A new doorway....

A new doorway.....

September 19th -- The new doorway from the dining room to the future pergola-covered deck was installed today.  I talked to the mason this morning as he started to lay the brick around the installed door.  It is so fascinating to watch these craftsmen do their work, and I think they actually like the fact that someone is interested in what they do.  This mason entered this trade through a union-sponsored apprenticeship when he was in his 20s.  His father was laying bricks well into his 80s when his wife told him that he had to stop.  Because there is a building boom in my city these days, the mason told me that he gets so many calls that it is difficult to keep up. On some days he is working at up to four different locations.  He is so overbooked that he can't take on any new projects until November.

This mason is so good at his craft that he did a really smart thing.  When the two dining room windows were removed he kept the two stone "subsills" from each of the old windows.  You can see the original subsill, painted blue, on the window at the extreme right in the photo below.  The mason cut the subsills and used them to create a step at the bottom of the sliding door.  How cool is that?  You can see the subsill steps at the bottom of the sliding doors in the photos below.

Before

 During

Almost After

And, here is the view of the doors from inside the dining room.  There will be new molding around the window to match the existing molding in the house.

Another development today is that the rest of the original brick wall of the back of the house was removed.  

Before:  You can see the original back door that led to the mudroom (to the left), the original kitchen window (behind the box on the dolly)


.
During: Here the door, wall and the window have been removed



Almost after:  The rest of the wall is gone!

 

This is the view from inside the kitchen -- imagine there will be a dishwasher in this corner and on the other side of the brick will be double ovens (and the rest of the new galley kitchen)!

Work continues to install the new heating system.  In the photo to your left, at the foot of the stairwell to the basement you can see the old furnace has been removed and positioned to soon be taken up these stairs and out to the construction dumpster.  In the photo to the right is where the new furnace will be moved and connected to the new venting system.

 In this section of the venting you can see where the dampers will be installed for the zone heating system.

And, finally there is now some plywood that is covering the original doorway to the the remaining functioning bathroom on the upper level!  There is still a hole in the floor, but I have partially obstructed it with a piece of wood.  I am looking forward to some privacy and less draft when I take my shower in the morning.

More holes, this time for doors....

More holes, this time for doors....

September 18th  -- I arrive at my house around 7:30 am to find that the plumbers have been here for a while to repair the sewer line.  Again, I am beyond impressed with the contractor's ability to get his subs on the job to address issues as they arise.   The plumbers have hooked up a new sewer line, checked it out multiple times (that is, with multiple flushes) and they tell me it is good to go, which really means that I'm good to go.  Mind you, I've been very careful this morning not to stop for a latte on the way back to my house because I had no idea when the plumbers would arrive.

Just as the plumbers are leaving, the framing crew, electricians, and a few roofers show up. The roof will be inspected today and they need to patch the hole in the roof where the chimney stack was, along with installing the appropriate flashing.  

Through the hole in the bathroom floor the framers are having a real tough time with preparations to insert the support beam.  Of course, they are working just below the hole in the upper-level bathroom.  I'm hanging around for my meeting with the kitchen designer.  Eventually, I need to go...so, I find a piece of carpet padding that I can throw over the hole so I can quickly use the toilet.  Just as I get the hole covered and am ready to drop my pants, I look up and there is the face of one of the roofers looking down at me.  Change of plans...no using the toilet now.  Also, there is too much work on the main level,  so my meeting with the kitchen designer is postponed and I'm heading to the office (and the restroom).

Before I know it, the contractor sends me a text to tell me that the mason has arrived, the furnace crew is on site, and the contractor is leaving a shop vac for me to clear out the upper-level bathroom dust and debris.

The same mason who did that amazing job to move the doorway in the foundation to align with the new basement stairwell is back.  The mason is going to remove the windows in the dining room and remove bricks so that the sliding door to the south-side deck can be installed -- more demolition as part of the wall around the windows will come out.

Here is a photo BEFORE CONSTRUCTION of the south side of the house with the double windows in the dining room.




At the end of the day when I come home, here is a DURING CONSTRUCTION photo showing a piece of plywood where the dining room windows and brick have been removed.  Tomorrow, the mason will install the sliding door and replace the brick around the door.



Here is the view of that plywood, covering up yet another hole in the house, from inside the dining room.

Here are two closer views of the hole where the sliding doors will be installed tomorrow.

Here is the new sliding door that will replace the plywood -- this isn't easy to see as the sliding door is leaning up against some framing in the kitchen.  It is pretty heavy and will require a few of the framers to lift the door so that the mason can align it before replacing the bricks.

Here is the original wall between the dining room and the small bedroom on the main level. 

The architect has designed the removal of this load-bearing wall so that it will be moved about a foot in order to enlarge the small bedroom into a guest suite.  The design calls for a new wall that will feature library doors between the dining room and the guest suite. Here is the framing for the new wall with the horizontal slats showing the framing for the library doors that will retract into the wall when open to the fullest.  When closed, the library doors will have frosted glass panes to bring light into the guest suite, yet also provide privacy.  

