More framing and doors; good eatin' among the ruins

More framing and doors; good eatin' among the ruins.....

Sept. 11th -- Very good meeting with the contractor this morning...things are pretty much on schedule for the project to wrap up in December.  All framing should be done by the end of this week or early next week at the latest.

The framers worked on the hallway to the master bedroom today, as shown below.  On your right (in the photo directly below) is the framing for the closet and on the left you can see the doorway for the master bathroom.

Above is another view of the master bathroom framing taken from the master bedroom.  Eventually they will need to frame a wall on the door that currently leads to the bathroom that I am using. Fortunately, when the chimney stack is removed, there will be a temporary entry into this bathroom so that the rest of the framing for the master bathroom can be completed.

 When you live in an old house for 26 years you suffer from closet deprivation -- am I obsessed with closet and storage space?  You betcha, and here are two close-ups of the framing for the closet that will be part of the master bedroom "dressing area" (according to the architect).

Meanwhile, on the main-level we're getting some "door action."  The south wall of the gathering room addition will include floor-to-ceiling bookcases, and in the middle of the bookcase wall will be the door to the basement stairwell.  That door will be a very cool pocket door, and these photos show the framing for the future pocket door.

The rear-entry back door and the door that leads to the covered deck off the master bedroom have arrived and are awaiting installation.  Each door has a half-window with blinds within the door as shown below.

Last week it was blistering heat, and today it has been torrential downpours.  Fall has clearly arrived!  As the last days of summer are winding down, I decided to enjoy the fruits of my garden pots with a caprese salad of garden tomatoes, fresh mozzarella cheese and garden basil with some olive oil and balsamic vinegar....and a bit more red wine. 

Deja vu all over again.....

Deja vu all over again.....

Sept. 9th -- I have been away for the last few days to escape the chaos of the construction zone.   When I do escape for a few days, it is often to have fun outdoors, be with friends, and sleep in an actual bed.  These days away have been a wonderful respite and most of the time I am able to NOT think of what is happening in the construction zone.

It has also been the case that just about every time I go away, something less than desirable happens (e.g., phone and electricity cut; no power to the refrigerator).  

Yet again, I came home after being away for four days to find that there is no power to the refrigerator.  That is bad enough, but what is worse is being faced with yet again having to clean out the rotting food and mess.  

This time the window installers get the credit/blame -- for whatever reason, they unplugged the refrigerator so that they could plug in their compressors to remove the old windows and install the new ones.  Why on earth they did not plug the refrigerator power cord back into the outlet when they removed their compressors is beyond me.  The contractor speculated that they are not used to working where people are actually living.  Whatever....

The only good thing about this latest episode of powerless refrigerator is that there wasn't as much food in there this time compared to last time, so it didn't take that long to clean up.  Nevertheless, this is really getting old.  With an out of town trip coming up, I certainly hope that this turn of events will NOT happen yet a third time.  Keep your fingers crossed for me.

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!

                                    

  And, here is the west view (to your left) of the rear of the house, and the north view (to your right) in the two photos below.