A new skill

We've been thinking about whether to sub out the HVAC rough-in or just do it ourselves and yesterday we made a partial decision when we got tired of waiting for people to get back to us with quotes.  We started taking out some of the extra returns and supplies that went to the second floor and the old kitchen and dining room.  We sealed off a couple of the vents and bought our new materials so we'll run the new ducts for the first floor over the next few weeks.  We may still sub out the second floor installation at some point but the first floor, at least, will be all our own work!

Windows are done man

We finally finished all the replacement windows. We did the last two today. All that's left is to paint the trim. Still a ton more to do, but at least we have most of the 3 day weekend left. We're hoping to get some of the hvac and electrical rough in started as well as the exterior painting finished.

Porch progress

More progress on the front porch today. The decking was mostly finished yesterday and they're making short work of wrapping everything in the pvc material. And the best news is we finally got our AC unit hooked back up so we're not roasting in the house anymore.

Siding finished

The crew finished up the siding and they're currently installing the porch decking. The porch trim will be finished up by the weekend and the outside of our house will be pretty much finished!

Painting Day

We tackled painting today and tried out our new paint sprayer on the side wall.  It took a bit of time to prep the wall and tape up the band board and windows (or window, since three of the four on that wall still need to be replaced and so could be painted over) but using the sprayer made painting much faster than just using the rollers.  We still did one quick coat with the rollers to even out the paint but all in all, using the sprayer was a big improvement over painting it all by hand. Also, I managed to not fall off anything today so I'll consider that an improvement over yesterday!  But you might notice that Brian is the only one on the ladder...

A new view

We replaced the big front window today. Big thanks to Dan who was our guest DIY'er for the heavy lifting. The old windows barely opened and were very drafty. Plus we found a huge ant colony making a home inside the trim and brick. Some Raid took care of them and we demolished their little home so they won't come back. That should take care of the ant problem we had in the kitchen last summer. There are only two more old windows to replace so we'll probably tackle that next weekend.

We're hoping to get some more painting in tomorrow if the weather is nice. Once painting is done we can start adding the trim to the replacement windows which should tie them in to the new ones nicely.

Kristin fell and bruised her leg... it is unclear why she decided to walk down the makeshift front steps on the side that isn't attached to anything. She's considering suing the installer (me), but honestly I don't think she has a case. I mean, the steps are clearly makeshift.

Zoning Update

Our wall check plat was accepted by the Arlington Country zoning office yesterday so we are OK to continue work. Oscar can call for the framing inspection and then finish up all his work. Hopefully we'll soon have our porch and siding completed.