Week 7: Mind the gaps

 
 

The weather was favorable this week and the guys made great progress on the second floor. The walls for the second floor all have plywood on them now. Plywood is also on the roof so we are closer to having the house be closed in and protected from the rain. There are still a few gaps left where the dormers need to be built. Next week's project I think. Matt was under the weather most of the week but the rest of the crew checked in with him multiple times each day to let him know what was happening.

All of the shingles are off the house now...except for a few behind the oil tank that we can't get to just yet because the tank is so close to the wall. I'm off on a business trip for a week starting tomorrow but when I get back it will be time to get busy on taking shingles off the garage. I'll be so glad when that part of the project is over!

Week 6: Little Tree Tops Gets a Top

 
 

The materials to build the roof for Little Tree Tops arrived this week and the framing is well underway. Fortunately, the guys had a few good weather days last week but for the most part it has been cold and rainy. I can't wait for the house to be closed in so that everthing can start drying out.

More framing for new windows was accomplished this week as well. The windows should be delivered on November 26. I didn't get a chance this week to do anything with shingles but I'm planning on getting the last little patch off the back of the house before I have to travel for work at the end of next week.

This week brought another unexpected expense...the front lawn. The boom truck that delivered the trusses was quite heavy and now I have ruts in my lawn. I doubt that the ground will "rebound" back to the way it was.

Week 5: Hurry up and wait

 
 

Some of the materials for the new roof arrived this week, but not the roof trusses. So, my house is still topless. Still there was some progress. The remaining footing for the new support columns in the basement was completed and framing for the new windows on the first floor has been started. Most of the green siding on the house is off now. There is just a small section on the back side of the house that needs to be cleared and then it is time to tackle the garage! The trusses have a "promise" date of next Tuesday so by next week there should be some dramatic changes!

Week 4: Waiting for roof trusses

 

The walls are up on the second floor and the old roof is essentially "floating" on the temporary structural braces on the first floor. The new roof system will hopefully be here next week. The weather has not been great, lots of rain and getting colder so it will be great to get the structure closed in.

Met with the builder and architect and we finalized the window schedule. Good thing we went over every single window because we found a couple of cases where the wrong window was in the specs.

Got the bill from the disposal company this week....we are at 15,000 pounds of debris and counting. Fortunately the pace at which the dumpsters are filling up has slowed significantly.

I was able to strip another wall of shingles with the help of a friend. Only two more small walls on the house are left. And then the garage.

 

Although I had hoped I could get away with minimal disruption to the in law apartment on the first floor, it was unavoidable.In the end it for the best since it will make the electrical upgrades easier and it is good to know what is behind the walls.

I'll have another unexpected expense in that it looks like there is moisture coming through some of the concrete blocks. The block work itself is done quite well and everything currently looks solid, but I'll probably have to have the front of the house trenched and have a coating put on the outside of the block work.

At this point I have three unanticipated projects: beefing up the structural members supporting the back roof, having to renovate the in law apartment, and improving the drainage along the front of the house.

 

The guys ripped up the four areas on the first floor where some new structural columns will go. The basement has about two inches of concrete and then some gravel and then sand. The sand was red so I'm not sure where it came from. We don't have red sand in this area.

We didn't quite have enough concrete (20 bags!) to finish all four new footings for the columns. The footings are reinforced with iron bars.

Weather is going to be significantly colder next week. Hope we don't get snowed on!

Week 3: Second floor emerges

 
 

I was in New York City most of the week for a business trip so was happy to come home to find the second floor framing starting to take place. The guys did a lot of framing inside the house as well to hold the house together as the second floor is constructed. When the roof trusses arrive in another week or so, the new roof will be put on and the old roof will be removed.

Unfortunately we had a lot of rain this week. Even with the old roof still on, there is a lot of water in the house...all the way down to the basement apartment. So I'll have to rip out the floors and perhaps even the walls down there as well. It's not a big deal because the floors downstairs would have been damaged anyway when the new structural support columns are installed.

This week the plan is to finalize the window schedule. There are two or three windows in the in-law apartment that I'm thinking of removing from the plan all together. I don't think they add that much to lighting or ventilation. It will also save a few bucks! I also need to try to find some time to remove more shingles. It will be much easier since the remaining shingles on the house are all at a level that won't require me to be up on scaffolding!

Week 2: Small house; many shingles

 

A lot of the week was devoted to demolition, including stripping 50 years of various roofing projects from the back of the house. And, of course, shingle removal! Some bracing walls are in place now to support the roof while the structural integrity of the back roof is improved. A new support beam for the new roof will be brought in next week.

 
 

It is satisfying to step back and look at the single removal progress. There is still a lot more to do, but it feels great to watch the fading away of the "green monster."