Day 17: The Second Story is Taking Shape

We left before the workers got here today, but were so excited to see the second story taking shape and actual design of the house start to show when we got home. Dave Maddux, from the Arcus Group, has done a beautiful job of keeping the feel of a cottage, which our original house probably was, but finding a way of 'stacking' space to create interest, space and style.

The yard in the front is getting pretty tight for all the materials and equipment being used. At least there is a visual relationship to the size of the checks we are writing! We met with Trevor this evening, the tall drink of water to the right here, to talk about upcharges. He's one of the three in Brady 3.  Everyone who has done renovations or built a house knows what upcharges are, and once the project gets going it is easy to see how it happens. It starts with something like this: "Hey, I wonder if it would be possible to do __________ instead of what we orignally planned of ____________. There's a time for dreaming and a time for a reality check. We had a little bit of both at the meeting. The great thing about working with Trevor is that he's very upfront right away about the impact of our changes. The major ones, like putting in a $4000 door system vs a $1200 door system on the back of the studio, are what causes the upcharges. Just because anything is possible with enough money doesn't mean it should be done. R-E-A-L-I-T-Y  C-H-E-C-K! 

Day 16: More Wind, More Rain

Not a lot can happen with wind advisories and rain in the forecast. Getting out of the house, around the construction and mud that is accumulating in spots, with dog, computer, portfolio, purse and lunch in tow is not fun, but still has not curbed our enthusiasm for the project. Tomorrow is a better forecast.

Day 15: Rain, Wind, Rain, Wind

It is amazing that any work got done today. At first we didn't think any did, other than tacking up of tyvek along the western wall. It was when got above it that we could see the walls for the second story built, covered in tyvek and ready to be attached. Tomorrow is another day of winds with gusts in excess of 40 mph. Wonder what progress will be made???

Water is the Enemy

We were awoken this morning by the sound of a heavy rain, the first in a long, relatively dry summer. Luxuriating in bed, we pulled the shades up and marveled at how calm the lake becomes in these types of rain. If it weren't for the few visible ripples, the water and sky would seem to be one. What a show!

Chessie, our faithful watch dog, let out a few puffs, letting us know she thought a stranger was in her domain. We passed it off as possibly a critter testing the frontier. Got up, got dressed, started the day and thought I heard someone knocking on the door. Ran down to check front door, no one, back door, no one, side door, no one. Bang, Bang, Bang. Someone was on the new construction! Are they working on Saturday?????

Chris, the supervisor from Brady 3 was tacking up plastic to securely cover possible rain openings on the outside of the house, where the garage used to be. Impressive. Went down into the basement to throw laundry in and splashed into a puddle. Not good. Apparently the water shedding off the roof was funneling into the opening where the new sewer line was put in, filling the hole and finding places to spread into, which happened to be into our basement, traveling along the sill and dripping down the north wall. Not only did Chris put up plastic over the side wall of the house, he diverted the water shedding off the roof away from the hole where sewer line enters the house, threw stone to fill the hole, cleared the garage drain so the water would drain from the old garage slab and all in the rain on his day off. He must have left his cape at home, otherwise it would have been wet too!

We have experience with same kind of thing in another life, memories of our Arbor Chase house in Atlanta floated to the surface. For that very reason and my penchant for moving things around when I work, I tend to put most of my things on rolling wheels. Only a little water on the area rug under a work table left it's mark and the rest was easily mopped up. Chris ran to his office and picked up a dehumidifier which is harmonizing with the one we keep on down there. The rain has been light and in short bursts since.

Awww, the thrills of demolition, renovations and construction!

Day 14: More Framing

The floor/ceiling joists depending upon how you look at them, went up today. Though the progress will probably seem less dramatic once the outer shell is completely done, there is still much work. It is so exciting standing in the middle of what will be our 2 car garage and remembering how nice it was to have one. The things we so easily take for granted!

The front porch seen in this picture will not be here much longer. An interior wall will be built to support the upper level of the house and it will be taken out to make room for the new entrance which will face east, off of a usable porch. Currently the front door faces south.

All that commentary about staging of materials is becoming a dead issue. Chris and crew from Brady 3 moved all of the wood under cover. Again, they are tidying up with broom and brawn.

The best view of the front entrance will be coming from the east.

Once all the brush was taken out and the construction got underway it was easier to see how 'old' looking the front windows are looking. New windows look to be on the horizon. The house is a mixture of 3 different periods of windows. Ah, the beauty of being eclectic.

