Thursday, August 16, 2012

Beyond Framing

Last weekend was quite a challenge somehow.  I'm not quite sure if it was just how fast the framing was finished that raised the bar of efficiency, the heat, or just overall being overwhelmed, but I was struggling.  We seemed to not make very much progress this weekend.

Two projects needed to happen, and both of them, in their complexity, could have been avoided.  First, on Friday, Gabe and Dad removed the stucco siding that the framers kept as per our instruction.

Remember this funny patch that was left on the east wall?


Well, in our efforts to keep as much as possible, we decided that the stucco sagged too much and the problems this caused were too great.  So, they went to tackling this arduous task of removing it.  Mind you, cement stucco is no easy task.  That stuff is bitterly heavy.  I made it my work to clean up around the house all the bits of debris left behind by the framers (since their mission was speed) including stucco chunks big and small, nails, glass and the like.

Here is the wall from the inside, starting to come down:


Here is a short video showing some of the wall coming down:


Almost done:

Gabe also had to score the stucco on the front of the house where the intersection will be with the stucco and the siding we attach (we haven't decided yet between Hardiplank and cedar siding).  That was a messy job, not to mention that the ladder Gabe bought cheap off Craig's list was old and fiberglass pieces were shedding off onto him!!  The ladder will need an additional paint job.

The next day, we brought over to the house the Jacuzzi tub that Dad had been storing in his garage for quite some time, as well as the re-used water tank.  It had been in the house previous to our renovation and needed the rust to be sanded down and re-spray painted.

Here's the tub!


I was the gopher/photographer in the morning while the guys finished framing in the wall that we had taken out the day previous.  They also worked to maintain the hole for the window in the 1st floor bathroom.


They finished that (short of wrapping it with Tyvek) and were eager to start on the stairwell.  Dad had spent a good while drawing up the stringer (the part of the stairs that goes up the side and the treads sit on it) on the 2' X 12' so they could cut it out.  It takes great precision--stair risers must vary no less than 3/4" step to step to comply with codes--so no horsing around with that!


Shortly thereafter, Mom brought over lunch after she had finished leading a bird walk in the morning.  It was a nice picnic of bologna sandwiches on our pile of lumber on the living room floor!!

I had been dreading our task after lunch.  Mom and I were planning on removing all the heart pine lumber in the crawl space.  This would be the second task that was made harder with poor planning.  The framers closed in the crawl space without removing the hardwood, so we had to go into the tight crawl space and extract very long pieces of reclaimed heart pine lumber.  Man, was that a chore!!!  I'm glad I had a partner in crime.  At that time of day, we had a little bit of shade to work with, so that was nice.

Here we are, taking a much needed break!


All of the heart pine lumber was getting picked up by a local lumber company later in the week so that they could clean it up and plane it down so we can re-use it.  We needed to get it into a pile and cover it with plastic, so that is what we did.

Meanwhile, the guys made some good progress on the stairwell, but they didn't finish it.  


They finished the platform, which two steps will lead up to it on the front, and then the risers will turn to the left and go up to connect with the second floor.


We needed to leave early to meet some friends for dinner, so we cleaned up shop, organized a bit and then called it a day.  

Hopefully next weekend we can finish the stairs and button up the framing on the east side.  The porch framing is the next big thing, but that can only move forward with a revision of the permit getting approved by the county government.  Here's hoping!!

Framing Week!!!!!

Wanna see some progress??  Let me tell you, it is TOTALLY different.

We left off the second day of framing week.  Here are some pictures Tuesday:


It's getting more closed in again!


I really wish I could have been there to watch the progress...they were moving soooo fast!

Remember this a couple weeks ago???


This is also an interior shot, but taken after a few (all in view) walls were removed :)


The next day, Wednesday, the second floor got framed in:


The east side:


The master bedroom roof is being installed:


Then the master bathroom roof:



Gabe and I made our way out to the house that evening with a picnic dinner.  We met Mom & Dad there too.  They wouldn't let us up into the 2nd floor because the framers were planning on working until 8.  Man, it was hard to wait until they were done!

Here is the kitchen area!!!


Our new open floor plan, with the bathroom and stairwell in the background, and Dad and Gabe having a spirited conversation:


From the front:


The big picture:


We FINALLY got to go upstairssssss......

Stairwell                                          Master bathroom

It was getting pretty dark up there, so we will get better pics on Saturday.

The next day, the framers actually finished the job around 3:00 pm!!!  They weren't supposed to be finished until Sunday!!

A couple pics:



As you can see, they finished wrapping the plywood sheathing in Tyvek, so it is reasonably weather tight for now.

On Saturday, we went back to the house to get a few measurements and pictures.  We intended to stay longer, but we got invited to my aunt and uncles for dinner, so we took the opportunity.  It was a nice break.

I went a little crazy taking pictures of the upstairs.  I might be a little excited!  :)

From the Master Bedroom looking towards the stairwell
Rafters of the MBR, showing the old with the new
More old with the new:



This is how we are getting upstairs for now:


Here's a nice view of the MBR, with the BIG windows!


This room will be the bigger of the two bedrooms (about 10' X 12', one of them is temporarily a "study" until we get a bigger water pump for the house):


This is a view of the "study" showing through to the stairwell beyond:


Next you will find the hallway:


Off the hallway is a closet which will house the washer and dryer--delineated by the 2 X 4's below:


I've also created a video tour of the upstairs space:


And, not to leave out the downstairs, of course!  Here is a video of the downstairs too:



And thus concludes FRAMING WEEK!!!