Solstice update
Longest day of the year has slipped past, better take a moment for some of the latest steps on this longest project of the decade…
The last chapter of this blog left off with the delivery of materials to rebuild the east wall, where the garage and a fireplace had been. Eric and his guys arrived on schedule, worked like sons-of-guns, and even (!) cleaned up after themselves with a cool magnetic sweeper that picked up all the loose nails-screws-flashing scraps.
Forgot to mention, the carpenters also cleaned up the fake gable on the back. Not long after they finished, I recruited family members for a work day, for tasks ranging from painting and fitting shelf liners in the kitchen to installing more of the vertical siding around the foundation.
Lots of measuring-twice/cutting-once, but unfortunately, the film crew must have been busy elsewhere, because the only photo I got of all that action was this: Mike and Richie at the end of the day. Maybe you can make out Kendra, Sandra and Mary up in the living room—? Sorry, gals!
My trusty assistant Behren came back for another day. He’s studying architectural drafting and since it’s all in the computer (CAD), I figure it’d be good for him to learn about actual structures in the world. Taking things apart seems like a good way to start, and what better way to do that, than with a reciprocating saw?
Thus, we opened a window in the wall that runs down the center of the house. It’s been a solid barrier between kitchen and living room. Of course, it is a load-bearing wall, so we need to think about either keeping (and dressing-up) the studs that are now exposed, or investing in the expertise to put in a header and open it up further. I’m inclined toward the former; it’s enough to get light and visibility between the two areas.
And just this morning I signed the papers to get the old windows replaced.
BEFORE: Dark wood sashes whose varnish is mostly worn off; storm windows in flimsy aluminum frames—some skewed so far out of square that edges of the glass are exposed, ready to break apart at the slightest nudge; and the sills caked with the dust of ages, plus dried out bug carcasses. Have to live with it for the next 6-8 weeks (manufacturer’s lead time), luckily enough of these relics are operable to catch a cross-breeze through the house.
AFTER: As of today, the future is all in the fine print of the window replacement contract, but check back in August….
Look at that picture, with ice lining the riverbanks. December 6 it was, just a week before the house was set down.
Should I pick a date for the house’s ‘birthday’, and if so, when? End of September, when it was delivered onsite, or the day it was rolled over the foundation, or the day it was set down?
What a year it’s been! More to come.