Day 13: Framing

 It's always interesting to see where a starting point is. Logic makes all things plausible, but are they actually possible? All future possibilities depend upon a good start. In this case, the back becomes first and the front becomes last. Getting that first wall to stand straight and strong looked easy...... as a bystander that is. There are more window openings than appears currently because they have not been cut out of the sheathing yet.

As more walls came up, more temporary supports went in. If the maze of digging was a challenge at night this is even more. The weather is still holding out, very little rain. The day we did have rain, the dry pile of crumbled clay was dotted with sticky land mines.

It was really strange to come home and have an idea of what kind of volume the addition would take up. The foot print of the new looks bigger then what was there the day before of the old. Staging all of the material in the small bit of yard in front has been interesting to watch. So far I still get to keep the driveway spot for me most days. It's debatable as to whether the sweet gum tree the mailbox is attached to will survive. For those of you unfamiliar with what kind of tree that is, it's fruit is a woody 1.25" ball that acts like marbles when under foot.

The huge opening in the back is for a 4 panel glass door system that in affect, makes the entire back wall of the lower studio glass, with a good view of Lake Erie. It's so exciting looking at the space and thinking of the possibilities. I am soooo glad the door to the  basement is right off the studio still. Most of my storage is there, leaving the new are for work and play.

Day 12: Up From the Dust

This has got to be one of the most exciting things we have done. The crew from Brady 3 are fantastic and the progress has been very methodically planned out and executed so far. The views inside and outside the house are changing rapidly and dramatically. No sleepwalking! This is the view out the upstairs guest bedroom.

Today they are starting to frame up all the first floor walls, so by the end of the day we should have an idea of how the design, by Dave Maddux at the Arcus Group will fill the space. It has been a real challenge figuring out how to balance design, space and budget, but the final design on paper is all we hoped for.

Chris, the project supervisor and Trevor, the contractor really know the project plans well AND are willing to work with us in a fluid manner. We had some thoughts about the steps leading from the current stair landing into the new addition. It was one of those design pieces we couldn't visualize until the space started to change.... which, as you all know of me, leaves the door open for making my own change suggestions. It's called dancing, between contractor, designer and homeowners. So far it has been to sweet music.

Instead of 4 steps up from the landing in either direction, to the right into the current house, to the left into the new addition, there will be one step into the new addition and the rest of the height made up in going into the space above the new garage. Hard to visualize I know, but it will make sense as the project goes on.

The wall plates are attached to the foundation through bolts that were anchored in during the pouring of the concrete walls. A moisture barrier is put on between the two, with the wood being pressure treated against moisture as well.

Day 11: Demolition

The real demolition of the garage is happening today. The electric company is scheduled to move the power from the garage to the temporary pole on the side yard. Butchoko Electric will then be run the power in pvc, along the ground to come back into the main house. Without this being done, all progress would stop. Glad the weather is so temperate. Already we can get an idea of what the house must have looked like at the time it was first built. There are windows that have been boarded up and walled over, siding changes, scars in the basement floor where earlier excavation have taken place, an addition to the back of the house. The changes these walls have seen... As much as this addition is in the name of progress, there is a whisper to be mindful of the integrity of the past, and what the past brought to us. Maybe most homes are starter homes at some point.

We have a door, that lead into the storage space above the garage that is now being torn down. Here is a picture of inside meeting outside as of 9 am this morning. It will be interesting to see how the roof comes down. There is a lot of really nice wood that seems a shame to waste by throwing into the trash bin.  Chris, the supervisor from Brady 3 told me that the large dumpsters are sorted and recycled, including the wood. Is that awesome or what? I hear words of warning, must be stuff dropping down.

For those of you who hold onto things, in affect, we are removing every bit of additional storage space, except the basement. The coat closet will be coming down with the front porch in a few days. Picture what to do with all the 'stuff' 28 years of marriage can accumulate. I look at some of this stuff and go What??? Why??? Purging feels very invigorating at this point. We are becoming good friends with various donation centers!

We decided to take advantage of one of the few, but last days of boating weather after work. When we left in the morning the garage was still standing with assurance that it would be down by the end of the day most likely. It was so beautiful on the water and the boat running so well we headed for home.

The view was fabulous all the way around. Been a long time since the house had this look, sans garage. The garage was added before the back addition seen here.

It was a very odd feeling walking onto our garage floor with no walls, rug still in place in front of the door. The ivy  that we have been battling since moving in, thickly tangled and standing as if the wall were still there. We have to thank Butchko Electric for keeping the progress moving!

