move back into their house after adding on and undergoing a makeover.

They have a spectacular new kitchen, a spacious master bedroom, walk-in closets, and a patio/alcove out back that will surely cause their neighbors to wear out their welcome.

To begin with, the patio has a fireplace to rival the American Express Card—you don't want to leave home without it. A flat-screen TV hangs by the fireplace.

My initial advice to Mike was that he should never come home for lunch when the fall chill is in the air. It will be difficult to return to the office.

It will also be a challenge for him to work on weekends with his patio accessories. A fire simmering in an outside fireplace with a flat-screen TV does not provide inspiration to clean out the garage or rake the leaves.

I have been invited to christen the first fire of the fall. Already, I have the champagne on order. If, around Thanksgiving, you hear that a certain resident in our town has evicted a neighbor from his patio, it won't be difficult to figure out whom the sheriff came looking for.