Week 20: Dry wall begins

 
 
 
 

No changes on the exterior siding this week--- but on the interior, the dry wall is going up. I was surprised when I walked in the house because it was warm and then discovered that a couple of the heaters have been installed and hooked up. The electrician got the upstairs circuit panel installed, too. No more tangle of dangling wires. Looks nice and neat.

The guys installed my front door. I still need to stain it so that it looks like wood but it is nice to have a real door instead of a piece of plywood! I like the door. It matches the style of the windows really nicely.

Looks like most of next week will be devoted to hanging dry wall. I talked with the kitchen/bath designer and finalized the design of my master bath shower so I should be getting the bid for that installation job next week.

Week 19: Spray Foam Convert

 
 
 
 

It was a crazy week this week. On Sunday Matt was hospitalized and he was out for the week. But in Matt-like fashion he still directed a lot of the work at the house from his hospital bed. The good news is that he is fine and got out of the hospital yesterday. Even though he should be resting he went to the site to check in with the rest of the guys today.

We thought the insulation team was coming on Monday but never got confirmation from them so I was doubtful that they would show up. Then, on Sunday into Monday the weather deteriorated and the roads were so bad on Monday I was certain the insulation guys wouldn't make the 70-80 mile drive to Seal Harbor. But I was wrong. They showed up at 9:30 on Monday (about 3 minutes after I left the site) and got right to work. The three men were efficient, courteous and professional. It took them three days and they left the house neat and tidy. I was very impressed so I'm now a big fan of New England Spray Foam Insulation in Bangor, Maine. BUT...what is even more impressive is the performance of the insulation. I could heat the house with a candle at this point.

While the insulation was going in the construction crew worked on siding when the weather would allow. Today they moved back into the house to start the strapping for the dry wall.

The other good news is that the plumbing passed inspection with flying colors.

Not sure what the plan is for next week. I'm thinking that they guys will alternate between siding and dry wall depending on the weather. Some of my exterior doors arrived so those might get installed as well.

Week 18: Siding!

 
 
 
 

This week the old oil tank was removed and the oil was transferred to the new tank. Once the old tank was out of the way the very last of the old green shingles were removed. Hurrah!

The guys started with the exterior siding this week. I really like the green-grey color..it is very soothing. The cement board requires a special caulk along the edges but it will have to be applied later in the spring because the temperatures have to be above 50 F.

On the inside of the house the plumber and electrician scrambled to finish the rough in so that the spray foam insulation contractor can do his work next week. Unfortunately the code officer didn't have time to inspect the plumbing on Friday. She'll be by next Tuesday. My heating units arrived and are sitting in the garage so once the walls are ready everything is ready for installation! If the insulation goes well next week the next step will be to get the dry wall up. The guys who did the roofing will do the mudding and taping because they are masters at it.

I met with the contractor who is going to build the shower in the master bath. He measured everything out and will give me the quote next week. It won't be cheap...but it will be way cool when it is completed. I spent several hours at Home Depot on Friday picking out the flooring for the bathrooms. I also spent several hours on-line on Friday night seeing if I could find the same tile for a cheaper price!

Week 17: Cold, but productive

 
 
 
 

The chimney is officially completed this week and the Fire Chief came by to inspect. There are a few things he'd like changed with respect to existing framing but it is all pretty minor. Great to have that project "in the bag"!

The plumbers and electrician have been busy with their work. I even have one of my shower units in place! The plan is for them to be finished with the rough in(and inspection) next week so that the insulation team can come in the week of January 18 to do their job.

The carpenters worked on building some chases for the plumbing and for the venting of my new stove. They also fixed the height of the big picture window so that it is far enough off the ground to meet the building code. They also started the exterior siding and built a new little A-frame roof over one of the entrance doors to the in law apartment. The first pallet of siding showed up on Friday. I was going to go for a light grey siding but in the end I really liked something called Nantucket Gray...which is a green-grey color. My house will blend in nicely with the surrounding trees.

The new exterior doors have been ordered. I went with a fiberglass Therma-tru door for the main entrance instead of a wood door. Although real wood is nice, I'm right next to the water and I worried about how a wood door would fare with all of the changes in humidity. There were two that I really liked, but I went with the simpler one that matched the style of the windows.