More framing.  I know this just looks like a bunch of lumber, but this is the view, from the guest suite, of the guest suite bathroom (to the right you can see the doorway framing and right below it the claw foot tub that will be relocated. to the rear wall.  If you look carefully there is a black pipe with a section of white pipe that goes up to the ceiling.  Yep, you guessed correctly -- that is the now repaired, once compromised, sewer line.  To the left of the newly repaired sewer line is a wall that will be part of the pantry.  To the very left of this photo you will see some more horizontal slats, which is the framing for the pocket door for the laundry room that is located on the other side of the pantry.

The next photos are my attempts to try to capture the new beam that was installed that now carries the load of the demolished load-bearing wall.  This isn't easy to describe, but if you look closely at the next few photos, you can see a thick wooden beam above the framing for the wall with the library doors.

The other area of progress in the house has been made by the team that is installing the new heating system.  the furnace has been delivered and now sits in the basement, waiting for the old furnace to be removed.  In the meantime, all sorts of heat runs are showing up between the joists and studs.

The main heat run to the second floor is shown below, but it hasn't been installed yet.  I'm hoping to be able to see how they install the vacuum system in the heat runs that will form the zone heating system; one of the more interesting features of this high efficiency system.

The amount of progress that is being made on so many fronts is really staggering.  There is a real sense of urgency to install all the walls, doors, windows, and mechanical systems as the weather is turning colder.  Once all the walls are framed, doors installed, and the heating system is in, the plumbers will come in to install the rough-in valves and pipes.   Then the electricians will arrive for electrical outlet, switch and light placements and wiring.  After that, the contractor promised there will be a major clean up of the site.  The contractor also warned me that I will enjoy the major clean up for a few days before the drywall crew shows up and that nasty construction dust returns.  At least that is yet another thing to look forward to!

Deconstruction before construction...

Deconstruction before construction....

September 17th --This is the week of another big round of demolition.  We're around the half-way mark on this project.  While there has already been a good deal of demolition (i.e., the original rear wall of the house), now we are getting to more interior demolition -- so far this week, a new doorway into the existing upper-level bathroom and removing the internal chimney stack.  Upon reflection, the demolition phases are probably the most difficult and stressful of this process in terms of the toll on my psyche, especially living among the ruins, as I have chosen to do.  In addition to the pure destruction of demolition, there is the aftermath .... construction dust, the clean up -- which is really nothing more than my attempt to impose some order on a chaotic process (for me, it is a pretty good coping mechanism).  Although the demolition so far has been on the upper-level, today the demolition is on the main floor, where the current wall between the dining room and a small bedroom will come down because it needs to be moved to increase the size of the small bedroom into what will be the guest suite. This is a load-bearing wall, so it is a big deal to take down.  

Once again, preparation is key.  In the foyer there are two doorways -- one leads into the main level bedroom that will be enlarged into the guest suite (which is sealed off in the photo to your left) and the other door leads into the current living room/temporary kitchen (which is sealed off in the photo to your right).  When the load-bearing wall comes down there will be lots of that nasty construction dust.

Here is a view of the load-bearing wall that will come down.  To the left of the heat register is the chimney stack that will be removed. 

The framers need to construct two temporary support walls on each side of the load-bearing wall to support the second floor before they take this wall down.  The next photo shows that the load-bearing wall is gone and you can see the two temporary support walls.  

Tomorrow the framers will need to insert a beam where the load-bearing wall was that will take the load where the upper-level floor joists meet.  The structural engineer has declared that a support post will also be constructed in the basement to help support these loads.  All I care about is that this old house doesn't fall down.  

Since they have removed the chimney stack, here is a view, from the upper-level bathroom into the main level, where you can see one of the temporary support walls.  Yes, there is a giant hole in the floor of the only remaining bathroom and source of running water in the house.

Somehow in the process of all this demolition, the sewer line for the upper-level bath (which travels down to the main-level floor before going into the basement) was compromised.  That means there is a leak and to avoid the risk of contamination, I cannot use the upper-level bath room facilities until the plumbers can repair this problem. The best contractor in the world has already arranged for the plumbers to come by tomorrow to address this problem.  

Well, that presents an unexpected challenge when the contractor tells me I cannot spend the night in the house.  Fortunately, I have some back up plans and will spend the night at the home of some very dear and generous friends. 

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            The contractor is really putting the pressure on the framers to get their part of the job completed, so there is also more framing progress in the midst of demolition.  Behind the saw horse in this next photo you can see the framing for the fireplace along the south wall of the mast bedroom.  Yeah, this is a total indulgence, but how wonderful will this fireplace be on a snowy winter night?

More framing progress...this photo (to the left) shows the framing for the shower in the master bathroom and behind it you are actually seeing the framing that will close the wall to the existing upper-level bathroom.  And this photo (below) shows the area that will be framed in for the toilet, adjacent to the shower.

Probably because I really can't believe there is this giant hole between the upper- and main-levels of the house, here is another view, this time from the main-level looking up.  As you might imagine, I will be very happy when there are no more of these holes in the house.

I am packing up my stuff to head out for the night.  I'll be back in the morning to meet the kitchen designer, and I hopefully will return to a repaired sewer line so I can be back in my house.