We Get An Extersion

We saw our architect, Julie, 2 weekends ago (at a friend's party), and she mentioned that the roof overhangs looked too short (she was worried about the look).  I went up and measured, and lo and behold, they exactly matched the drawing.  Later that week, the owner of construction company suggested that we extend the roof overhangs because it didn't look "Craftman" enough.  He had the carpenters extend the roof overhang by an additional foot and here are the results.

I agree that it looks better.

After we moved the wall (that the electricians noticed was out of place), I realized that we also needed to move the door in Val's room.

Val and her new door.

The owner of the carpentry team welded the metal posts in the basement in place.  I missed getting a picture of him actually welding, but here is the final product.  The metal posts from the 1st level to the roof will be put in when the stairs get put in.

The electricians ran the wires earlier this week and the plumber started to lay the piping in the floor (pictures to come). 

We finally picked out cabinets for the bathrooms.  I think all of the decisions we need to make are the most painful.  We need help and I think it may be on the way.  More to come.

Trades Hard at Work

It's been a while, but the crews have been hard at work.  From the outside it looks like work has slowed, but I can assure you there has been a lot going on.  The HVAC guys were the first in, placing the air handler, running duct (both overhead and in the floor), and running the refrigerant line to the heat pump location.

Overhead Ducting in Master Bedroom

In floor ducting running to office.

Refrigerant line along side chimney.

The air handler was moved from the "utility" space (in dormer by Val's bedroom) to an overhead location to make it easier to run duct.  We were concerned about changing air handler filters in this location, so we moved the filters to the duct intakes where they are easier to get to.

The electricians were also in to rough-in recessed lighting and outlets/switches.  We had to made a small change to the Master Bath vanity design to ensure that the mirror was centered on the sinks and that the sconces and mirrors fit in the space between the window and wall.  Walk-thrus at this time are invaluable.  We also notice that a wall was about 1 foot off during this walk through.  Bo-Bud's (the general) Josh had the framers back in that afternoon to fix.  Also, a big thumbs up to Carl's team (electrician).

Recessed lighting in hallway.

There was some outside work done.  The roof was papered in preparation for roofing and the carport overhang was extended to fit the Arts and Craft design.

Lots and lots of decision to make at this time including shower walls material, vanities, counter tops, entry door, and stone facade.  Could we have done this sooner?  Sure, but what fun would that be.

Stone Samples

The plumber is in next.  Expect roofing and metal posts in basement next week.  The windows may be deliverable at the end of next week.

Framing Done - What's Next?

Framing is complete including Val's dormer and all interior walls.  Progress will now appear to slow, as the fun stuff is done.

Val's Dormer on right

Val will have a nice set of large windows looking to the front yard.

There will be 2 closets for the Master Bedroom.  One that opens into the room.

That's it on the left with 2 double doors.

The 2nd closet is in the dressing area that also serves as a hallway to get to the office from the Master Bedroom.

The 2nd closet would be on the left here.

They started roughing in the ductwork today and should finish tomorrow.  We decided to move the air handler out of some spare space in the corner of a dormer to the small attic space.  This will make running the ducting a lot easier.  We just have to make sure that we can get up there to perform maintenance (i.e. replace filters). 

Air Handler in overhead

Ducting in Master Bedroom

Along with completing the ducting, the paper should be installed on the roof tomorrow with the shingles going on early next week. 

Val's Room Framed

Today, Val's room was framed out.  She will have a L-shaped room.  Her bed will be in the dormer with a desk/sitting area in the other part of the L.

Val sleeping area.

She will also have a walk-in closet.  I remember sharing a room with 2 brothers.  If I remember correctly, I was the sitting area and we certainly didn't have a walk-in closet (maybe it was a shove-in closet).

Val's Closet

We'll have a small office at the front of the main dormer.  Access to it will be through a dressing area off the master bedroom.  It should be a nice quiet spot.

Step down into the Office

Besides framing Valerie's room, they also closed off the main dormers. 

Main Dormer Up

After a day off due to a delay in materials, the main dormer was framed on Saturday.  In the first picture you can see the foyer and the opening for the stained glass window.  You can also see the hole for Valerie's bedroom dormer.

From the side you can see where the front door will be.  The foyer should be nice with built-ins to accommodate coats, shoes, and the variety of miscellaneous things that kids collect and travel with.

The framing should be done early this week with roofing, masonry, and the trades rough-in (HVAC, electrical, plumbing) following closely behind. 

Getting Ready for the Dormers

A lot of the day was spent on preparing to frame out the dormers.  This included framing the foyer and porch since a dormer will extend out over these areas.  We did pass an inspection today for the floor joists (hoo-ray)!

I like this picture from the side.  It gives a good perspective of the rooflines.

Anybody know any good interior decorators who would work gratis.  I get no joy in picking out cabinets, countertops, etc.  Sooooo many decisions and toooo many choices.

2nd Post of the Day - The Framing Begins

They began framing in earnest today after spending the last couple of days laying the floor joists and the band.  It's going up quick.

From the Front

Back

Side

Julie's bedroom is taking shape.  She is very excited.

Julie's Room

Julie's Closet

Valerie & Julie actually worked up the nerve to climb the ladder to check out the progress.

We met with our general contractors today (Bo-Bud Construction), to discuss the many little details that need to be decided even as early as the framing stage (e.g. recessed medicine cabinets).  Jeff (manager) brought his dad along who's the original Bud.  Bo-Bud has been around since 1955.  In fact, it turns out that our neighbor Mark Reynolds worked as a mason's assistant for Bo-Bud in the 1970s and another neighbor, Steve Karlinchak, did some surveying for them.

2 Posts Today - The Roof Comes Off (Thursday, August 26)

The crew started removing the roof last Thursday, August 26.  Lots of noise and very little damage...

except for the bathroom.  I think someone dropped something.  Also a hanging picture fell to the floor.  I have no idea why we didn't remove all the pictures from the walls beforehand.

Taking the roof off left quite a mess, but they did a real good job cleaning up afterwards.