The Front Door is In

Sorry I haven't posted in a while. I spent five of the last six days in the hospital with complications from getting some kidney stones lasered out.

Here is the latest addition to the house...a front door.


The framing of the front door.


Here it is, it is 8 feet high and 36 inches wide. We thought it would fit the feel of the building.


An inside view of the door.

All Windows are In

Finally, all 22 windows have been installed. The front windows were the last to be put in and I guess they were the hardest because there were never windows in the front of the building. All the vinyl siding has been taken off the building, except for the soffit area. You can see in the triangle up top where there is boards to nail the siding to. There is a gap around that triangle, were are thinking of putting a louver in the gap and using it as attic ventilation, along with normal vents in the back of the building.


A view of the windows on the front and lawn side of the building.


The front of the building before the windows were installed; with just the framing.


A view of the windows from the inside.

Starting Front Windows

Work on the front windows has started. You can see here where the new window is being framed out. There was no windows in the front so studs have to be moved and new windows framed out.


All the lawn side windows have been installed. The second floor door has been removed and the hole patched.


An inside view of work on the front corner.


This is the back corner of the second floor in the middle is where the door was, now patched.

14 Windows in - 8 to go

All the windows on the driveway side of the house have been installed.


This is a photo of the lawn side of the house with all the window area removed; waiting for framing.


The front two bays have been framed and windows installed; only eight windows to go. Four on this side and four in the front.


The trench to the well is being dug now, a conduit will be installed and the area around the conduit will be filled with sand. This conduit that will hold the water pipe and electricity for the well pump will be going under the driveway and if in the future one of those needs to be replaced, the job will be much easier instead of having to tear up the driveway a new pipe will be pushed or pulled through the conduit.


You may have noticed that the fire escape has been removed from the side of the building. Here it sits on my lawn, a piece of modern art until I can figure out how to get rid of it.

The Windows are Here

The windows have been delivered and the framing out and installation begins. The window holes have been, as Tony would say, "Hogged Out" and framed; at least the process started.


The view on the second floor; the hole on the right has been framed to the proper size, just waiting for the window to be installed.


The windows stand at the ready. We purchased the Integrity Wood-Ultrex series windows with the Simulated-Divided-Lites(SDL). We also had them pre-finished on both sides. In a building like this we wanted to make them look as authentic as possible. These windows have the grills on both sides so they really look like individual panes of glass. Having grills between the glass may make it easier to wash but we just don't like the look.

Porch and Pantry

Some of the framing for the pantry was done last week, the front needs to be added; it will have no door, just an opening in the front. The area where the sledge hammer with the yellow handle is, will be where the refrigerator will go.


Work is being done on the outside also, most of the siding has been removed. The overhang over the porch has been removed and today my wife and I removed the ramp from the porch. The ramp was in the way of where a trench will be dug for the pipe from the well to the house. In Connecticut, it's a law that you must call, "Call Before You Dig" a service that coordinates with the utility companies to make sure that you are not digging where a power or gas line is buried. It does not make any difference where you are digging, even if it were in the middle of a field or a dirt road, you must call. It also doesn't make a difference how deep you dig. They should be out Monday or Tuesday.

Siding Coming Off - Rooms Being Laid Out

They really got busy tearing off the siding. This is the front and the wood is looking real good. As far as I can tell the vinyl siding was put on in the 70's. Luckily, the siding was in good shape when they covered it up.


This is one of the sides which is almost all stripped of siding. You can see above the windows there was once dentil molding, unfortunately it was removed when they put on the siding. Also, the staining which is very evident on this side is from guano(bat droppings). There is some repair that needs to be done but overall it is not in bad shape.


The rooms have been laid out and tomorrow the walls will be put up...hopefully finished by tomorrow. The two squares on the back wall to the left are bathrooms, in the far corner is a closet, the broom is where the refrigerator is, just behind is another closet, beside those, in the foreground is a big pantry, and in the back, is the bedroom, where the saw is. I was standing in the kitchen area when I took this photo.

Roughed in Stairs

Today Tony finished the rough stairs; the final steps will be added when the flooring is added. This is looking up the stairs to the attic, a door will be added to the bottom. These are 4 feet wide, for once we will be able to get things up the stairs without killing ourselves.


A view from the first floor. The stairs will be enclosed.


A view from the attic, we will not fall down the stairs now.

Start of Back Wall Sheeting

The back wall on the second floor is almost completed; just a few final touches.


Sheeting is replacing the tarp on the back of the building. By tomorrow the wall will be completely sheeted with plywood.


Tony let us know yesterday that he needed the holes patched in the chimney. These holes were for stoves and the old furnace. I guess he thought it prudent to patch he holes before he closed it up in the wall...go figure. Luckily, we called a company in Torrington, CT who came right out. Before they patched the hole they inspected the chimney and found the clay liner had some cracks, so they put a stainless steel replacement liner into the clay liner as well as patching the holes and installing a clean-out. A cost that we did not count on but it is much better than causing a fire down the road...safety first.

Framing Continues

Last week was very productive for our builder. The front wall on the second floor has been framed out. This wall is 12 feet high and faces the greatroom. This will be closed off until phase three of our project; the second floor will just be the attic until we finish it off. The slot in the floor will house a 4 foot wide stairway to the second floor. Our current stairway is 25 inches wide with a 90 degree turn on the bottom, as you can imagine, it is very difficult to bring up furniture; we did not want that to be the case in the new house.


This is the back wall which has also been framed out, this week it will be sheeted with plywood.


Another photo of "under the tarp", there are some great beams under there. We are leaning toward leaving the existing flat ceiling. looking up 21 feet might be high enough.


There is no sign of the bats that are supposed to live in the peaks of the building, either the are hibernating in some distant corner or another building maybe moved to a local cave with other bats. There is a chance they died of "white nose syndrome", I talked with the former owner and he said he did see some bats with this malady. Just in case, the carpentry crew put a couple of these Riddex Pest Control devises. I don't know if they work but the guys want all their bases covered.

Framing Has Begun

The framing of the walls has begun. This view is from the Great Room, behind this wall will be the stairway going to the second floor. This wall is very wide to accommodate the steel I-beam; they need wood to nail to on the second floor.


The joists for the second floor are also being installed. Today, more studs are being installed and the rest of the week the second floor joists and decking will be installed. Things will really start taking place. We have to order the windows very soon.