The Rock is Up and the Heat is On

Tommy helped us sheetrock all the ceilings while he was home for New Year's weekend.  He and Bruce held up the sheets while I screwed them in.  It would have been no fun at all without Tommy and his 21-year-old strength.

Since then, Bruce and I have finished all the walls upstairs and have the basement almost done.

Bruce also installed sun tubes in our bathroom and Mimi's living room.  They are a big success.

The heat went in on January 14th, and the temperatures soared into the fifties and beyond.  Goodbye long-johns. 

Coincidentally, the heat also reached the fifties outside - our Halloween pumpkin usually doesn't look this sad until April.

All Buttoned Up

A lot of behind-the-walls work was done on Mimi's house since Thanksgiving.  Our weekends were spent framing up the bookcase/desk/closet wall, strapping the ceiling, finalizing the electrical and plumbing plans, and insulating the basement with 2" foam board.  When that was all done, it was time to bring in the professionals. The plumber and the electrician did all their roughing in, and an insulating company picked up where we left off.  "Itchy and Scratchy" (great name or what?) blew dense-pack cellulose into the walls and sprayed foam in the rim-joists and eves. They will return after we sheetrock the walls and ceilings to blow 16" of cellulose into the attic.

The South wall will have three bays of bookcases on the left (in the living room), a desk in the center, and two closets and the corner cupboard on the right (in the dining room).

The future guestroom.  Next step - sheetrock.

This was the only day we have had so far with snow on the ground.  The mild weather allowed some shingling to be done.  The rest will have to wait until Spring.

We are taking time off from real work between the holidays to sheetrock and install the sun-tube.  Stay tuned...

MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY NEW YEAR!

November 26th

The grand finale of our week of work on Mimi's house:  The installation of Bruce's door:

November 20th

It has been a busy few weeks since I last posted. Mark ran the marathon, escaped D.C. just ahead of the super storm, and was back at work on Monday morning. By the time Mimi arrived for our big Obama Party Part Two (yeah!), the roof was shingled, the soffits were built, and the windows were in. Since then, Mark has built the basement stairway and re-built the entryway to Albert's specifications. At this point, there are only small odds and ends for him to finish up. It is finally our turn!  We took the end of last week off and started the shingling but moved inside to frame walls over the weekend. We need to get those done so the electrician can rough in next week. The weather is cooperating, with temperatures rising into the mid-forties during the day. I never thought that would be comfortable to work in but it is amazing how warming a hammer can be. We should have the walls all up by the time we head to Exeter for Thanksgiving. Thank you to Nancy for taking over on that front.

The leaves and campaign signs are gone.  Time marches on.

The basement window on the left is one of the five that Bruce built. The one on the right is an egress window required by code whenever there is a basement bedroom. There is a 3' well in front of it that you can't see.

doorway into bathroom with stairway to basement on left

the shower is a ReStore find

Wow, this is just too much fun. We may have to change our business model...  

HAPPY THANKSGIVING EVERYONE!

October 26th

October 26th:  Finally, a dry week! 

Mark and Jerry worked long days to make up for lost time this week.  The new trusses arrived on Monday and they were all up and decked over by the end of Thursday.  It is quiet today because Mark is on his way to D.C. to run in the Marine Corps Marathon BUT we have a roof - just in time for the snor'eastercane (aka Frankenstorm Sandy).  (Of course, a shingled roof would be even better.)

the newly designed trusses - thank you Albert

Building Tip of the Week:  If you are frustrated with the rate of progress on your construction project, bake your builders cookies.

The Walls Go Up

October 1-5:  Mark and Jerry framed up the walls this week, despite continued rain.  It is very exciting to finally be able to stand in the space.  At the same time we had a design crisis - Friday afternoon Bruce asked Mark to confirm that the soffits of the existing house and the addition were going to be in line (a clearly stated requirement of ours from the start).  Mark casually reported that they wouldn't because it was impossible to make roof trusses to accomplish it, and that "everything would be fine".  The trusses are already built and were due to arrive on Tuesday.  We put them on hold and were struggling with the dilemma when we had a serendipitous visit from Albert Putnum.  Yes, that's Mary's cousin who now lives around the corner and is a structural engineer extraordinaire   He, of course, designed new trusses on the spot.  So, new trusses it is and a delay of a couple of weeks.  We are kicking ourselves for not consulting with Albert at the start of the project.  Live and learn.

The big living room window (it will be a 9' triple casement), the front door, and the bedroom window.

The Thompson Street side.  Mimi's driveway will be centered on this end.  She will walk around to the left to her front door.  Two of the little square windows are in the bedroom and one is in the bathroom.

The Barrows Street side.  Mimi's dining room table will be centered on the big window.  The middle window will be over her sink; the left window, in the bathroom.

Looking out the living room window into the woods.

Standing in the middle of the dining-living room looking to the bedroom/bathroom wall.

Happy Columbus Day!

A Productive Week

September 24-28:  It's starting to look like something. Mark and Jerry Favreau raced against the rain this week and made some headway with the framing.  They finished the week by putting the sub-floor down in the pouring rain.  Stay tuned for the walls next week.  

Yes, that's a hose.  Mark installed a pump that is pumping out water not nearly as fast as it is filling the basement.  Bruce rigged up a big tarp and put up temporary gutters at the end of the house, which are helping immensely.  This weather needs to change.  Notice the beautiful trees that will be out Mimi's kitchen and dining room windows.