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.

Stinky

A few months ago, a structural engineer looked at our foundation and basement.  The structural joists could be better supported, and improvements need to be made for the addition.  (The weight of the upstairs is literally being supported by the sub floor by the top of the basement stairs.)  The guys cut holes in the  floor to prepare for new footings, which stank up the whole house with a horrible chemical smell.  Unfortunately, it is really cold today, so we were limited in how much we could open the windows.

The front room joist is held up by what looks like an old piece of firewood. The log on the left isn't even touching the foundation.  These will be replaced.

 

Our sink had to be disconnected to replace an old metal post.  The wall is temporary.  When they took out the metal post that used to be at the bottom of the stairs, the whole house shook violently.

Living Room Roof

January 10 - More lumber was delivered today, so Justin and Rory built the living room addition roof.  They also put a dozen bags of concrete mix and a dozen wooden posts in preparation for replacing and adding support posts in the basement.

Snow Day!

We thought the kids might have another delay because we were forecasted for a bit of a wintry mix overnight, but we ended up with several inches of wet, heavy snow.  This time, the kids slept through the 8 am reciprocating saw.

Today Justin and Rory started framing the second floor deck.  Alyssa was upstairs with Evelyn and Charlotte and was surprised to see Rory walking around just outside the second floor window.  We opened the window to say hello.

The snow sticking to the trees was beautiful, but unfortunately it did some damage to Judith's white lilac bushes on the property line.  One of the thick branches snapped in two.  Alyssa (after trying to figure out where Colin put the lobbers when we cleaned out the basement) cut away most of the damaged branch, which was also in the way of the guys trying to get up on the roof.  Between the excavator damage and now the snow damage, the shrub border is not going to look its best this spring.

Side Walls

January 8 - Due to snowy weather this morning, the kids had a school delay.  At 8:04 am all three of them woke up to the sound of a reciprocating saw cutting into the house.  Evelyn looked confused, and Alistair and Charlotte simultaneously called out from their bedrooms.  "What is that?  What time is it? Is there school?"

Work continued with framing today, with minimal additional impact inside.  They put up the side walls and are getting ready to deck the second floor.

At the end of the day, they wrapped the addition up to keep it dry overnight.  Freezing rain is in the forecast.

Breaking Through

Today the construction broke through into our house.  In order to determine the exact height of the ceiling in the addition, they needed to tear down a section of the existing ceiling, which is lower than original ceiling.  They also cut openings in the exterior wall in both rooms match that ceiling height and connect the framing.  They also built temporary walls to support the ceiling so that they can cut through the exterior framing to build the new support beams.  In short, our house is now very dusty and drafty.

Here you can see the old plaster and lath ceiling.

A few of the outside from this morning.

Tidying Up

January 6 - In preparation for tomorrow's work, we packed up all the Christmas decorations (today is Ephiphany after all), emptied more than half the IKEA Ivar shelving.

We also started emptying out the playroom.  We moved the large cubbies to the hallway wall.

Demolition and Lumber

 

January 3 - Today Justin and Keif started with a little demo - they tore off the siding outside the playroom and the the living room.  At one point, the pictures on the wall of the playroom were shaking, so I took them down.  You can see our lovely rubbish insulation (at least there was some) poking out from a gap in the siding.  

The lumber also came today.  Exciting to think about what it will turn into.  

Evelyn did not like the noise when they drilled in the board (right).  She was telling them (through the glass), "Keep it down, okay?!"

The slab now has foam board and is all cleaned up.

Pouring the Concrete Slab

This morning Justin and Berne's brother Keif braved our icy yard and put down foam board and plastic sheeting in preparation for the concrete slab.  Alistair is home from school with a cold, so he was able to watch the cement mixer drive up onto our lawn and pour the slab.

Paul and his crew also patched the basement floor where they had busted out old cinder blocks that were underneath the oil tanks.

Stones, Part II

Good news, hopefully, about the stones.  Berne called and apologized about the stones.  He and the excavator had talked a few times about setting the stones aside.  Anyway, there is a pile of our stones at the excavator's yard, which thanks to the weather are frozen together.  When he comes back in the spring to finish the grading, he will bring back the stone.  Fingers crossed.