Home Renovation : Closing it up....

Closing it up....

Sept. 5 - 6th -- The main focus these days is on closing up the house. The roofers continue to do their thing, the framers are trying to stay at least one step ahead of the roofers, and the new windows have arrived and are being installed in the original part of the house.

The roofers continue their death-defying antics on the roof as shown below.

Before

After

Here is a close up shot (I'm smart enough to NOT be on the roof) as the roofers are starting to apply the actual "bullet-proof" shingles. The shot below looks a bit "fuzzy" as I am standing on the other side of a window with a screen.

Here is the view of how the roof line of the original house ties into the roof line of the addition -- this is the upper-level master bedroom roof.

Before:

After:

Here is a view of the north-side of the house where you can see how the framers are busy building the covered deck off the master bedroom, while the roofers are nipping at their heels and have already stacked a pile of shingles to install.

The framers are working on the siding and the cedar shakes, while to the upper-left, the roofer is applying his shingles.

The window guys are the next ones to have the roofers breathing down their necks. Although just about all of the windows have been installed in the new construction, the windows are also being replaced in the original parts of the house. This involved me having to clear away items from the parts of the house where I'm living during this process, as well as me scheduling a few more days out of town.

Here is a shot of the window installer working in the upper-level bedroom (my home office and current sleeping/living area during this project). And, you'll see (in the photos below) that on the other side of this window, there is a roofer working on the roof above the front porch.

Here is another window guy working on the south-side of the house, while in the upper-left hand corner you can see another roofer working on the west end of the house.

Here is the new picture window in the front of the house, followed by a pair of new double-hung windows in the room outside my home office on the upper level.

These windows are pretty cool -- they are wood, double-pane, double-hung with a high energy efficiency rating. They also tilt out for cleaning.

I've managed to snag a few of the original 110-year-old windows, which I'll use for cold-frames to start my early crops in the veggie garden next spring (e.g., spinach, lettuce, etc)

As the roofers close in on the window crew and the framing crew, I had to include the next shots as they represent part of my fascination of how the project emerges from the architect's drawings to the reality of construction. Below you'll see the actual plans that the framers have nailed to the studs in what will be the master bathroom and master bedroom.

In particular, the framers keep checking these plans to make sure that they install the cedar shakes and fiberboard siding on the exterior of the house according to the detailed design of the architect.

At the same time, the framers' work should be appreciated one more time -- sad to think that all of this intricate woodwork will soon be covered by wallboard and paint!