The soffit and fascia are being painted now, before the windows and doors are installed. (We did install 2 windows to verify fit and technique, shown below.)
29 October 2010
Colors
For the exterior we selected an oil rubbed bronze color for the windows. The fascia is La Merina, a blue/green color at the bottom of the photo below. The soffit will be the darker color in the middle, and the stucco will be the beige/tan color shown top/center. All of the porches and the cantilever will have cedar planks for the ceiling, and they will be stained the darkest color (top/right) on the plank below.
The soffit and fascia are being painted now, before the windows and doors are installed. (We did install 2 windows to verify fit and technique, shown below.)
The soffit and fascia are being painted now, before the windows and doors are installed. (We did install 2 windows to verify fit and technique, shown below.)
Second Floor
The flat decking above the garage is the floor of the new addition. We'll have 2 bedrooms, a bathroom, and a closet for the HVAC and hot water heater. The first pic shows the bedrooms on either side. At the far end is a jack and jill bathroom.
The roof will mirror the rest of the house - a very low pitch and all framing done by hand with a calculator.
In the rear of the house, the addition is cantilevered to provide more living space. The green zip walls have a water resistant coating.
We are also installing Tyvek DrainWrap (the white paper) over this as an extra precaution.
And here's the view from the front. Our architect added a bit of detail and a lower level roofline so it wouldn't look too much like a square box plopped on a garage.
16 October 2010
Metalwork
The steel beam shown in the prior post (30 foot I-beam) is going into the kitchen/dining room space to avoid ceiling sag. It will run the length of the kitchen/dining room space and rest on a steel post at either end. (max deflection of 1/2" over 30 feet)
The beam was drilled and 2 wood beams added to either side, and then ceiling joists hung to those beams, as shown above. When standing in the 2nd floor addition, the next photo shows the installed beam from above.
And finally here's the view from the inside after installation.
Also during this time we are working on waterproofing the roof. Our builder is known for mitigating water issues and these giant crickets on the rooftop correct a problem with the original roof design.
Next up - the 2nd floor addition is almost completed and we've started window and door installation.
08 October 2010
Trusses
After removing the garage roof, we needed to install engineered trusses to support the 2nd story addition. The design of the trusses is done by an engineer and truss construction is basic using only 2x4's. But the installation is backbreaking as they were all manually lifted onto the roof, including one that was a double truss lag-bolted together. It took 5 of us to carry it and Pappy tripped and it fell on his shin but luckily no broken bones. Anyway, the after picture looks better than the during...
Finally, here's a pic of the fun to come on Monday. Due to the newly designed open floorplan, we have to install a 30' steel ibeam in the ceiling...
After getting the trusses installed we added 3/4" tongue and groove plywood subflooring.
While not really needed, I went ahead and added waterproofing sealant to the subfloor. Three gallons of Olympic via a hand sprayer.
The past few weeks have been very hectic because we were given 30 days' notice in our rental (while I was mule deer hunting in Wyoming). We had to find a new rental, move everything, and continue with construction. So in this next pic you can see the top of our rental Pod in the background. We moved into a condo downtown last week (just in time for ACL) but stored some of our bulky things at the new house in the Pod. But back to construction...in the pic below, the staircase to the upstairs will enter in the center at the shingled roof. There will be a bedroom on the left and right of the center line, and the projection at the far end of the roof will be the shared jack and jill bathroom. Theo wants the right hand (backyard) bedroom.
Finally, here's a pic of the fun to come on Monday. Due to the newly designed open floorplan, we have to install a 30' steel ibeam in the ceiling...
More Demolition
Our house will be growing outward and up with two new bedrooms and a bath over the existing garage. But first the existing roof must come off and trusses installed. The best part of this project is that the relentless Texas heat has broken. We spent the first 6 weeks in 100+ temps but over the past week we are in the 50's at night and reasonable (80's) temps during the day.
Skip is working on the removal. A circular saw was used to cut directly through the shingles, felt paper, and roof decking in section. Using a sledgehammer, pry bar, and cat-like balance these were forcibly removed.
Amazingly it took only 2 hours for four of us to take the roof off and put it in the construction dumpster. A lot of waste but we did save the rafters and beams to reuse. James and Oscar are continuing the demolition here, after the roof was removed.
Skip is working on the removal. A circular saw was used to cut directly through the shingles, felt paper, and roof decking in section. Using a sledgehammer, pry bar, and cat-like balance these were forcibly removed.
Amazingly it took only 2 hours for four of us to take the roof off and put it in the construction dumpster. A lot of waste but we did save the rafters and beams to reuse. James and Oscar are continuing the demolition here, after the roof was removed.
