Construction Week 2-4 (Nov 20-Dec 8)

I've been snapping pictures, but not creating pages each week like I probably should. As a result, quite a bit has happened since the last update. In short form, we've seen the following happen:

• The old roof was stripped off and replaced with a brand new roof. New flashing was installed around all pipes and the horrible "boot" from the old wood burning stove (removed back in 1997) was finally taken off and patched in. The new roof looks great!
• The electrical system in the house was upgraded from 100amp to 200 amp. This was necessary because the bone heads who put the new circuit breaker panel in a few years back put in a 200 amp panel on a 100 amp service wire - a big nasty violation of code (and a potential problem if I ever tried to draw 200 amps at any one time over the old wires). The service "mast" (pole) was relocated from just a straight shot up the west side of the house toward the back of the house and up through the roof (another annoying code requirement - the connection needed to be at least three feet away from the roof or any windows - bah!).
• The ceiling between the living room and dining room was opened up and laminate header was installed to bear the weight of the second floor. The folks who removed the wall between the dining room and living room in the 1970s didn't do anything to take up the weight of the 2nd floor that was left hanging.
• The front door was removed, the walls around the front door opened up and the rough opening for the new door framed in. The floor around the new entry was was cut away for the tile bed and severly reinforced (to prevent the tile from breaking up in the future).
• The framing for the new north west wall windows and window seat area is complete.
• The framing of the new north/south wall between the study and the living room is complete, along with what will be the hall closet.
• On the east wall, the windows in the living room were removed and the rough framing for the new windows was installed, along with the framing for the fireplace. The floor around the fireplace was cut away for the tile hearth and the joists reinforced like the main entry way joists were.
• The rough framing for the screen wall and the soffit over the screen wall between the living room and dining room is complete.
• The framing of the soffit over the bookcase is complete. While the bottom line of it is even/level, the top of it slants 2" + over it's run. I'm more than a little concerned about how that will look in the end.
• The planks on the rear entry way were replaced with a new set of stairs. At this point, there are no hand rails up, but it's still a big improvement.
• Everyone likes a few pictures (click on them for larger ones)

	This is what the study south wall looks like. You can see the framing for the wall between the study and the living room and beyond that, the soffit framing near the ceiling for the book case.
	This is in the study, looking north. The big square is where two new windows will go. The framing on the sides of that square of the "bump outs" for the sides of the window seat. The silver duct is feeding our bedroom, though it will soon be removed when the HVAC folks come to work.
	This is the new front door entryway to the right of this picture (with the lumber resting against it) and the entryway closet (to the left of the image). That's as far as that goes until the door is finished being built.
	This is a view of the living rooms north wall.They've torn one layer of drywall down, exposing the old plaster and some unfortunate wallpaper under it. You can also see framing in the foreground that is the screen wall framing.
	This is the east wall of the living room. The framing for the windows is in place as well as the fireplace box. There will be book cases flanking the left and right of the fireplace eventually. If you look at the foot of the fireplace, you can see that the floor was cut away, strengthened and covered (for a while, it was open to the basement).
	This is another view of the living room that gives a better idea what is going on with the screen wall. At the top of the picture, you can see the framing for the soffit over the screen wall and below that, the framing for the screen wall itself. Near, but not exactly at the bottom left of the picture you can see the framing for one of the "returns" from the screen wall.
	This is a view of the dining room from the living room. You can see the screen wall in the foreground. They tore off the drywall here, again revealing truly unfortunate choices in 1970s wallpaper. Yecho!
	This is just a wider shot of the south part of the living room. Not much has really changed there, except you can see it in context with the study wall and parts of the screen wall.

Last updated December 9, 2000