Day 10: Work of the Irish, Killeen Plumbing

This is one of those days when it's better to hear about something possibly than actually see it. I came home from an early morning errand to hear a familiar voice call my name from the depths of our basement. It was Quinn Killeen, from Killeen Plumbing. He did the plumbing in our master bath redo when we first moved in and it is quite a nice master bath. Since he was in our basement, it must have meant the first hole in the foundation walls would be made to tie the new garage drain into the sewer pipe. It's sort of like ripping a bandaid off, you know it's going to happen. Who better than Quinn to do it? They went right to it while I ran out to do another errand. This is the hole looking out from the basement through the wall to under the porch. See the leg to the left of the hole? In short time the pipe was fitted through and closed up with cement. The actual tie in won't be until later in the project. One hole down, one to go. Hopefully we won't find chipmonks building a new home under my painting table!

Demolition of the garage started today as well. The garage door opener was removed earlier and then the door itself was removed and all the interior wall board. There was all kinds of 'stuff' flying around. The amazing thing though, is at the end of the day, even the garage floor was swept of debris.

They Still Live!

The rhododendren and other plants I moved from the front of the house to the back are still alive, green and showing little signs of stress. How can that be, as I consider myself to be a gardener by default without the natural instincts to coddle plants into bloom?! Turns out, all is really needed is water! Imagine that.

I did imbibe in an old family tradition from the gardeners in Johnny's family (from MPW Construction) of putting a raw potato at the base of the hole. The folks at Landmark also sold me some dyn-o-mite root stimulator. There is still plenty of time to try and keep the magic going until fall comes and lays everything dormant. The rest of the garden has been thriving under the additional dose of water as well. The lawn is actually a sea of green grass!


There is something to be said for giving living things what they need best to thrive. It's a beautiful thing!

Masonry or Masonary

Days 7, 8 & 9 Brick by Brick. I have been slammed by a southern friend, Hall, a practitioner of the fine craft of carpentry, for calling the work of masons, masonary. It was the reiteration back, 'MAY suh NAIR ree' in that southern way of drawling it out to make a point, that is still amusing. Well, my friend, it is both accurate and correct to say masonry and masonary in this neck of the woods.

Regardless of the PC nature of the word, our foundation is being dressed up quite handily by the skilled masons from MK Masonry, Inc. Pat and Mike were out looking over the plans. They were very willing to do whatever color I thought I wanted, then very tactfully pointed out the rest of the old foundation was in fact the red brick I shunned. Red it is. They have matched the brick of the 1920 foundation to a T. The below grade pour has a buff color brick pattern with enough of a recess to be topped by the red brick work. When finished the front steps will be brick faced with sandstone tops, but that will be one of the last things done.

Trevor from Brady 3 has had the different trades cued up and ready to go once the permits were granted and not a day has gone by that some progress has not been made. Very impressive! The masons will finish up this stage of their work and the framing will start on Monday. We have had beautiful, dry, cool weather for this part of the project which has been helpful as well.

The coming week is threatening to be less cooperative weather wise, but Trevor's crew will still be ready and working. The only hitch to the old garage coming down is the cooperation of the power company that has to re-move the power feeding into our house through it. The pole on the west corner of the front has been waiting for 2 weeks to get juiced. Hopefully it's mission will be fulfilled on Monday, fingers crossed.

Brian and Johnny from MPW Construction were back filling the empty spaces around the foundation with stone. There is still some work that needs to go on under the stone, mainly the drain for the new garage and tying into the sewer line.( Our old line, which will be closed off except downspout drainage went out the back into the lake.) That's the second hole that will have to go through the old foundation. The gas line has to be moved from going in under what will now be our front porch to the east side exterior wall. The upside is the meter will now be on the outside of the house. Down side, hole #2.

Again, we continue to be impressed and grateful for the care taken at the end of the day to keep our yard as tidy as possible. It is easier on us and our neighbors. Thanks everyone!

Day 6: Poured vs Stacked

The sound of jackhammers got quick attention.

It was all about making a tie in point to the current foundation... 

      

Forms were added and poured.

Voila, a footer and foundation.

Everything is moving smoothly so far.

Trevor at Brady 3 feels a poured foundation, though more expensive is a better choice for a number of reasons. All walls crack, but concrete is more water tight after a crack than a block wall. Rebar reinforces the poured walls and the ability to scab on and bridge between different wall sections old and new make it a better choice. Sounds good to me.

