As we enter the month of November, days are getting shorter, and so is our punch-list for this beautiful new family room.  Flooring is freshly finished, and will need to be protected during the final days of work.  The days of dangling light bulbs are dwindling, as the electrician gets to work with his finish installations.

New flooring is continuous through to the kitchen.  This feature, combined with the enlarged opening, dramatically improves the flow between the two rooms.

A hanging light fixture is already installed in the new powder room, and it looks like somebody couldn’t help but start decorating…unless the electrician left behind his peacock feathers.  Plumbing fixtures are on site, and will be set in place later this week.

Behold, the barn door shutter!  Susan and Janice approached us early on in the project about incorporating this.  Originally, the idea was to have a set of shutters flanking the french doors, but limited wall area influenced the final design.  The door’s track spans both sets of doors, so the shutter can be positioned over either one.  The door itself was custom built by Gary back in our workshop.

With the new siding painted, we can begin to appreciate the blending of old and new work.  It wasn’t easy matching materials and sight lines, but this looks pretty good.

Back inside, another barn door is hung at the powder room hall.  The door is a salvage piece that Susan acquired, and the hardware was reused from one of the old kitchen doors.  Behind the door, you’ll notice that the wrought iron spindles are also installed.

In the boiler room, the HVAC installers are busy working on the new heating system.  The new wall hung boiler replaces both the monstrous boiler and the hot water tank that completely filled this space previously.  The reclaimed space will be used for a laundry room and storage for home theater equipment.  The rectangular outline visible in the wood floor is the crawlspace access panel.

The work site is particularly welcoming today as a cozy fire takes the edge off a chilly autumn morning.  The floor is completely installed, and now covered for protection while the painter gets to work.

In the kitchen, we get a glimpse of the farmhouse pine floors.  Early next week, the flooring will be sanded and finished with a clear coat.

Back in the family room, vertical wood paneling is installed on the “stall wall”.  Mike is currently working on a frame to house the wrought iron spindles which will complete the effect, meant to evoke the horse stalls that originally occupied the space.

New flooring is on site.  Of course, I use the term “new” loosely.  The reclaimed wood is actually “Farmhouse grade historic heart pine”.  Reclaimed, or antique, flooring is manufactured by deconstructing old buildings that would otherwise be destroyed.  As a result, the material is both sustainable and distinctive.  For more information on reclaimed wood flooring, check out the supplier’s website by following the link below:

http://www.mountainlumber.com/index.php

As a point of interest, Mountain Lumber is currently offering limited edition “Guiness Oak” flooring made from antique vats from the Guinness brewery in Dublin.

At the progress meeting, Craig and Mike meet with  Susan and Janice to discuss scheduling and selections.  In the picture above, we are viewing the new family room from the existing kitchen.  The opening between the two rooms has been widened to improve flow, and kitchen flooring was removed.  Craig is explaining how he intends to address a rather significant hump in the floor between the two rooms.

Mike is applying a jamb to the antique door salvaged by Susan.  This door will be installed at the powder room.

Installation of new wood siding is now complete.  With a little paint, it should blend right in with the existing work.

The modified bitumen roofing at the window wells was finished with a specialized version of the product which approximates the texture and color of roof shingles.

Back inside, sheetrock is hung, taped, and spackled, so it’s on with the fun part…finishes!  Previously in the blog, we alluded to many of the creative uses of reclaimed and re-purposed materials involved in this project, so it’s exciting to see some of these ideas start to materialize.

Outside the laundry/mechanical room, salvaged doors from the company’s office @ 1237 North Church Street are hung.  Layers of old paint were painstakingly removed by client Susan Gamble, and her efforts have been rewarded with a truly unique design element.

In the powder room, wood paneling from the carriage house’s horse stalls are reused as wainscoting.  Careful planning was required to get the coverage required from the material available (they don’t exactly sell this stuff at Home Depot).  Gaps at the bottom will be covered by baseboard once the new floor is installed.

In the main room, a sliding barn door has a new home, housing the electric panel (above left).  On the opposite wall, masonry work is completed for the new wood stove (above right).  The character of the room is certainly starting to take shape, but there’s still plenty of work yet to be done.

With insulation in place, sheet-rock is up and running.  This stage of the project is rather time consuming as the spackling  requires significant dry time.  Regardless, there’s plenty of work outside to keep us occupied until indoor finishes are ready.

A close-up shot of the rafters just before the ceiling is covered.  Insulation was applied directly to the roof deck to create an unvented roof assembly.  Commonly, insulation is applied at the ceiling, allowing the “attic” space to reach extreme temperatures as heat is absorbed through the roof.  In this scenario, vents are employed to circulate the air and also to remove built up moisture.  By moving the insulation to the roof deck, the “attic” space is kept conditioned and eliminates the need for venting.  We used a foam/batt hybrid system consisting of a layer of foam insulation, covered with a traditional fiberglass batt.  In addition to increasing the R-value of the installation, the foam offers added benefits in the way of air selaing.

Outside, Gary and Dave install the cedar siding.  Existing siding will be removed to the bottom of the second floor window to blend the transition as seamlessly as possible.  Making the finishes of an addition tie-in with existing work is particularly challenging, but it’s one of the hallmarks of a quality job.

After the holiday weekend, it’s back to work time.  While plumbing and electric rough-ins wrap up, cedar siding is primed in preparation for installation later this week.  At the rear corner of the house, the electrician is trenching a new power supply to the shed.

Initial plumbing and electric inspections are scheduled for tomorrow, with the insulator prepared to follow.

Craig and Gary inspect the new roof job.

The low pitch of the window wells required a membrane roof.  In this case, modified bitumen was used.  The discoloration shown is the result of torching the membrane to fit corners of the well.  A colored finish coat will complete the job.  Some siding repair is also needed to provide a finished look to the transition between original exterior wall and the new roof.

The room is completely sheathed in, including the roof.  It’s a bit difficult to see at this angle, but the top of the shed roof is slightly higher than the bottom of the second floor windows.  To accommodate these windows, the roof design includes window wells.

Inside, the window wells are affecting ceiling joist placement.  The 2×8 ceiling joists are too wide to fit under the well’s framing.  A 2×6 joist would probably fit better, but 2×8’s are specified on the Plans.  The crew will just have to notch the affected joists individually and make it work.

Elsewhere, concrete is mixed and poured to cap our retaining wall.  As you may recall, the foundation wall for our crawlspace was moved in several feet to avoid disturbing the original stone foundation.  The “moat” of dirt was covered with heavy plastic, then concrete, to act as a vapor barrier.

On day 6 of framing, the addition is sheathed and the fascia board is in place.

Gary and Mike work together to secure a fly rafter on the edge of the roof.  Fly rafters with exposed tongue-and-groove sheathing reflect design elements of the original building (see example, above).

While the fly-rafters are set in place, Dave is priming the sheathing material.  The 1×6 boards are primed prior to installation to ensure an even coat on all sides of the wood, including the tongue and the groove.  This practice helps preserve the integrity of the wood and prevents premature rot.

Wall sheathing is going up today.

Once the exterior sheathing is on, this corner post will be completely boxed in.  In anticipation of this, Gary packed the corner cavity with insulation.  It’s a small detail that is often overlooked, but indicative of a caring, quality job.  When corners are left uninsulated, they become a thermal weakness in the building shell and contribute to uncomfortable living spaces.