Subfloor Issues and Remedies

The floor under the hardwood floor in the playroom is in bad shape.  There is some rot, Justin thinks was caused by a kitchen sink (there are plumbing holes by the rotted area).  There are some strange wear patterns that hint to a completely different configuration of the room.  (Note that the varnish where Evelyn is standing is still intact, and the floor around it worn lower.)

The other issue is that the playroom floor and the new addition don't line up exactly.  If left alone, the new plywood floor would be 1/4" lower than the addition plywood at one end and 3/4" higher at the other end.  Justin decided it would best to remove the subfloor in one section to be able to create a level floor.  (It was the rotten bit anyway.)

Hello basement.

Justin had to install new sistered joists (carefully over Colin's wiring), especially near the wall because the joist is under the living room wall.

Beautifully level and all ready for new oak flooring.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Attic Framing

While the Polar Vortex descended upon the Midwest, the temperature here reached only 11.  Justin and Keefe worked mostly in the attic.  They also finished the new support post in the basement.

With the attic hatch open, windows cracked open to run power cords, and the interior basement door open, the furnace couldn't keep up.  The temperature hovered around 58 F.  Evelyn had a cold, so we hunkered down in the front room with the door closed and stayed warm.

Posts - Day Two

One thing this blog cannot convey is the incredible noise reciprocating saws, drills, hammers, saws and compressors make.  The kids had a two hour snow delay this morning and were trying to watch TV but couldn't hear.  The guys added a post in the living room to support the beam and a post to support Charlotte's dormer.  They tried to inset the living room post as much as possible, but there was thick plaster and mortar where the old chimney connection was that they had to put it outside the drywall.

They framed for a post in the basement to support both, but before they could install it, the plumber had to divert the main water line (and reconnect our sink).  While the plumber was here, he also kindly fixed the upstairs bathroom drain which was dripping about a table spoon of water after every shower.

Posts - Day One

On Sunday we hung up the one curtain rod that is the correct size (oops) and moved our bed and Evelyn's bed into our new master bedroom.  We woke up Monday morning looking up at the wintry trees.  We have had four bedrooms in this house. 

Justin's son hurt his shoulder in a skiing accident, so he spent yesterday morning at the hospital.  A quiet Monday for us.

Today more of our house got ripped apart in order to support the new framing and to improve the existing framing.  They put in a new, large header across the living room doorway with new posts that will be hidden behind the new casing and more posts in the future dining room.

Evelyn has been very curious about the attic.  She really wanted to climb up there, so finally Alyssa gave in and said okay.  Evelyn stepped on the bottom rung and stopped.  She noticed a cobweb.  She asked lots of questions about spiders - spiders on the ladder, spiders in the attic, etc.  It became a struggle of "Fear of Spiders" vs "Desire to see the Attic".  After much hesitation, the desire to see the attic won, and she bravely climbed the ladder to peak in the attic.

Victorian Pin Up Girls

Justin and Keif started working in the attic.  The new ridge beam, other beams and columns need to be tied into the rest of the framing.  Justin found these Victorian pin up girls and pictures up in the attic.

They also ran into a problem with the framing between the original part of the house (the living room) and the newer sections.  The balloon framing and "flat studs" (rotated at 90 degrees) are causing problems for supporting the new beams.  It will be easier to explain as they put the new posts in.  It also means a bit more work for us.

Ready for Snow

We're all set for the snow.  The plywood roof is on and covered in waterproof paper.

Earlier in the week, Justin, Keefe and Rory worked in the morning when it was too cold to be out side.  They put new blocking on top of the foundation to sister to the sill, which was showing signs of some rot.  The 'firewood posts' have been replaced with pressurized posts secured on concrete.  The new posts with new footings and a new laminated beam (adjacent to the basement stairs) are now in the rear section of the basement.

The Beginnings of a Roof

We are due for a Nor'Easter this weekend.  Justin said this morning that "Come hell or high water we need to get the roof on."  They framed the roof joists today and nailed plywood on one half.  When Evelyn saw Justin standing on the top of the wall, she said "That's dangerous." When he jumped down, she added "He should never do that again."

The Beginnings of Evelyn's Room

Progress is visually quick on framing days.  Where there were no walls yesterday, today Evelyn's bedroom has walls and openings for windows.  This afternoon, they brought the new header beam up on top of the framing, ready to install tomorrow.

After school we climbed out through the bedroom window to see Evelyn's room.  They all thought it was pretty fun.  I think Evelyn is finally understanding what all this disruptive construction is all about.  She was excited about her new room. 

We wonder how much that Evelyn will remember.  One of Colin's earliest memories is of the addition to his house when he was four.  Alyssa remembers her dad leveling and reseeding her backyard when she was about the same age.

Beginnings of a Second Floor

The temperatures this morning were below zero, so the guys started in the basement, pouring the concrete footings for the new posts.

Then, when it warmed up a bit, they went outside build the decking for the second floor.  They then stripped the siding off the second story.  Evelyn thought it was pretty funny to see the guys outside the window.  We opened it up to say hello.