And the clean garage...
French Drain
While we love the French inspired designs at cotedetexas.blogspot.com, our next French addition won't be noticed. Our house is on a sloping lot, and the existing landscaping did not remove water from the front of the house. Furthermore, Emily's office is below grade (the only portion of the house below grade) and we don't want to take any chances with water getting into the house.
So step 1 is to dig out a drainage ditch around the house. We will then Mel-Rol the concrete block wall in front of her office to waterproof it. Next we put in gravel and perforated pipe in front of her office, connected to a drain pipe that goes around the house and exits downslope. This turned out to be more time consuming than expected due to the solid limestone that was 3 feet down and had to be chiseled with a Bobcat jackhammer attachment for days to get the correct slope.
The ladders below are resting on the window sill in Emily's office.
And after installing the French drain - gravel, perf pipe, and drain pipe....
And in the front of the house the grade was too high on the slab. So we added a couple of levels of concrete block to the garage, reframed the wall above it, and then put Mel-Rol on the block to waterproof it. After construction is completed we will further grade the front of the house in this area.
The added benefit of the French drain was that Pete the Bobcat operator removed all of the nandia and forsythia roots from around the house and the front yard, and they were disposed of with another call to the CE Bar.
So step 1 is to dig out a drainage ditch around the house. We will then Mel-Rol the concrete block wall in front of her office to waterproof it. Next we put in gravel and perforated pipe in front of her office, connected to a drain pipe that goes around the house and exits downslope. This turned out to be more time consuming than expected due to the solid limestone that was 3 feet down and had to be chiseled with a Bobcat jackhammer attachment for days to get the correct slope.
The ladders below are resting on the window sill in Emily's office.
The drainage ditch continues around the master bath (the tub is inset in the bay window below).
And after installing the French drain - gravel, perf pipe, and drain pipe....
And in the front of the house the grade was too high on the slab. So we added a couple of levels of concrete block to the garage, reframed the wall above it, and then put Mel-Rol on the block to waterproof it. After construction is completed we will further grade the front of the house in this area.
The added benefit of the French drain was that Pete the Bobcat operator removed all of the nandia and forsythia roots from around the house and the front yard, and they were disposed of with another call to the CE Bar.
Concrete!
We have a few "hard" changes to make. We are adding two bedrooms and a bathroom above the existing garage. Unfortunately the bedrooms would be 10x12 if we used the existing garage footprint. So we are extending the garage by 5 feet and cantilevering the addition over the backyard 3 feet to provide the kids roomier bedrooms and a full bathroom. Also, as we change the interior we are moving toilets, sinks, and the kitchen - all of which requires jackhammering the slab, moving the copper water lines, and re-pouring concrete.
We did encounter 1 unplanned surprise - the existing garage was sloped. Since we plan to eventually turn this space into a living room and add a 3 car garage, we need to level out the floor. Here's the garage prepped for the pour:
The backyard sidewalk was a foot away from the house, with dirt and shrubs between the sidewalk and house. We decided to pour the sidewalk all the way to the house to help with water penetration issues. The new sidewalk is great - 6 inches below the interior floor, and sloping down and away from the house. We demo'd out the existing, here's the sidewalk pre and post pour.
We did encounter 1 unplanned surprise - the existing garage was sloped. Since we plan to eventually turn this space into a living room and add a 3 car garage, we need to level out the floor. Here's the garage prepped for the pour:
And with the new floor:
The backyard sidewalk was a foot away from the house, with dirt and shrubs between the sidewalk and house. We decided to pour the sidewalk all the way to the house to help with water penetration issues. The new sidewalk is great - 6 inches below the interior floor, and sloping down and away from the house. We demo'd out the existing, here's the sidewalk pre and post pour.
And finally, here are a few before and after shots of the reworked interior plumbing. These first photos are for the kitchen island which will have our sink and dishwasher.
And since we have opened up the kitchen/dining room/living room into a large connected space, the old wall has been removed and we are putting in a step that runs the length of the new combined area. Here's the mold before pouring the step. The lower kitchen/dining area will be chipped, unfilled travertine in a versailles pattern and the living room will be Lauzon engineered hardwood in aged brownie maple finish.
Buena Vista
Using my new Stihl MS 362 with the special order 24" bar Dad and I removed the two large crepe myrtles in the front yard. Check the prior post to see the front yard before. Here's the dramatic after photo. And with a call to the CE Bar Volunteer Fire Department to notify them of an outdoor burn, nothing remains of the wood.
