Day 126

Lay Day (for all you sailors)...

Little bit of precipitation falling today so the "job site" is quiet...
Northern Neck Building Supply delivered the lumber for starting the framing of the second floor...and covered it with plastic...ready for the crew tomorrow...
Weather is to be clear and about 70°...
With a bit of weather cooperation the run to getting the project "under roof" will be a dash and not a marathon...
As the second floor framing progresses the new structure will begin to engulf the existing part of the cottage until they merge into a new single "cottage." The morph will not be abrupt but a slow process that will culminate with the new siding and deck being installed, at least that's my take on it...

We have siding and shingle samples to look over this weekend to make some decisions...

Day 125

Corrections from yesterday's post;

The roof trusses will be assembled here, on site, not prefabbed...(is that a word?)
The way to say it is that "the roof will be stick built". Officially they are roof rafters, not trusses.  Trusses have the diagonals. (Seth Ballard)

They have finished and now await the delivery of the framing lumber for the second floor...given the weather forecast for tomorrow that process will begin on Thursday (maybe)...

Here is the visual record of the underlayment going on to the second floor joists. The "ldl" panels are both glued and nailed to the joists reducing the propensity for the floors to "squeak." According to the box that contains the glue the product can be used on "wet, frozen or pressure treated lumber." A seemingly outstanding testimonial.

Walking through the first floor it's possible to begin to get a better feeling for the space and how "stuff" will be fitting in.

Day 124

Three more joists!

With the installation of three more second floor joists the underlayment for the floor will be installed, tomorrow.
Guess this is the last time we'll be able to see the sky from the first floor.
This photo looks through the window of the master bath to the ceiling of the master bedroom.
Forecast for Wednesday is 70% chance of rain so probably not work. But after the underlayment the framing of the second floor will begin.
The roof trusses will be assembled here, on site, not prefabbed...(is that a word?)
I'm on it tomorrow morning to get some pix of the underlayment from the roof of the "original" cottage.

'Till then...

Day 123

Lookie Here!!!!
You turn your back and go away for a couple of days to find that there has been some major advances.
Plywood around the outer walls and manufactured beams starting on the second floor.
I had a shoot in DC on Wed. and Friday with a grandkids dinner in between.
The framing continued while Barb and I did some shopping for counter tops, tile, and other stuff we'll need to finish this addition off.
This coming week we should see some major progress on the second floor framing if the weather holds.
This project is moving along but I know that there will be a slow down when the framing is done and finishing work begins.
Later...

Day 118

Derek and Rick erect the interior Kitchen wall framing.

View from the Laundry room through Kitchen and Living Room.

Working on the interior framing wall between Master Bedroom and Bath.

The size and scope come together...
Framing goes quickly. Yesterday the external walls and today laying out and framing the interior framing walls. Walking around on the underlayment brings together the relationship between what I had in mind and reality. Able to sense the position of appliances in the kitchen with countertops and cabinets.
Have to get some more 2x6's to finish the wall framing...early tomorrow...then plywood...then going up!
Gonna be off 'till Friday afternoon...shoot in DC tomorrow then some shopping for granite and tile, some socializing with the grand kids...
Next post, Saturday...

Day 117

Framing day begins...
Top photo; this morning
Bottom photo; this evening...
We do have a bit of an issue with the windows on either side of the house but are working the solution...this is becoming a real house now and will continue to evolve each day there is work to be done...
This morning the crew had to shovel the snow (about 1-2") from the underlayment and then begin to gather the lumber for framing. Temp got to about 50 today and weather looks good for remainder of the week.
Tomorrow...

Day 115

We'll be framing Monday....

Ran into a slight snag when Derek looked at marrying the new addition to the center wall of the old construction. Seems the old wall wasn't very straight, go figure that. So...take down the old wall and make a new one before everything gets crooked...

When they removed the paneling in the front room the wallpaper in the second photo was exposed. Not really sure what kind of room it was but definitely from the 1950's with the prop passenger airliner and the straight wing jets.

There is a whole bunch of lumber under plastic here including some 32' beams...that's quite a span.

Have a great weekend and we'll see you Monday...President's Day...

Day 113

Almost ready to go up...
The floor joists are in place and tomorrow the underlayment for the floor will be installed. Then we'll be ready to begin building up.
The cottage seems very naked and vulnerable now with the whole back half a mere memory. The pace of construction is moving quickly. Hard to believe that the footers were only poured less than one week ago.
On the backstory Barb and I have been working on getting the inside decisions made; like appliances, cabinets, faucets, windows, doors, and a bunch of other stuff to go in the new space.
Showers predicted tomorrow afternoon could stop work early but good weather predicted for Friday...

Watch this space...

