The Rebuild

Once the final demolition debris was peeled back and hurled into a waiting dumpster below the rebuilding began.  New 2 x 6 walls along the sides replaced the old 2 x 4 knee walls and scissor truces were installed in order to increase the ceiling heights.  Glulam beams were installed in the floor to help carry the new load down to first floor walls.  The south end wall remains a 2 x 4 wall but the north end got a 6 inch wall added in later.

Here's a shot of the new construction hidden under a myriad of blue tarps.  Our contractors were neurotic about keeping things covered and for that we are grateful because we did end up getting some rain when the roof was completely off.

OSB (Oriented Strand Board) going on above. Note the old brown color roof.  In the next picture the OSB is wrapped with Tyvek and the new roof is on so we should be good for a long while to come.  In fact the old roof had a few patches that I suspect were caused by falling limbs from the big pines we removed a few years ago.

A shot from the back.  Because of a snafu with our window order our contractor decided to order replacement windows rather than new construction windows.  In this way he could frame everything and even start putting on shakes while waiting on the windows.  In the end it worked out brilliantly. 

Another tip I would pass along to anyone doing this is be aware of the details.  Again, our contractor was right there with us when we insisted on having similar details on the addition that were already featured on the house.  For example,the white brackets at the gable ends of the roof really help make the exterior.  Below, you can see modern versions installed.

Shakes going up on the addition while I remove the front exterior shakes.  The plan is to re-frame the front window and replace that ugly slider window with two double hung windows. 

New framing for front windows.  Not only will they make that space bigger while still providing light but it will also make it quieter and more snug in all seasons.  Cooler in summer and warmer in winter.  

 The upper exterior now has shakes on and is awaiting paint. 

Meanwhile, inside framing work continued.  despite being an ugly ass front window it did provide a great means for bringing in the sheetrock.  There was a huge amount of weight sitting over our head for a while.  The upper picture is looking toward the front of the house where my office is located.  I'm standing in what will be the office landing space for Elizabeth.  You can see the new 6 inch thick walls as well as the roughed in electrical including recessed can lights.  These worked out great with the spray foam that ultimately was applied later.  The lower picture is looking toward the rear of the house into what will be our shared walk-in closet, which is huge.

  

Front shakes on and awaiting paint.  I was stoked the day the ladders came down. In any case I'm going to stop here and pick up with painting in the next post.  

2018 Update

I thought I would start off this post with a little reminder of where we started just over 3 years ago.  This is what our house looked like on the day we closed the deal in the spring of 2015







This is where we were at in early fall of 2017.  We had elected to get some paint on the house despite knowing we had a lot on upcoming construction and this was taken during the work.  A big impetus was to simply get some better protection of the wood siding and replace sections as needed.  This would likely conserve as much material as possible.  Notice in this picture that we still have the old windows and front door with a screen door for the summer.  The large front window is a simple glass pane to likely replace the original window that would have had the wood grid system.

Above is the old front door and the new replacement.  When the door was installed they forgot to install the dentil shelf but later pictures show it in place.  The new replacement window in the front bathroom is seen above as well. 

A pile of single pane wood windows after the new replacement windows went in.  It was amazing how fast the process went with just some chipped paint off the wood trim.  Of course there is a lot of exterior priming as well since some of the window blocking was removed that held the original windows in place.  In the end we sold the windows for a decent price to folks using them in a variety of projects.

The new front door and replacement windows as they appeared right at the end of 2017.  You can just make out the new grid system in the window furthest right.  It really adds back a lot of character to the front of the house. 

Elizabeth next to the completed front yard fence (see previous blog post) with some huge sunflowers she grew.  In addition, to the fence we spruced up our front pathway this summer with a new border and some fresh pea gravel. 

Replacing sections of our back fence.  There are still more sections needing attention and in the spring I intend to power wash the fence and get a sealant on the wood. 

So as we headed into late summer/early fall we started in on the next big project, a big addition on the second floor.  We had been planning to do this for at least a year as our only bathroom is on the first floor and our bedroom is on the second floor.  Phase one...demo!  Actually most of this we hired out though we did demo my office as well as abate all the vermiculite that was in the knee wall area.

The amount of dust trapped in among the old boards was staggering.  Air filters a must!!!  The roofers cut a nice hole in the roof so we could easily pitch things into the dumpster below.  My cramped feeling old office space.  With that drop style ceiling gone it already feels a lot bigger.

In the next post I'll show the construction process as we put this whole thing back together-TS

Hello 2018

So I thought about the fact that I haven't posted anything for almost 11 months.  And while I haven't posted anything that doesn't mean we haven't gotten a few more things done on the house and yard.  I started in on replacing some windows in the basement.  The old single pain wood frame windows were on their last leg and leaking cold air like mad.  I have replaced 3 windows so far and will do the remaining ones when we re-do the basement bedroom, though one of those windows will be an egress.

On the left is the first phase of getting out an old window.  It was pretty easy to cut away the old frame.  I left the upper board in each case because they were still solid and cemented right into the foundation.

I did a little concrete work around the frames before setting in the replacement windows.  The upper "skim" coat of concrete that covered the old rock and concrete foundation was cracking in many places and simply fell away when I tore out the old windows.  There are still more spots to fill but at least we know our basement is watertight after the super wet spring we had last year.  While lots of basements on the South hill flooded ours stayed dry and now that I have done more work we have an even better chance of remaining dry.

Here is a shot of the rough patch before I skimmed over it to make it a bit smoother, though I didn't get too picky since I ended up framing a wall here that ultimately covered all this.

Old on the left and new on the right.  It's nice to be able to air out the basement given that these windows are actually functional. Just a little finish work to go.

With some of the replacement windows in, I set about framing a room for a creative space.  Our intention was to have a space, mainly for Elizabeth, where she can use her printing press, sewing machine, do art, etc.  I ended snagging a small corner as well which seems to be working out since it is a good sized space.

On the left is the wall framed in along the outside wall. Insulation will be added to make the space easy to heat and keep cool.  I applied a waterproof paint first to make sure no moisture can seep in later.

While I chipped away at work in the basement it was also too nice to not be working outside as we drifted into June.  I decided we needed a partial fence to delineate our more hodge-podge front yard from the manicured lawn next door.  So with a little help from one of my step-sons, Bowman, we marked out spots for post holes and set to digging.  I think the fence came out nice and it works with our raised beds that have replaced grass in our front yard.

Unfortunately, I don't seem to have any
before and after shots but I will try to get them up at a later date.  Pretty striking I think. On the right is the new gate I added
just before the fall.  My plan is to power wash the fence this year and get it stained so stay tuned.






























Meanwhile, work continues on the basement windows and room.

Once the outside wall was framed and ready for insulation it was time to work on the inside walls.  The biggest issue with old houses is that nothing is square so you often have to build in unorthodox methods to try and get things snug as they should be.  In this case I think the walls came out ok.  Insulation was added and then shiplap in the form of 1/8 inch plywood ripped into 12 inch wide lengths.  This created a rough and used feeling to the space.  With the insulation and a small in-wall space heater it also became a warm space to be in the winter.  

In the next post I will put up some pics of the finished creative space and the fence.  Plus, in late fall/early winter we had replacement windows and a new front door put on so I'll find some before and after shots to put up as well.  2018 should be interesting.  We have a major project planned so stayed tuned for that.  I may do small short updates in an effort to keep up.  - TS