Busy weekend

We took on two of the bigger replacement windows Saturday. They were a lot harder to do as they were much heavier and higher up on the ladder than the other ones. After some measurement oops by me we got the new frames built and the windows set. The outside is trimmed, but we left the inside untrimmed for now. I'll finish it up this week. We wanted to soak one with water to make sure they don't leak first. Doing replacement windows in a brick opening is a little tricky and you have to rely on caulk a little too much to keep the water out. But the old 60 year old windows were done the same way and so far none have had any rot at all so it must be fine.

We also removed the rest of the ugly chain link fence. About 10 posts were set into concrete so we had to bust it up to get them out. At first we went with brute force and the 20 pound sledge hammer. Then we realized we own a rotary hammer drill so we put the concrete breaker bit on and knocked the rest out in no time. Still a lot of work, but we got it done. The yard looks so much better already. This week should bring some big changes to the house so stay tuned!

This post sponsored by Lowes

It would be nice if this advertising amounted to something from Lowes... For instance free walnut flooring??


The day started out nice enough. We got our wall bracing inspection today so the house wrap and windows can now go in. They made some progress on the front stoop demo yesterday. Still no roof and it started raining, but there's tar paper down. Only one lone drip upstairs by the chimney, but its easily caught by a bucket up there. Next week should bring the front porch, roof, and window install. We haven't ordered the siding yet, but should finalize our choice this weekend.

The Second Shift

Brian has been tearing down the chain link fence and digging up tree stumps after work.  We'll get this yard into shape yet!

Roof time

Dare I say that our water problems are over and we made it through construction without any water damage to any of our stuff?? Let's hope they get it all done by friday because its looking like rain all day. Today is beautiful out - sunny and 70. Front stoop is getting demo'd so we'll have to go in and out of the rear basement stairs for awhile. But the new front porch isn't far off.

A Room with a View

 

Here's the master suite

 

the three big windows looking into the backyard from our bedroom

 

our walk-in closet on the right and the master bath entrance on the left

and the big master bath.

We walked around the second floor this evening and it was fun to see the floor plan framed up.  Now we just need windows and weather-tight walls and a roof to make it complete!

Interior framing

To the left is the 2nd bathroom, straight ahead is one of the bedrooms, the hallway is to the left of the stairs

Another view of the bedroom

Looking into the 2nd bathroom where the wall is on the ground, far right is the other bedroom. I was thinking about taking the hallway wall down and maybe doing a railing instead.

view into the other bedroom

They're about halfway done with the 2nd floor interior framing. All the rooms and closets are just what I was picturing in my head. So far both bedrooms and closets are framed and both are nicely sized. Roofing should start tomorrow and the front porch on Friday.

Another rain/wind delay

Work should resume tomorrow, but today the workers abandoned ship. The tarps kept blowing all over the place and water was flying in the windows so they tied everything up as best they could and will hopefully be back in the morning to knock out the rest of the framing, the roof, and the porch by the end of the week.