Day 5: Finding Footing, Building Foundation

After a beautiful weekend, (still no rain!) the day started with the actual building of the footer forms, in the maze outside the front door. Waiting for the inspection. Think I'll have lunch. The inspection department in Bay was in and out shortly after noon.

The cement company. E.C.I, pulled their truck right up to the edge of the excavation and all that clay held strong. A'bag' was attached to the shoot to direct the flow. The equipment in the foreground on the tri-pod is used to check the levelness of the poured cement.

 

Leveling and checking leveling

Day 4: Tweaking the Maze

Remembering, thanking, blessing,  9.11.01



There's still some tweaking to be done with the excavation. Zac from MPW Construction arrived to check the progress. Measuring, marking, looking at the plans, measuring again, marking some more. Brian and Johnny will be back today to catch this bit of excavation. Then the forms for the footers will be added with cement being poured on Monday if all goes as planned. Framing to start soon after that. This is soooo exciting. Again the weather is AWESOME!

Trevor Miller, from Brady 3 will give us a construction schedule at the beginning of the week.


Bill Schwin from MPW Construction arrived with geodimeter in hand to pinpoint, and I mean pinpoint, the exact location of the corners to the footers. He was out earlier marking the front yard before excavation started and returned to remark the points. The footer forms will follow straight lines to and from each corner pin.  This is the same kind of equipment siesmologists use to monitor movement of volcanoes.

How did he know where to start? For those who are so far out of the realm of visual trigonometry as I am, the points were drawn up and uploaded to the brains of the equipment standing on a fixed point outside the excavated area. The gizmo on his arm relates information between the brains (geodimeter) and the reflectometer he is moving around, to find the exact point for the pin. The g-meter has a level, as everything should to ensure perpendicularity, which is of course the straight and narrow way to walk!

This ensures the squareness of the new construction, while at the same time points out the out of squareness of the existing structure. Ahh, the advances of technology since 1925 when the  original structure was built.

Day 3 More Excavation

The front yard looks like a maze, with all the excavation changes. We are excited to see the foot print of the garage, and the approximate size relative to the front yard.

The digging continues much to the dismay of a family of chipmunks that had taken up residence under our front door stoop. This little guy is probably wondering what the heck has happened and has hunkered down, looking for a new path out his den. There must be a maze of tunnels as this opening is 8' away from the stoop. Cute as they can be, it is nice to say good-bye.

A crack in the foundation under the front porch was discovered. It looks more severe than it is, being that it is under the porch that will be removed and not part of the main foundation of the house. Trevor Miller, our Contractor from Brady 3 spent about 2 hours examining it and the matching one on the garage wall, strategizing with the foundation crew. The solution? More concrete. Piers will be added to the front, which will support the weight of the new front porch. The rest will be covered by subsequent foundation and framing work.

For those of you wondering about the beautiful rhododendren from the front yard as well as the 2 flowering smaller bushes in front of it, they have found a new home in the back. With the excavation help of Brian and Johnny, and a lot of shovelling on my part,  I was able move them.

The internet was very specific on the process for best chance of success, which I tried to follow as best I could. We will watch the progress of these as well.

We may have some more moving of plantings because once they were in, other ideas popped into my head. That is the problem of going with the flow, but in the end, I am sure it will all be beautiful, and we will be that much stronger for it!

Day 2: Excavation

The weather is absolutely beautiful, which is a plus since the hole and whole front of our yard is dirt and gravel. Getting into the front door is a real leap.

This is how our house looked at the end of the day yesterday. See how neat and tidy the excavation is???? Amazing, considering it is dirt.

This is how it looks at noon today. Most of the excavation is finished. Notice the drop from the front porch? That is the next thing to go. Waiting for foundation forms and concrete after that.

These are the two hardworking guys are from MPW Excavation, Brian and Johnny.

They're Heeeerrrre!

Unbelievable, after 2+ years of machinating the stars and moon finally align with the help of Trevor Miller at Brady 3, the contractor on our house makeover.

We've had a great start: Good-bye driveway, good-bye landscaping, good-by front porch. Hellllllooo excavation! I just love the big machines, can they haul a_ _, literally.

Equipment started to arrive at about 7:45.

The driveway was broken up and hauled away by mid day. The cherry tree that took 35 years to grow was down in about 5 minutes. It must have known what was coming as it started to die 3 weeks ago.

Bryan and Johnny from MPV Excavation have been very courteous, helpful and considerate of the inconveniences for us. Very neat and tidy, too.