Day 188

Hiatus!!!!
Had a week of "more of the same" with electricians continuing the rough in of the wiring and Derek doing the rough in of the plumbing...Just have the plumbing to be connected in the crawl space under the flooring...
Tub/Shower got placed in the upstairs bathroom and the Shower got installed in the Master Bath...Looking good for the rough in inspection maybe sometime this week.
Electricians this morning were trenching the front yard for the power to the dock. Also the "j channel" is being installed to hold the siding...
Had a small leak in one of the skylights but the roofers came back and repaired it over the weekend...
Tomorrow Barb and I will be going on a "road trip," to Ashland to look over some counter tops and then to two showrooms in Richmond to look for all the stuff we have to get; faucets, toilets, vanities, water heater, disposal, sinks, etc., etc...
The appliances will be delivered on May 8th...Temporary installation will be in the living room...

Day 180

Workin' on the Inside....
Here are the contributions made by the electricians...They began a few weeks ago and now are completing the process of "roughing in" the wiring for the 40 slot breaker box. Yes, a 40 slot breaker box. This is a cottage after all.
Today, after a deluge Saturday night and all day Sunday, Derek began "roughing in" the plumbing. Got it started on the second floor bathroom.
We're rollin' now...
"Good night and a good tomorrow!"

Day 176

Into the 21st Century...
Today we completed the process of prepping the original "cottage" to blend it into the new construction. We did a conversion of a Florida room to year 'round usable space on the waterside about 14 years ago, back in the 20th Century...
The front of the cottage was water damaged as you can see from the top three pix...Derek worked on the waterside and wrapped it with Tyvek. The place is ready for siding which will begin next week.
While Rick will begin doing some finish trim work on the inside and outside, Derek will begin doing the landscaping by lowering the ground around the foundation. The scrapped topsoil will be deposited in the waterside to make the "front yard" more level. The downside is that there will be more grass to mow or at least mow it more often.
Plumbing will begin next week also. Appliances to be delivered on May 8th, may be stored in the Living Room for a little while...
The project is really ramping up now, stay tuned!!!

Day 168

We are Under Roof!
Yesterday amid a whole bunch of activity including a site visit by Seth Ballard, the architect; shingles were completed (they came up three bundles short); HVAC rough in was completed; windows were installed and sealed (top pic); Barb and I discussed interior issues with Seth...
The crew began addressing the front of the cottage and deck...Upon removing the siding in front (waterside) we discovered water had penetrated behind the siding and deteriorated the plywood underneath...also there was no Tyvek over the plywood to prevent water penetration...also that the floor joists were beginning to deteriorate...
Gonna' hafta' do some reinforcing and reworking the front of the cottage...
Too late now but maybe would have been as well off by taking it down but then we would only have memories and photographs...now, at least, we still have a bit of the original structure...it's all good...
All-in-all a fun filled, action packed work day...
Today Derek and Rick are installing the trim boards and moulding at the soffits...
The driveway is not filled to overflowing with vehicles...
No post tomorrow, I'll be in DC for a photo assignment...

Day 166

Workers wall to wall...
Today there were four crews working on "The Cottage," and the house was rightly stressed.
Ok, maybe that's a bit overstated but with the driveway full of vehicles it was pretty awesome.
The roofers were finishing up from their Saturday start.
The HVAC guys were busy running duct work below the first floor cutting holes in the floor to get the runs correct.
The Rick's boys were doing more of the rough-in with John going into the crawl space again to pull lines to his brother, James, working on the first floor.
Derek said today that he will put the windows in tomorrow, all in one day.
He also began planning the plumbing which will begin when the HVAC guys get things in order.
I did ask William, the contractor, whether he had an idea of a competition date. He smiled and said he hadn't thought about it...
Well, I'm pretty confident we will have Thanksgiving dinner in the new cottage.
Keep checking the blog!

Day 164

The shingles are coming...
No post yesterday due to a road trip to Costco but finished trim work to be ready for shingles.
Today the roofing crew of three arrived and began the job on getting shingles on the roof. The almost 9_12 pitch to the roof and the addition of pollen makes the work dicey. Note the rubber seat cushion pad on the roof edge of the top photo that helps keep feet firmly planted and cushions the knees on the shingles. The photo was shot at noon so it looks like we'll have a shingled roof early next week.
Windows will be next, then the siding...

Gettin' closer every day...

Day 162

A flurry of activity today...
A whole bunch of folks descended on the "job site" today and accomplished a lot of tasks.
The carpenters were putting the fascia boards on the rest of the building getting ready for the shingles. There is still a little bit more to do but guessing that the shingling will start Monday.
Electrician were progressing on the roughing in of the electrical. One of the guys was in the crawl space most of the morning running wire to the kitchen and other parts of the "cottage."
The HVAC crew arrived this morning to begin running the duct work on the second floor. They have consulted with Derek to establish the routes of the ducts both to the second floor and to the first.
This afternoon the windows were delivered and are safely at rest in the living room, ready for installation.
The bath/shower in the foyer is not for folks to bathe before entering the "cottage." The unit will be hefted to the second floor bathroom but not by me.
With all the stuff going on at one time it's difficult to give the guided tours to the visitors who drop by for a glimpse of the progress.
The big question now is, "when will you be moving in?"
Very good question...