The Horror Inside

Day 72

So I managed to get some pics before they boarded up the house today.  Here's the old guest room from a vantage point I've never seen.  Window, wall, and doors missing.  And I would have had to have a hovercraft to view it from here.

Here's the kitchen without the door or window or wall.  Our attic is seeing sun for the first time in who knows how long.

For some reason the new windows arrived.  I think they are going to be sitting around for a while.

And finally, part of our roof is missing.  They put a big beam just below there to support what is left of the roof.  Now that there won't be a wall there, something has to keep the roof above our heads.

e

The Incredible Shrinking House

Day 71

We lost a little more square footage today.

It's like it's creeping toward us.  We also lost a door.

 

And a window.

 

But we got some walls.

 

And, no, that isn't my hat either.

 

The Monkey In Me

Day 70

Yeah, I'm climbing around as evidenced by this picture.

I'm just wondering what is behind that wood.  I know they are doing work but I have no access to those areas from inside the house.  I guess I'll just have to be patient.

It looks like they have been putting those small boards between the joists.  That looks like a tedious and time consuming task and they are everywhere.

They also put up more plywood walls.  That wall on the right is where the joists meet in the middle so it has to be extra strong.

We got a schedule of decisions that we need to make.  If all goes according to plan, things should be done by mid-December.  However, there are a lot of things that need to fall into place to meet that date so we are cautiously optimistic.

Plywood going up.

Day 68

There are some permanent walls going up.

There are a few plywood walls that they take down and put up everyday but for the permanent walls, they use new wood and nails instead of screws.

That wall there is between what will be the office and the bedroom.  I believe they are using plywood instead of drywall there because it will also be support a wall above it so it needs to be strong.

Sorry this is not so entertaining but it seems framing and plywood walls are going to be the pattern for the next week or two.  Expect uncreative posts.

That's All?

Day 67

Only one picture today.

This is the southwest corner of the extension.  They installed the joists above and finished framing the wall all the way to the house.

Now before you get irate and call the company because they did so little work today (I do appreciate your sympathy) they did frame the wall between the old master bedroom and the extension as well as the wall between the hallway/room (we still don't know what to call that area) and the extension.  Plywood and plastic prevented me from taking good pictures of that.

Last but not least, they moved a whole big pile of scraps from in front of my garage at my request.  I don't think the band would be happy if I showed up to the gig with no drums because I couldn't get them out of the garage. 

And I Thought They Did Lots Of Work Yesterday

Day 66

They seem to be stepping it up.  At least to this layman.  Check it out.

Is it a roof?  Is it a floor?

 

Not just framing but real walls.  Permanent ones!

Joists everywhere!

Tomorrow, I'd bet they complete the rest of the joists and nail the plywood in place for the upstairs floor.  And then I'm going to climb up there and walk around.

We also went to meet a fixture person today at General Plumbing where we chose sinks, fixtures, and a toilet.  And we now do not have access to our old guest room anymore.  They taped that door shut.

Doorways To Wherever

Day 65

Sorry there was no blog post yesterday.  They were working at another site so no work was done at our place.  What's encouraging is that they felt the need to tell us on Friday that they would be missing Monday.  What I infer is that they intend to be here ALL THE TIME!  Yay for us!

They did a lot of observable work today.  I can now see doorways.

 

That's not my hat.

 

And there are windows.

 

 

Here is the doorway to our old kitchen.

 

 

And here is why it's all taped up (at least before I pushed through it):

I guess since they are almost done with the downstairs framing, they decided to start demoing the inside of the kitchen.  I think that is some 98 year old wood there.

Also, a big shout out to Mika and me!  It is our 19th Anniversary.  We are going to celebrate by eating fancy tonight.

Lumbering Along

Day 61

More framing going on.  Starting to see where doorways are going to be.  Here's a part where there used to be a sliding glass door that's going to be a wall.

 

Also, they worked on more interior walls.

  

And the second floor arrived today.  Here's what it looks like for now.

