Brrrr...

Temperatures in the low teens, wind chills near zero and the construction continues. Mike and his crew were there early again this morning. The roof construction is underway. The rafters will be in place today and plywood starts going up Monday. I can't wait for the roofer to begin. I think the house will really start taking on a personality when the cedar shingles are installed.

Now that the exterior walls are up, Mark is planning to get some of the mechanical trades in next week. Will be nice to have several things being accomplished simultaneously.

The photo below is a bit dark, but I wanted to show what will be the conservatory. Windows will surround this nook - three tall windows along the back and one tall, casement on either side. The two casements will open. And of course the roof will be made of glass. This will be our eating area in the kitchen. I will try to get a better photo.

Audrey in what will be the kitchen/family room - see below. I am standing in the mudroom to take the photo.

Looking like a real house...

Can you believe how far they've gotten today? Despite the continued cold temperatures, Mike and his crew made real progress. Tomorrow's plan entails making some modifications to the existing house gables in order to best blend the old and new. They may begin work on the wall studs as well. The roof will start to go up on Friday. Mike estimates that will take two days. We're rollin now!

The footers for the garage (see below) went in today. Mahlon will not be able to start laying block, however, until the temperature warms a bit. We're planning for next week. This will be good timing as Mike should be ready by then to begin framing the garage.

Movin on up...

First, let me start by saying today's weather conditions were far from desirable. Temperatures were in the mid 20's with wind chills in the low teens, and of course we had the occasional snow flurry. Mike and his crew had to be freezing, but that didn't seem to slow them down. They arrived early, worked hard, and left after dark.

They are now working on the second floor. The floor joists are all in place. The plywood subfloor has been laid, and the template has been drawn to begin laying out the studs. It is so exciting to see it all coming together. It's getting easier and easier to visualize the end product.

Met with George this afternoon to double check the window order. Seems we have a couple modifications to make - hoping to get the order submitted in the morning.

Also, discussed the conservatory with George. We need to find a supplier FAST! Looks like we'll be ready for this structure in about four weeks...anyone know of a good custom conservatory craftsperson???

The cut out for the upstairs hallway leading into new construction.

The photo below shows the view from the master bedroom. Clearly landscaping needs to be a priority - think lots of really big Hemlocks!

First floor is taking shape...

The family room, powder room, kitchen, pantry, laundry room, and mud room are already framed. I must confess, John and I both thought it looked a lot bigger on paper. As the framing continues, it is becoming quite apparent just how far we have to go - finish the first floor, the whole second floor, AND the garage! Keep your fingers crossed that the impending cold, snowy weather does not delay our progress.

Had a very successful meeting on Friday with the Jeld Wen window rep. We hope to finalize/place the order on Monday. He assures us the order will arrive in two weeks. This should be good timing as Mike will have finished the framing by then. Mike will be ready to install windows and doors. The roofing will begin then as well.

Because the job site is already so limited in space available, Mark has to be careful not to schedule too much activity at once. Ideally the roofer could be working on the existing roof now, but there is no room for his asphalt shingle removal or for storing the new cedar shingles.

Being a part of this process takes me back to my broadcast production days...so many elements all coming together to create a final product...and within a "tight" budget. A favorite quote in film production is "We'll fix it in post (production)". In construction, we say, "Mike will fix it".

The rear view...you can see where the french doors will go in the family room.

The view into kitchen. I am standing in what will be the garage.

I am standing in what will be the driveway.

Framing begins...

The subfloor takes shape.

Side porch block is in place.

Family room fireplace block is in place. The crawl space cement vapor barrier is scheduled to be poured tomorrow (Thursday). Once poured, framing will continue on this part.

Masonry work continues...

Things are happening quickly now - a lot behind the scenes and cannot be measured easily with a picture.

The foundation has been inspected. Footers have been poured for the fireplace and side porch. The drain tiles are all in. Some of the foundation has been back filled with dirt. The sump pump connection is in place.

Mechanicals - heating and plumbing - visited the job site to day. Plan is for them to get as much as possible in the crawl space as soon as possible.

Mike and Tom put the steel beam in place. Lumber should arrive tomorrow (Wednesday) and framing will begin then.

We did have some challenges arise regarding the storm sewer - not exactly sure what all will be involved to tie into the public system. The original house apparently was not tied into any storm sewer. The gutters just emptied at the foundation.

I will try to get some action shots tomorrow. Our masonry crew is Amish and I have tried to respect their desire to not be photographed.

Footers for the fireplace are under this tarp.

Footers for side porch are under this tarp.

The old floor on what will be the family room has been removed. Dirt has been smoothed. Cement vapor barrier will be poured on Thursday - day after tomorrow.

Steel support is in place. The opening has been created to connect old and new basement. The tarp is hanging to help keep the weather out of the house.

A productive couple of days...we're back on track (knock on wood)

Foundation work continues. We are amazed at how much this Amish crew can accomplish in a day. This is the progress after three days...amazing.

The view from upstairs looking down into the basement.

This will be a finished rec room.

The interior framing has begun as well.

The entrance to Audrey's bedroom from the hallway.

We are going to leave the chimney brick exposed - painted white, of course.

The view from Audrey's bedroom looking into her bathroom.

Audrey's two closets indicated on the floor.

The existing window will be gone and a dormer window with window seat

will be added in between the two closets.

Ahhh, the January thaw...

After two days of clearing the job site of fallen snow (all totaled about three feet) and dirt that had caved in, Mahlon and his crew arrived today to begin the masonry work. The basement walls are beginning to take shape.

The long-range forecast calls for mild temperatures in the 40's and no real threat of precipitation. Our hope is to begin framing next week. Keep your fingers crossed...

On hold...

I have lost track of how much snow we actually have on the ground at this point. Think it is somewhere around 32 inches...and more coming...

We are waiting for the excavator to remove some dirt that caved in after the footers were installed. As soon as this dirt/snow can be removed, the masonry folks can start laying cement block.