Lots to be Thankful for!

In the spirit of the season, looking back, we are very thankful we weren't more affected by Superstorm Sandy.  Our thoughts and prayers go out to those who are still dealing with the aftermath.

We inspected our little house for damages incurred from the storm, and found nothing except for a downed dead tree in the yard that we were going to have to take down anyway!!  wow, yay!

This one:

The first weekend in November, Gabe and I worked to secure the post at the east end of the porch.  We had neglected its presence up until then, but we were able to position it where it was needed without too much trouble.

More deck boards, yay!

It was a chilly and blustery day, so we decided to work on replacing the window in the study upstairs.  Mom had been in Panama on a birding expedition and Dad was in Boston on business, so it was up to us to make good progress this weekend.

Here is a before shot of the window from September, since the old window has been out for a while:

Gabe started by removing the blocking from the bottom,  and cut off the rotten dimensional studs that went down to the foundation wall (remember balloon framing does that--studs span from the foundation to the highest floor) and replaced them up to the lintel at the top.

Here is Gabe removing the rotten parts:

We also had to take down and re-cut the header that our contractors had placed previously since it no longer worked with the new window size.

The tricky part was cutting the hole out so that our large egress windows would fit.  They are not the same size as the original windows.

 

The old, existing windows were also not plumb.

Bottom is all framed up!

The stucco on the outside also needed to be cut out to make room for the window trim on the exterior of the house.  So Gabe used the circular saw to shape it up.  A messy job!

Getting dark and getting done.  Or at least done enough for now.

From the outside:

In the daylight:

Easy as pie!!  Ok, not really.  This whole process took us about 5 hours to complete.  We have three more windows to replace...hope they don't all take that long!!!  This one was one of the worst, so maybe not.  These new windows should last for years to come!

We must remember to start earlier---daylight savings time ends this weekend!!

The next weekend was very busy.  It was Missions week at our church, so we had additional activities, which was great, just very busy!  We had the missions banquet on Friday night, so we took a break.  But, we still made it out to the house on Saturday with our good friend John Ulrich.

We started out by removing the old bead-board from the ceiling of the porch.  As it turns out, it is heart pine, so we will be holding on to that.  It was a messy job, but it needed to happen to reveal the condition of the porch roof.

More demo!!  I am glad to see this nasty roof go.

Watch it fall!

The plan is to utilize some of the existing roof, but since it doesn't extend all the way to the end of the addition on the east side, we will need to extend it out.  Dad and Gabe worked to stabilize the ceiling rafters to the house more securely while our friend John and I worked to attach the rest of the floor boards.  Needless to say, we were in each other's way today!

I had to leave early to get some homework done.  John stuck around and got all the porch deck flooring done, minus one row closest to the house, that will probably not get done until the door gets moved and replaced.  Go John!!

Gabe and Dad worked to tie in and secure the roof posts and beam all the way across:

Lookin' good guys!!

Later, during that next week, our framing contractors came and extended the roof for us.  Talk about progress!

They also spent some time on the inside of the house.  We now have a 4" soffit in the kitchen, the soffit that divides the dining room from the living room framed in, the foyer framed in, and the fireplace corner wall built up.  The space is really taking shape.  They were smaller framing projects, but nit picky jobs that had to be done.  They also framed in the window in the 2nd bedroom upstairs.  I have to say Gabe did a more thorough job framing the other window though...  But what can I say?  My husband is amazing!!  :)

We got the HVAC and plumbing inspected, so we are good to go there.  The HVAC system will be all complete once we get the walls drywalled.  It is imperative that dirt and dust not get into the ducts, so we have them covered and protected for now.  Framing inspection is still to come.

The next Friday, Gabe and I took a look at another property to flip, except this time, we were going to look for one (preferably a duplex) we could live in and fix up, with income potential.  The home we looked at was a duplex in a nearby town.  Afterwards we met Dad at the house to do a few things to the inside.  I inspected the electrical upstairs and decided to add another outlet to the 2nd bedroom, so both nightstands could have a lamp.

Dad and Gabe worked to condense the framing around the soffit separating the living room and dining room.  The contractors didn't get it as close as we would like.  Here's their progress for that evening:

 

It might or might not be apparent the stair stepping action on the soffit in the pictures above; this was done to create a soffit as snug to the ductwork as possible to eliminate wasted space.

We had a friend of mine from college come down for a visit that evening, help out on site the next day. Joe was a big help!  We worked to move the reclaimed lumber into the crawl space first while Gabe and Dad worked tirelessly on the porch roof.

They work to sister up the rafters with new 2 X 4's as well as frame in the porch ceiling.

Joe and I worked together to sound proof the inside walls closest to the road (the house is about 15 feet from a busy street) using resilient channel pieces.  We needed to hang them every two feet in horizontal bands.

Here's Joe cutting the metal strips to fit:

I helped him to get them level.  Here's 2 of the 3 walls:

MBR wall

2nd Bedroom wall

A realtor living just up the street stopped by to ask who did our metal roof and who was doing our electrical.  This was a real boost of confidence about our roofing choice.  I was also able to show her around and see what she thought about the asking prices we were kicking around when we go to rent/sell.  She affirmed our ideas and must have said a dozen times how exciting this was!  She mentioned it looked a lot bigger inside than she thought from the road!  also good. All things you want to hear from a real estate agent when you are fixing up a house to rent/sell!

I left early that day to work on some school projects I had deadlines for coming up soon.  Gabe and Dad worked on the sheathing for the porch roof.  They actually finished it up!

Here is a before/after for your enjoyment.  :)

Before:

March 30, 2012

After (during):

November 24, 2012

Notice the porch roof has sheathing!

The next weekend (Thanksgiving weekend) we took a visit down to my brother Ian's place.  It was our first time breaking bread with his new fiance, Kate.  They did a wonderful job hosting and providing a 21 lb. turkey that tasted quite delicious!

We needed to work off a bit of the abundance, so we braced ourself for the cold on Saturday, the 24th. There were temperatures in the 50's and 60's for a couple days, but it took a dramatic downturn to the 30's and blustery that day.

We are looking forward to a home that is buttoned up!!

We came to find that the electrician had made lots of progress on the second floor rough-in.

A ceiling fan:

Cords running from upstairs to downstairs:

Outlets upstairs:

Recessed lighting fixtures:

A sea of cords and outlet boxes:

We are still waiting for the electrical to be complete downstairs.

Dad and Gabe had previously worked to recess the refrigerator a few inches by adding a header in this location:

A look at the angled fireplace wall, framed in:

Currently, the good view of it is blocked with insulation and a window.

Here is the wall that hems in some storage at the end of the jacuzzi tub/shower:

Gabe and Dad got to work on the porch roof in the bitter cold.  Here are a few pictures of their progress:

Looking west

Looking east

I worked on nailing hurricane ties to the rafters on the porch roof.  That was a chilly job!  Mom was out to help too, after making a trip to Home Depot to gather a few necessities for the day.  She and I also worked to clean up after the guys, which seems to happen a lot!  Mom also spent some time outside, digging around the Springhouse, removing rocks and poison ivy roots.

The porch post closest to the road was the next order of business for the guys.  I like this picture of Dad measuring it up:

:)

Finished post:

I left with Mom then, since it was so cold.  I worked on shopping and ordering lighting and plumbing fixtures that will be needed soon at the house.

Meanwhile, Gabe and Dad started on replacing one of two main level windows left.  They didn't finish before it got dark, but made some progress re-sizing the hole for the opening.

I will leave for now with a video tour of the house at it's current state.  It helps to get a 3D perspective of the space to get a lay of the land!

Happy Thanksgiving!!!