Day 112

 

 

Let the framing begin...
Today the plastic was removed to reveal the cap boards, 2x12 floor joists, plywood sub floor, and other bits of processed wood. First the cap boards were installed on top of the foundation with lag bolts used to anchor the wood. At the same time Richard Hinson of Redneck Pest Control was dousing the inside and outside the foundation with the first termite treatment to the old and new building.
There was some tweaking of the old beams to get them closer to level though with an old structure level is always abstract and close enough.
Tomorrow the rest of the joists will be nailed in place and we go on from there...
Stay tuned...

Day 111

Framing lumber day...
Temps today in the 30's and a bit of a biting wind, but not like over the weekend. Had sustained winds of 30-40 mph Saturday night to Sunday morning. Light snow accompanied the winds and temps dropped into the 20's.
The supply company delivered the framing lumber today so the next step is ready to begin. Forecast for tomorrow is cloudy with temps in the mid-50's but no rain. Should be able to get the framing started.
Week looks good until Thursday. Hope to get a bunch of framing done...

Day 108

Tangible progress...
Yesterday was a drying day. The footers were poured and, while they were drying one of the neighborhood canines decided to leave his mark (bottom photo) in the semi-dry concrete. Kind of a shame that Cralle didn't leave his paw prints there.
First thing this morning the masons were here with all the equipment, blocks, and mortar. Once the lines were laid out they began to shuffle the blocks from the pile to their place on the footer, and right over top the dog tracks.
Monday there will be some prep work done before the framing begins.
I can't over state the importance of seeing the tangible progress.

Day 106

The foundation is coming together.

With rebar (top pic) in place, and inspection by the county, the concrete truck came by and filled the footers with fresh cement.

Job site shut down for the day to let the stuff set.

Tomorrow the mason should be here to lay the blocks and finish the foundation.

Weather has turned dicey today with rain and/or flurries in the forecast.

Better tomorrow...

Day 105

The outline of the foundation is marked. 

Measurements and lines are scribed.

Attention to where the new and old meet.

The back hoe digs.

Derek sights the elevation of the footer.

Today is Construction Day 1, that is turning a corner.

After finally getting the pine tree stump out of the way yesterday Derek was on the back hoe today digging the footers for the foundation. With the addition of the rebar it will be ready for inspection and the pouring the concrete. Marrying up the old construction with the new is a real challenge for measurements and leveling or approaching level.

Let's be clear. "The Cottage" was built originally in the '50's and then "stuff" was added over the years. Sometimes with diligence and accuracy but others not so much. It seems that a galvanized piece of plumbing pipe that was dug up today was probably the supply line from the pump house, yet there was also a piece of newer black plastic pipe dug up also. It is always an adventure working on old construction.

For simplicity sake I've decided to quit mucking around with other kinds of presentations of multiple photographs and go with this format. Seems to be the easiest for me to post and hopefully easiest for you, the readers....

Progress takes up forward.

Day 104

Major move forward.

Back of the cottage is now mostly gone and work on making way for the footers has begun. Backhoe had to first get rid of the concrete patio at the back door. This concrete (4" thick) and stone behemoth had to be broken up and loaded into the third dumpster, then hauled away to make room for the forth.

The septic tank had to be pumped out or when it was crushed we would have had the "sweetest" smelling environment.

Old termite damage showed up when uncovered on the Northeast post to the back wall.

Then work began on excavating for the new footers. Didn't take long to run into the "root of all evil." The root to the 100' tall pine that was felled behind the cottage. Derek is working the back hoe around and around the rood "worrying" it out of its very secure position to depths of about 3 to 4 feet.

Hopefully this will be a temporary setback with others over the horizon....

Weather is holding really nicely, let's hope it continues...

Day 100

The first 100 days certainly is a time for reflection and analysis, at least, with Presidential Administrations. Perhaps we shouldn't get into that with this project. We imagine that this will be the first and last time we enter into this kind of situation.

The grey tarp over the cottage is blending into the sky very nicely. The rain forced a delay in the deconstruction but better weather is predicted for tomorrow.

The dumpster still waits for the truck and I will wait for the sun.

Mañana.

Day 99

                                                                               

  

The excitement of starting the deconstruction has given way to the melancholy of what is going away. I think for me it was the back steps (photo lower left). Seeing them gone from a place that has always been the entrance to "the cottage" since our purchased in 1994 brings home the fact that a major transition is taking place to the physical structure and also to our sensibility of what the cottage has been for 17 years, a place of solitude, comfort, serenity, and escape.

The new structure, still called "the cottage," will be transformed into our home and we will have to get the building back to the place we have settled into like an old stuffed chair.

To see the anatomy of the place in its naked state brings out the hap-hazard, slap-dash manner of construction used to make it stand. As one of the guys working on the place said in relation to the construction, "this place would burn up before it would fall down." The statement was as much a remark on the construction as a damnation of the electrical wiring.

The third day yields the second full dumpster, and the crew waiting for the company to arrive and switch out for an empty one. There was a bunch of metal that has been taken away and the lead pipes from the plumbing drains, which were getting a bit clogged.

Withe the back porch gone the new foundation will be the next thing to be started and leveling the current foundation.