Garage Door

A subtle change but a change none the less.  The Garage Door was installed on Friday - one more thing off the to do list.  The opener hasn't been installed that will be in a few months.  It will be nice to be able to use the garage again...  Summer?

What's missing?

What started out as a fun way to document the renovation and keep everyone informed of our progress has turned into a fun little blog site.  I have had one friend tell me he checks everyday on his lunch to see the updated status.  I honestly didn't think there would be more than 50 people tops who would view the albums but as of yesterday there was 287 different ISP views.  Of course some of those are multiple hits from the same person on different computers (me), but the fact that there have been as many as there have been is great.  We won't have to worry about server crashes and millions of views a day but nonetheless it is great.

In all of the images that I have uploaded we have been showing what has been added.  Todays posts have something missing that is almost more exciting than the actual addition itself.  Look back to the February 3, 2009 posting and compare it to the image that is in the previous post.  Can you see what it is?   Send me a comment if you figure it out.

Chimney and Patio

Sorry Santa, the chimney is a false one.  Again this is one of those Architectural components that is more for show than anything else.  With all of the angles and shapes I felt that by extending the chimney to match the height of the Roof Top Patio it will complete the balance of the building on the South side.  We will be cladding the chimney, top and bottom, with a corrugated metal siding and creating the illusion that this is an actual continuous chimney.  Reality is the metal box above my ghetto 32 is the exhaust point.

Again another shot of the chimney, this time looking from the driveway to the house.  The depth of the Roof Top Patio behind the barn roof is deceiving.  The trailer was dropped off on Friday so that I can get most of the garbage out of the garage.  A big thank you to my father in law Ken Reimer who happened to show up just as I was about to put the big wall sections in the trailer.  I bet he wishes he was there an hour later.  

The next image is a close up of the chimney.  

Finally a shot of the Roof Top Patio.  The sheet of OSB leaning up against the far wall is 4'-0" x 8'-0" so you can see how deceiving the image from the front of the yard is showing the depth of the patio.

   

Stairway to Heaven... or how about just the Second Floor

So it isn't a Led Zepplin song but it is a great feeling to actually have stairs leading from the Main Floor up to The Second Floor.  Prairie Grove Stairs were here on Friday and installed the new stairs from the Basement to the Main Floor and partially the Main Floor to Second.  I had to put in the last segment of the stairs as the opening that was left was based on the design (what a concept) and not the site changes that had happened.  Regardless it is a good feeling to be able to walk upstairs versus climbing a ladder.

The next image shows the Main to Second Stairs from the Exercise Room.  The Dining Room  is visible at the bottom of the stairs.

This last image highlights the full height of the stairwell from the Dining Room below to the ceiling above.   In retrospect I think I should have taken the manufacturers sticker off the window when it was only 7'-0" off the ground.  This is going to be one fun window to clean!!  Thankfully the window is on the angled wall portion so it shouldn't have too much rain marks on it. 

Meetings and Pricing

Now that the structure of the house is up the changes will be harder to see. With every new wall or the roof the building took on a new shape and style. At this stage lots of "things" are getting done but they aren't as apparent.

North 49 Heating and Air Conditioning have been on site this week and have roughed in all of the ducts from the Main and Second Floors. Next up will be connecting the new addition to the furnace. We will have heat just in time for Spring!

Goldstar Plumbing is also on site this week and we should have most of the plumbing rough-ins ready to go. Hopefully this means that the washing machine can also be re-installed. It's been interesting taking laundry "home to mom and dads" and availing ourselves on friends but there are just certain things that you need to have at home!!

Finally we are getting estimates to have the roof shingled, both on the addition and the existing building. The freak February rain storm was not a welcomed act of nature as we now know where EVERY crack or leak is on the building. Wet plywood is not a great smell in the best of times. Hopefully we will have the roof on in the next two weeks.

Windows and Doors

During the entire progression of the renovation I have tried to take similar pictures of the house from the same spot. Once completed I will have to put together a slide show of the images from the beginning to end. Have the pictures flash fast enough and you will be able to see the transformation in seconds!

The current status of the house is that it is wrapped in building paper with all of the doors and windows are in place. From this perspective you can see the window in the stairwell next to the bathroom window. The bottom of both of these windows is at the 7'-0" height above the second floor. The different materials also highlight the spacing of the barn roof to the roof top patio.

Again another image that has been seen before, the front of the garage from the driveway. The distance of the roof top patio can be seen between the barn roof and the window behind it. The exposed 2x4 showing is actually 14'-0" long.

This next image is a close up of the roof top patio from my neighbors driveway. Eventually we will have a glass rail along the edge or something similar. I am not sure what it will be yet.

Finally, this is probably my favorite elevation of the house. There are so many angles and planes, the 5'-0" cantilever is fun and the final finishes will really highlight everything. The windows appear smallish on the big walls but they fit the scale on the interior.