More Progress!

More pictures, less prose:

The Thrill is Gone

Well, not really the *thrill*. Just some trees.

Some work is progressing on the exterior. Windows are being trimmed out. Siding is being installed. All very slowly and in the cold, unfortunately. Insulation, the completion of the MEP and turning on the dang heat is all very close now.


The really freaky part is that we made a big decision: we conceded to have a couple HUGE trees cut down. I want them gone, as in "like they never existed" gone. I mean if you're going to do it, do it right!

So now the front of 1334-36 looks very naked without the looming half-dead foliage of the soft maple that once stood crookedly and ominously above all of our cars. Does that also mean the starlings won't have anywhere to sit and poop on our cars? I hope so.

The stump was about 4' in diameter, and there was a 2' hole in the center of the tree. I naively asked the tree guy "Hey, do maples have the center of the trunk missing?" His answer was a laughing "No, there was a lot of rot in there. And a bunch of squirrels." Apparently one came screaming out when they started to cut. That would've been fun to see.

In back of 1342-44 we had to take off at least a limb of this dead thing above. It kind of sat on the property line, and loomed over the neighbor's garage. Seeing as how it was a danger for many reasons, I just decided to go for it and erase this one too. Sooner or later we would've had to do it. And none of it was cheap. They're only have done with teeh back tree. One more day and we're ready for the power drop:

Another Update

Well, we've got little time heading into the weekend to blog. Here's the rundown of activities:

1) The roof is done.
2) Exterior siding repair and replacement is underway.
3) Electrical rough is nearing completion.
4) Exterior doors (the main ones anyway) are in.
5) Plumbing rough is complete.
6) Main windows are installed.
7) Framing is 98% complete.
8) Basement windows have concrete sills poured.
9) Huge tree out back about to removed.
10) Fifth dumpster getting emptied tomorrow.

You get the picture. In more than one way:

Home Wreckers

The name, HomeWreckers, has always seemed fitting for my fantasy teams because of this kind of work that I do. But what is really fun is seeing the transformation after the wrecking part is done, and finishing part starts.

We left off somewhere around here. The tarp was put back on the house to try and keep moisture out of the house before the roof was completed. The roof and framing was held up because of a contractor who decided not to come back to complete the work. I had to scramble to find a good framer and roofer. And they fell from the sky into my lap.

After finishing off the majority of the second floor framing, the roof work was ready to start. In the mean time I was installing windows and doors, and the electrical and plumbing was moving along. All of this of course was happening over the week of Christmas, which I took off pretty much to work on this puppy and spend some much needed family time with Sheri and Ethan.

I had told the framers to hold back the eave on the addition to save time and money. When they were done, the result was simply ugly and it was my fault. So I decided to fix it by coming up with a fly rafter detail that I would build over the holiday. A fly rafter hangs over the side of the house and connects to the roof decking on a gable end. It doesn't need much support, because it's only acting as slight overhang and carrying relative light loads. In my case, the roof deck was already in place, so I had to use a trim board attached to the house as one support and brackets to carry the added weight of the 1x decking I wanted to use to match the rest of the house.

My little brother, Charles, worked with me to saw the rafter profile, which was kind of a curved, tear-drop shape. Then he sanded it smooth while I built custom brackets from 2x framing stock -- It's all going to be painted, not to mention a 16' 2x8 cedar board is nearly $40.

Hanging the rafter by myself proved to be a mistake in the end. I attached the 16' long 2xs to a couple boards that cantilevered onto the roof deck to keep the rafters suspended in place while I measured and attached the brackets. Well, half way through the installation, I accidentally nudged the fly rafter, which was attached to my supports with a couple temporary nails, and the rafter slid off the support, fell to the roof deck below and snapped in two. Boy was I disappointed.

I proceeded to install the south rafter complete with brackets, and decided after much brooding over the situation that the broken rafter had a clean enough break to attack it with about 6 clamps, a ton of glue and 10 screws.

The tiny complication in the installation resulted in having to wait a day to complete the second rafter installation. Over the same time period, my roofing crew pulled up on site and began tearing off the remainder of the shingles that were left. The view of downtown from the roof makes me want to building a rooftop access.

The delay between tear off and black papering the deck allowed some of the exteremly wet roof decking to dry out. The shingles on the South were completely shot.

The roofer convinced me that I should spare the extra expense of putting new decking over the old. I gave in. It made sense, not to mention that his bid number generously included the labor to install the 40 plus sheets of 7/16 OSB I bought for $7.66 a sheet. That's a no-brainer at about $250 material cost for new rigid decking on top of these planks.

The bracket design is probably a bit undersized for the elevation, but I think it is simple and good looking from the ground. I wouldn't get too close and inspect the details, if you know what I mean.

So in the past month or so, we've went from this:

To this:

I feel pretty good about the progress.