Baby Steps

Day 60

Perhaps this is the pace at which things will continue.  It feels much less dramatic than the concrete stuff.  But at the same time, it feels a much more precise and careful. There's additional reinforcement on the walls that went up yesterday and a bit more deconstruction on the existing house.

 

See that rectangle on the floor?  That is going to be the "Throne Room".

No, that is not a roll of toilet paper on the right.  Much too soon for that.

We Were Framed!

Day 59

The wall aren't just in our imagination anymore.

They're just mostly transparent.

You Have To Break It Down Before You Build It Up

Day 58

I think that's a loose quote from a movie, or the military, or a movie about the military.  That's what is happening to our house.

They're doing a lot of measuring and they are being careful about removing the old stucco.  They have to save that door and the window next to it to be put elsewhere in the addition.  They have also laid down the anchors for the outside walls.

 

And a quick plug for our design/build firm, in case any of the 3 of you who are reading this post want to do some renovations or building:

 Yup, this prominent 4' x 4' sign now resides in our front yard.

Making A Trade

Day 57

We traded the pile of dirt that was here:

For this pile of lumber:

 

 

It also seems that they are looking for the upstairs floor.

 

 

 Other than that, not much was done today.   There were only two guys around for most of the time.

Our New Kitchen!

Day 54

You're probably wondering how we can have a new kitchen this soon in the schedule.  Well here it is!

Feels like a dorm.  This is what it looks like when you move your kitchen into a bedroom.  I guess ti makes sense since we also moved our bedroom into our living room. 

We were also thwarted today as I wanted to connect the water dispenser in the fridge.  To do that, I need to switch the kitchen and the bathroom valves.  But to do that, I need to shut off the water to the house but that valve is broken I've just discovered.  So I thought would shut off the water at the water main.  But that wouldn't budge (it probably hasn't been shut off in decades).  So that project has been postponed and we'll just have to either drink tap water or go stay at some fancy resort.

A Swimming Pool!

Day 53

No we aren't putting in a swimming pool but one can dream.  This is what we really have:

Not sure why, but they covered all the concrete with plastic and it looks like they want to keep it wet.  The patio has about 3-4 inches of water on it.  The rest was covered and moist.

My theory is that they don't want it to dry too quickly or it might crack?  I dunno.  Anybody know what they're doing here?

Sometimes The Changes Are Subtle

Day 52

This is not one of those times.  Behold!  The SLAB.

Days like these are nice because all the concrete dust and gravel dust had set my allergies into full gear over the last three weeks.  I hope all the congestion and coughing goes away quickly now.

Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On

Day 51

They were doing some activity that shook the whole house.  Looks like they were chipping away at the area where the new slab is going to join the old slab (i.e. existing house).  See that piece of blue tape?  There used to be a few more inches of concrete beyond that.

They also removed a bit more of the driveway.

I have been waiting for them to do that for a while.  I was told that the part of the slab that joins the driveway, the house, the patio and the pavers in the back is not going to be poured until much later. That is not my fridge nor my microwave.  These guys know how to travel.

They also have to set large brackets in the concrete wall. There's one in the foreground and another about halfway back on what is going to be the wall.  They will hold up the beams upon which the deck will stand.

Not much difference on the next part.  More rebar and some posts to which they can fasten the framing for the interior walls.

I just bumped into the project supervisor literally minutes ago and he said they will be pouring tomorrow.  That'll make for some really dramatic pictures.  I'll bet you can't wait!

And What Is Your Favorite Color?

Day 50

Apparently the color of the day is yellow.

Those are plastic sheets covering what I would refer to as the gravel pits.

They also laid a lot of rebar.  (For someone reason, blogspot doesn't know the word rebar.)  I guess they are making ready for the next pour.

If you look carefully in where the patio is.  The forms for the short back wall are in.  Kind of hard to see but it will be obvious after they pour the concrete. Basically it is two steps on the right, one step on the left and a wall going across between the left and right steps.  I'm glad the concrete portion is almost done.  The dust has been wreaking havoc on my allergy riddled nose.  I hope I don't have the same issue with sawdust.

Also, enjoy this view because in a couple of weeks, there will be no view from this vantage point anymore.