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| Trusses over Bedroom |
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| New Windows |
Mostly. After several weeks of being wide open, the house has been closed to the elements. A complex set of roof trusses appeared and were assembled like a jigsaw puzzle atop the addition, with the new roof joining the old roof over the original house. All of the new windows were put in. After removing several layers of shingles from the old house, the entire new roof was sheathed and felted over.
Because of the complex footprint of the house, which resembles an ell with several jogs around the perimeter, the roof design was extremely complicated, consisting of over 60 different truss elements. It went up quickly in just a couple of days, however, without a hitch. I know our architect was relieved.
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| New Brick |
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| Old Mortar |
On the outside of the house, the bricklayers have been working on completing the brickwork on the outside of the basement area that is above grade, including around the window wells on the southeast corner of the basement. There are no shortcuts here, with brick being laid by hand one at a time. While they are around the house, the masons will also be working on re-pointing the old brick in certain places. For example, the mortar between the bricks under the original front porch has essentially turned to sand and can be blown right out of the joints with merely a puff.
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| Block Wall Under Old Corner |
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| We Have Pipes! |
With the house now enclosed, work can begin in earnest (and has) on the interior systems. We have simultaneous construction with the bricklayers working on the outside, the HVAC contractor running the ducts and installing the attic unit, plumbers putting in waste lines and vents and the concrete team in the basement working on shoring up the room under the old house that will become the media room. In fact, the picture on the left shows the corner of a block wall that has replaced the frightening old pile of bricks shown in
this older post. Work now proceeds apace!
Over the next two weeks we will be finalizing our cabinet designs and placing those orders, reviewing and finalizing electrical plans and layouts, and trying to get all critical path items moving so none hold up the move-in date. If everything goes well, we hope to be in by mid-August.
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| New Footprint Comes to Life |
