Fireplace Conundrums and Prepping for Drywall

This morning started with a long conversation with the fireplace salesman.  He seemed to think that running the vent through the gap between the front room closet ceiling and original ceiling would be no problem, but Justin stepped in and pointed out some issues with clearances and specifications that would not work.  We were planning on running the vent through the dropped ceiling in the front room closet.  But the vent pipe must be 12 inches from the inside corner and the closet is not deep enough to contain the pipe. He brainstormed other alternatives including venting through Charlotte's closet and even through the corner of Charlotte's room.  Neither of those were ideal, so the best option was to put the fireplace in the front room closet and rebuilt the wall.  (The salesman was completely lost through most of Justin's brainstorming, and I think if Justin wasn't there, we would have figured out thesse issues once the fireplace was there.)  We were going to convert this shallow closet into a little office space, with a desk and some shelves above.  If we move the fireplace into this space, and move the wall out a few inches, this allows for the vent pipe to be 12 inches from the inside corner. We would still have some space to put bookshelves in.  This new plan will be a lot more work than what is in the contract, so it might have to wait.

Also today, Justin and Keefe spray foamed the window gaps, leveled Evelyn's floor and finished getting ready for drywall.  Colin spent some time wiring, which needs to be done before they can start hanging drywall.

More Plumbing and Strapping

Today was a little less crazy.  No quick trips to buy shower valves and no decisions to make.  Matt finished up plumbing the new shower and relocated tub.  We got really lucky with the location of the shower drain.  It just missed the joist.

Justin and Keefe worked on strapping the dining room ceiling.  It might not look like much, but it is quite the feat to line up the new and old ceilings, especially when things are not level in the old house.

Bathroom Demo Day

Today was demo day for the kids bathroom.  So glad to see that strange bathroom surround gone.  The new tub is a bit wider and longer so the cabinet needed to go too.

The guys rearranged the living room to have better access to the plumbing  

The studs are rotated flat, so in order to have a niche, Justin furred out the studs.

Plumbing

Today was a bit crazy.  It was extremely windy last night (Mount Washington measured a gust of 140 mph).  We could hear something banging, but we couldn't figure out what.  It turned out to be the roofing barrier.  (You can see it out the window in the photo below).

Matt the plumber came today so we hurriedly emptied the bathroom so he could remove the bathtub. It was a lot more stuff than we thought it was.

The empty bathroom (except for the toilet, which is in the boxes).

The bathroom with a new shower opening, a new shower niche, and a new heating register.

We also had to move Charlotte's bookcase so that Matt could connect Evelyn's new heat to Charlotte's line.  (All this moving of stuff had to happen before we left for Evelyn's morning swim lesson.) Justin and Keef opened up the wall to the new shower.  They also framed in the new beam in the living room.  At first they framed it to match the existing beam, but that beam is so off level that it looked funny next to the new, level window.  Now it matches the level window.

Spray Foam and a Weekend Away

Friday morning our house was reminiscent of a scene from E.T. with plastic sheeting everywhere and a crew of people dressed in white coveralls.  Alyssa braved the fumes for a picture.

Because of the fumes, we left for the weekend.  We stayed in Burlington Vermont and skied at Bolton Valley (even Evelyn, with a new harness). 

Sunday we checked out the foam in basement.  Because of the structural concerns with the brick, the foam is just in the joist voids and at the gable ends.

Brick Pointing and Flooring

Busy day getting ready for spray foam.  Colin has finished wiring Evelyn's room and the outlets in the addition.  The mason concentrated on pointing the gable ends. 

The old closet has been demoed and the new header is in. 

Another dusty adventure was ripping up all the flooring in the dining room.  Some of the floorboards have dry rot and some in the old hallway are wonky and have been shimmed.  Might need to be replaced.

Unfortunate Basement Discovery

This morning we made an expensive discovery.  In preparing for the spray foam on Friday, Colin moved the lumber pile, exposing a section of the brick foundation that is  failing.  (You can see the daylight in the picture.)  A mason is coming tomorrow to investigate further and do some pointing at least at the gable ends. 

The guys spent most of the day prepping the basement for foam. 

 

We also have a new living room doorway.

Transformative Changes

Today completely transformed our house.  But first, in the morning, Justin and Keefe finished framing Evelyn's room and installed some more posts upstairs in the "blue room" to support the new beams in the attic.

When we returned from AVA camp the doorway between the living room and dining room was open and they started to remove the wall between the hallway (a.k.a. the Tunnel) and the new dining room.  The wall was made of rocklathe, so they cut it into panels.  Messy stuff.

We can't believe the transformation!  There is so much light!  The house feels so much bigger, and the house feels much more square, rather than narrow and long.  It is strange to stand in a place and be able to see things we couldn't before.  We love it.  The transformation makes the mess worthwhile.

Here is the tour from Charlotte:

Framing Evelyn's Room

Today the guys framed most of Evelyn's room.  Evelyn is super excited.  The kids had fun pretending to take a shower in what will be the shower.

Prepping for Foam and Painting a Mural

We had a busy weekend organizing the tools and prepping the basement for foam.  This meant moving everything into the two corners where they won't be spray foaming.  The kids had a lot of fun painting the hallway wall which will be torn down this week.  Charlotte mixed all the colors in the rainbow using just the primary colors.

Even More Windows

We are all so excited to see the windows installed and the demolition of wall between the old playroom and the addition.  It is unbelievably bright, even on this overcast day.  We can visualize our having coffee/tea in the morning and looking out into the garden.

Windows!

Today was another "wow" day.  Alyssa went upstairs for something and was surprised to see the exterior wall in the 'blue room" gone.  By the end of the day Evelyn's room had all three windows installed.

 

We met with Berne this morning too.  Things are going to be moving quickly the next few weeks.  Tomorrow more demo and more windows.  Next week is interior framing upstairs and spray foam insulation on Friday.  Plumbing the week after.

Supports

This morning Justin attached the living room beam to the new supported header with a specially fabricated metal bracket.  It's nice to know that now the beam supporting half our house is itself supported.  He also cut a small hole in Charlotte's ceiling to attach a new beam to support the dormer addition from a few years ago that wasn't supported properly.  They also did more work in the attic.

New Roof Part Two

Today was a bit of a race against time.  The forecast is for several inches of snow, starting this afternoon.  A third pair of hands was brought in to help finish the roof before the snow started falling.  They did it.  It is bit worrying to see people sitting on the steep peak of your roof or walking outside your second story windows. 

New Roof Part One

This morning our new roof shingles were delivered.  They started installing them on the addition.

New Wires

Armed with his new cordless drill, Colin started wiring Evelyn's room as well as the dining and living rooms.

Alistair meanwhile built a large Lego train layout in the now mostly empty "Blue Room".

Wind Damage

It was incredibly windy last night and today.  I'm surprised we only lost power for a second and that we didn't lose any trees.  The wind did do a number on the ice and water shield that Justin and Keefe put down.  It's not supposed to rain before Monday, so it can wait.

Last Support Post and a Drip Edge

 It was another rain/freezing rain morning that turned into rain.  Justin and Keefe spent a good part of the morning in the basement replacing the last metal post.  Then the rain stopped and the sun came out.  They installed the drip edge for the roof, and will be ready to roof next week.