Day 31 is the end of activity for a short time. Windows should be here next Tuesday, siding is coming toward the end of January, and in between...I'm not sure what they plan to do.
Today's tasks were putting up strapping for the ceilings and framing for the bathroom and bedroom area.
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| This will be divided into the bathroom and the bedroom area. |
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| I love it when a plan comes together. |
As Depeche Mode would say, enjoy the silence; soon we'll be back to a cacophony of contractor type noises.
Day 30 was a half day; we did a cook out lunch for the crew and that was it until after the Christmas holiday. So what happened on day 30?
I got my stink pipe!
Oh, and they finished shingling the roof, and offloaded another delivery of lumber.
So things will be quiet for a while as far as building goes, but not as far as weather.
Christmas eve day wasn't too bad. By nightfall, it had started raining, and by midnight it was coming down like nobody's business. The winds howled, the rain fell, and the snow just *poof* disappeared.
Days 28 and 29 were all about the shingles, baby!
Day 28 they shingled the entire pasture side of the house. Day 29 they put up the trusses, sheathing, and shingles on the middle room, plus did 90% of the back side of the roof. When the sun is out, the shingles are nearly the same color as the metal roofing on Mom's house.
The builder convinced me to switch from metal roofing to shingles because of the extreme height of the pasture side of the house. Snow falling from there all at once would pile up in front of the garage and man doors like cement, and I'd have a devil of a time keeping them clear. After discussing the pros and cons of each type of roof, we went with shingles. My main issue with a shingled roof is that they eventually have to be replaced, and I don't want that headache. These shingles have a 50 year warranty, so hopefully they'll be someone else's problem, 'cause I'll be long gone by the time they need replacing.
When the builder and his crew are here I try to stay out of the way. I love to pop outside and see what they're doing, but for the most part I wait until they're done for the day before I take pictures. Since it's a quiet non-building day, I decided to get some interior shots for a change.
Looking toward the back - the stairs to the basement will be in that far corner. Between the large window on the left and the door will be a wall. The corner with the window will be the bedroom, the side to the right will be part of the living room.
Looking down the building toward the front - the bathroom will be on the right and the kitchen in that far right corner. Dining room/living room combination along the left side.
The front third of the house will have raised ceilings. I don't think they're quite high enough to call them cathedral...
The front door leading to the connecting room. This is what keeps it legal according to our town's code; connected by a heated space to the main house. Mom plans to fashion it into a small sitting room.
Checking on my boys from the living room window. I can't wait to make this view permanent!
Well, hot diggity. Our 6-12" snowstorm ended up whalloping us with about 28" of powder. At least it wasn't that same heavy, wet stuff like the last storm. It was still a LOT of snow.
Thank goodness the roof was on the addition, otherwise it would have been twice the chore to clean it out. As it was, the gusty winds blew quite a bit of snow inside, but it drifted up against the walls for the most part. They actually used a leaf blower instead of shovels, it was that light...genius.
Once clean up was done, they got to work framing and sheathing that front truss for day 27.
I'm so glad I went with French doors and two windows; even two double windows would have been pretty small in that space.
My houseplants are going to love it.
And the cats.
And me.
Gah! I just want it done so I can move in and enjoy it!
😁
Day 26 got started at 8 am on the dot! Builder came up yesterday and prepped the site for the arrival of the trusses, and the crew was here and ready to go first thing. All the trusses were up in under 3 hours despite frigid temperatures, and the rest of the day was devoted to laying down the roof sheathing. Once again they are trying to beat a ridiculous storm, this time bringing an estimated 6-12" of snow. The weatherpeople are saying it's going to be light and fluffy this time, but with a driving wind that will blow it all through my windowless, doorless, shell of a house. They'll be shoveling again, that's a promise.
They didn't do the roof for the middle room yet, but the trusses are there, and I imagine they'll get to that after the cleanup from the storm is complete.
It's beginning to look like a real house!
Ain't nobody lovin' this.
It's no fun when you get a dumping of snow before the ground freezes (or after it thaws), and this storm was made even worse by being heavy, wet, and mixed with rain. We probably had at least 10" of snow, but the rain beat it down to an even 8" after it was all done and over with. Trying to plow, snowblow, or shovel this kind of snow is akin to moving wet cement. Everything was coated in a thick layer of wet snow, and the sheer weight of it, coupled with brutal wind gusts, brought down tree limbs, entire trees, power lines, and utility poles all over the southern part of the state. We were one of the 40,000+ people left in the dark for two and a half days, and it was one more day after that before our internet was restored. That doesn't sound so bad, but we as a society have grown to depend on our modern conveniences. I am certainly no exception to that; I nearly cried when we had running water again.
The contractor came down on Sunday and cleaned up the building as best he could, then opened up the driveway and building site a little more with his Bobcat. My plow guy did the best he could, but his big, heavy truck was nearly mired in the mud near the house. The Bobcat is lighter and was able to get into smaller areas.
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| Our internet cable, hanging low. |
Monday , Day 24, was more snow pushing/moving/dumping, and more cleanup. There was a little construction going on; they walled up the downstairs. Not sure why they covered the window frame, but there must be a reason known only to the coven of tradesmen knowledgeable in all things house-building.
Day 25 was pretty quiet. I did get my garage door, and I absolutely LOVE it.
The roof trusses are delayed, unfortunately. They were supposed to be here at the end of this week, but they won't get here until middle of next. In the meantime, I'm not sure what's going to happen. I don't think there's much they can really do until the site is completely thawed and dried.
And there's more rain and snow on the way, of course.
Day 23 was more framing, some earth smoothing on the driveway, cleanup in preparation for an incoming nor'easter (UGH), and walls on the middle room.
If you average out all the different forecasts, we're looking at anywhere from 8 - 24" of snow.
Imagine if you will an overly exaggerated eyeroll.
It would have been nice to have the roof on before we had snow, but it is what it is, and we've been very lucky in the weather department.
Day 22 - the front wall is up!
The original design for this wall called for 2 giant double windows, but after many conversations with Mom about greenhouses, I thought that maybe someday I'd like to have a small attached greenhouse. I've wanted one for a long time and because this wall is south-facing, it's perfect; I could use it for starting vegetable plants in the spring, houseplants year 'round, and some passive solar heating is definitely a bonus. My "someday" wishing led to me opting for a set of French doors that will eventually lead out to it in place of windows. The contractor was planning to keep one set of double windows and set the French doors off to the side, but that would have looked strange. We settled on 2 single windows and the doors in the center, which is more balanced.
They also started prepping the side of Mom's house by peeling off the old cedar shingles. Lo and behold, the siding underneath is Dutchlap - the same siding I chose for my side!
I have to say, the old wood lap is much more attractive, but I don't want to have to paint a house in my lifetime so I went with vinyl. Mom's house will eventually need a facelift, and we've found the perfect vinyl siding that looks so much like cedar shakes, it's crazy. Since that style is so expensive, we'll probably only do the front with that, and the rest will be the same Dutchlap siding as my side.
The word from the builder is that the trusses will be here next week, so it should have a roof soon.
