Wallboard started

So the wallboard guys have started and ... what a mess. I'll be staying home today to keep an eye on them. It's a bit strange to come home and find plaster foot steps all through the house and hand prints on the phone and refrigerator. So today I'll be working from home while they, hopefully, finish up.
 

Almost back together

They istalled a triple LVL beam in the ceiling and the kitchen looks like its back on track. The lights need to be hung again, but we think the framers are finished.
I just hope the inspector likes it.

Moving Backwards?

Kitchen cieling reconstruction.

Framers are back

The framing guys are back to fix up some things that the GC flagged and some things that the framing inspector flagged.
1) Box in second floor drain.
2) Install interior doors
3) Fill in gaps around doors and house.
4) Nail the double LVL beam from both sides (not just one)
5) Install fire blocking at the top of most first floor walls.
6) Install the new beam and double joists in kitchen ceiling.
7) Build a wall in attic space to install blue board on.

They arrived yesterday and started a bunch of these tasks and also napped next to the sandbox for a while. Later the kids had fun in the huge puddle in front of our house with the builders lunch trash.

We also found out that the cabinets would arrive the week of September 3rd. ARG!

Not much in a week.

The outside of the house if almost finished. We just need a garage door, but now we are moving on to interior work.

The framing inspection happened yesterday and the inspector didn't like how large of a span we had in the kitchen. So our contractor went back to the drawing board and came up with a plan that they will present to the inspector tomorrow. The plan is to add a beam that extends the wall between the kitchen and dining room all the way to the back of the house. This will split the joists in the kitchen from a 15ft. span to about 11ft and 4ft spans. Then they will double all the 11ft joists. One issue is that the electrical work has all been finished in this area so I hope they don't need to mess with it. Our contractor will be doing all of this with no extra cost to us since there was always a plan to add a beam in the kitchen anyway.

We also had a bit of a scare when the plumber told us that there was no mention of a heater in the mudroom. The contract clearly does not say that there is heat in the mudroom, but we discussed having heat in there with our contractor before we signed the contract. We found out today that they will be adding the heat in the mudroom with a change order. We are relieved because we were starting to feel like everything that we did was costing too much more money.

So, with all that there is not too much to show on the blog, but I thought I'd post some links to some of the appliances and accessories that we have chosen.

Refrigerator: Maytag or GE
Range: Maytag or GE
Microwave: Maytag or GE
Dishwasher: Bosch, Maytag or GE

Faucet:Price Pfister or Moen

Plumbing and Framing

This is the sink...ok, it's the pluming for the sink. And then a look at the cieling on the second floor looking from the old hallway into the new addition.

Siding Finished

Things have slowed down a bit this week. The exterior is almost finished as you can see. They have been doing some work on the second floor entry to the addition and lolly collumns in the basement. Other than that we hope that all the supplies are here to finish up all the little jobs they have to finish.
 

Second story connected.

The big news of the day was that they cut through to the second floor! Her are two shots of the opening: One looking from the old house into the addition, and one looking from the addition into the old house.
 
 

Kitchen window installed

Internal shots of the kitchen. The first one is looking toward the back of the house. The second is looking from the old sink toward the front of the house.
 
 

External view with all windows.

Here is the external view as of the end of this week. The roof is almost finished, they just need to install the ridge vent, so I hope it doesn't rain too much.
 
 

No pictures today.

I left my camera at work today so I don't have any pictures for you, but nothing much happened that you can see anyway. They finished roofing most of the addition, finished siding the East wall of the addition (that's the gable end - the only one with all the windows in it), and the electrician came back to wire the addition. They should ahve the front window in tomorrow and the wiring finished...I hope. I don't think this old refrigerator can handle being shut off again.

Garage door looking good

 
 

Siding started.

An intersting day here: The roof looks about the same, but they have started the siding and put in all the doors and a couple windows! The electricity doesn't look finished yet, but they made some progress. 
 
 

Kitchen plans

Here are some pictures of what the kitchen will look like. All the cabinets have been ordered. The window is right size but the wrong type - it should be a double casement, not a double hung, but the rest is pretty close.

Electricity Arrives

Kathleen and I had a busy morning - we met with the electrician at 7:30am to figure out where all the outlets, lights, and switches are going. Then we went over to Fitzgerald Tile in Woburn, MA and picked out three tile samples for the kitchen floor. The guys were busy today as well; The rear door in the kitchen looks like it is in and looks very good. The window frame looks better also. The shingles are going on the roof (in the back) and the mudroom is now all framed. Looks like rough framing is finished so it's time to cut another check to the G.C.
 
 
 

Kitchen Window Frame

Well, they are making mor progress on the rough framing on a Saturday! Oh, and check out the kitchen window frame. It seems a bit uneven, but I don't think its finished.
 
 
 

Here are some shots without the tarp on from this afternoon.
 
 

Cabinets have been Finalized.

The kitchen cabinets have been finalized and we have the plans. Kathleen came back form Maine with the kids yesterday for a couple days and last night we went up to check out the new space. It’s looking good, but a bit small – Oh Well. We have to figure where all the outlets and switches and that type of thing are going to go so the electrician can do that on MONDAY! Oh, ya, the roof is supposed to go on Monday also! They are cutting out the hole for the kitchen window right now. I’ll have pictures tonight when they are done.

New View

Here's a shot of what it looks like in side. It's not huge, but it is looking great. And now we have a new view of the back yard from one of the windows in the back.

The Roof Takes Shape

Well with all the rain we were supposed to have today I think it lit a fire under Mike's butt. He got here this morning with one extra guy and they got right to work with the ridge of the roof so they could put up a tarp to cover everything in case it rained. I left for work feeling sure that they would leave early, but it turns out that they got a lot done. The ridge is up and they have framed and plywooded all the walls on the second story. Tomorrow we should see the dormer go in and the plywood go on the roof.