25 July 2007

House Project Update


The next step in the construction process was putting up walls for the second floor addition. The walls may look a little short to you; that's mostly because they are. Our house is technically classified as 1.5 stories, meaning there's really not much attic to speak of--the ceilings on the second floor are shorter than on the first floor, and above that is roof. Consequently, both Charis and Judah have walls that slant into ceiling after about 5.5 feet. The ceilings are still plenty tall, but we have decided to vault the ceiling in Judah's bedroom (which will include the new addition) to give the feeling of more space. Poor Charis is going to be so jealous... We've also decided to vault the ceiling because there is a tiny (maybe 6 inch?) step up into the second floor addition, due to the ceiling height of the first floor rooms; if we didn't vault, it would likely feel more like 1.25 stories up there. Not exactly what we're going for.



After the walls came the roof line for the main section of the addition. The back porch that we ripped off had an inferior roof line, meaning that the slope wasn't steep enough, so ice tended to collect where the roofs met. The beauty of this new roof is that it is code-friendly, supporting a pitch that will enable rain, snow, and ice to slide off with ease, thereby eliminating the drippy ceilings we had become accustomed to in the old back porch. You'll notice the wall supports that are flush against the house and seem to be holding up the new roof rafters: this is actually the framing for the vaulted ceiling we've decided to put in the main floor addition. Yes, we're all about the vaulting. Again, this was to lend the illusion of space--even though it (obviously) adds no more square footing, we thought it would make it seem much more open and airy. Another decision we made last-minute was to put a skylight in the bathroom. Apparently, the trend these days is to build baths like these with no windows in them--a crying shame, says I--but I thought it might be nice to have a little daylight in the small room and not have to share our bathroom habits with the neighbors. So, voila, a skylight. I can't wait!



Here, the guys (Abe, brother-in-law Tim, and Shaun the contractor/renter) are "sheeting" the roof. Abe had to make a quick trip to Lowe's for some roof spacers--tiny metal doohickeys that allow the roof to expand and contract. What will they think of next?

And that's where they are for now. On the docket is the roof for the second floor, which will likely be put on this weekend (at least part of it...)

My greatest role in all of this is child care. And catering. Funny, but in my weekly menu planning, I almost never schedule anything for the weekends--yet the weekends are when I do my largest volume of cooking--two weekends ago, I cooked all day Saturday--grilled chicken, pasta salad, biscuits, cookies, banana bread, large amounts of homemade pizza--for the guys working on the house. This past weekend, work didn't commence until after supper, so I was off the hook, but I imagine this weekend will not be so luxurious. I'm thinking some sort of sandwich...maybe sloppy joes?


Even the kids get in on the action. In this picture, Charis is trying to supervise Judah's use of the reciprocal saw. Didn't I tell you he is advanced? (Don't worry--it's not plugged in, and actually, Charis was in the process of making sure Bubs did NOT pick up Daddy's tool. I imagine she wanted to have the pleasure of doing that herself.)





And here's Charis replenishing the fluids she lost while supervising. A forewoman's work is never done!

6 comments:

Jon said...

I am impressed.

I hope you don't have anyone climbing onto your roof to peer down through your skylight. You can never be too careful. You may even want to fabricate a cupola out of barbwire and position it over the skylight just in case. That would be my main concern. I don't think I'll be sleeping well until this is resolved. Haha, just kidding. But seriously. Look into a barbwire cupola.

Ellen said...

you are sooo martha! i can't even believe that while watching your kids on your "days off" you are such a cooking fool!!!! hats off to you!

Ellen said...

you are soo martha! i can't believe that on your "days off" you are cooking up a storm! you amaze me! as does your husband taking on this project!

Onna said...

Wow. I am so amazed at the quick action on this project. Michigan men know how to shake a leg! The pictures are great, making me feel as if I'm there.. but less the sawdust from it all. And how, my dear, do you cook with all that stuff going on over your head??? Brave! The kids look cute on scene!
Hugs around!

Mike and Sarah said...

You guys are AMAZING! Mike and I don't even attempt to do our own painting projects... we hire EVERYTHING out. I'm very impressed and can't wait to see the finished product... We might have to plan a play date at your place when everything's done and settled so I can see it!

Anonymous said...

this just goes to show that I can't be away for a week any more. I don't even know how your house is going! It looks amazing, Go abe!