Wing is down! 12-15-10

The maids' wing is completely down...you can see some pictures of the progression below.  Our contractor said he's never seen anything like it -- no two pieces of wood were the same!  Four layers of flooring, an addition to the second floor...it appeared that the wing had at one time been moved off the foundation, the foundation was redone, and the wing moved back onto it!  The next step for the construction crew is to shore up the old foundation and start framing the new family room.  Lots of activity around here!



Roof is mostly off...



Roof is off!



Down to the first story!




Top of the first story, viewed from a dumpster...




Tarping the exposed wall




Preparing for rain over the weekend...




First floor is coming down!  Those are the stairs that led
 from the first floor to the second floor of the wing.




Lots of dumpster exchanges!



Another layer coming off!  (Between original first and second floor)



Down to ground level!




Looking down into the laundry room in the basement!




Life goes on around the construction -- here is Caleb
proudly mailing his completed application to Thayer Academy!

Eliza and Caleb with Uncle Newty and Aunt Lynn before the Holiday Pops!



Roof is coming off! 12/10/10

It's been clear and cold this week and our crew has worked hard on the maids' wing.  All that's left this morning is the shell and some of the roof...by the end of the day there will be less!  Here are some photos of the demolition:

The pantry before...

The pantry now!



The patio before...




The patio now!



The stairs in the maids' wing...from the first to the second floor...



The roof is coming off!  Looking from the second floor up...



Life is never dull...Scout found a skunk two nights ago! 
Getting a bath with Aunt Bz's special recipe!

Winter is here! 12/6/10

Hello!  Winter has finally arrived in Milton with temperatures falling below freezing.  Brrr...  But the work goes on!  Caleb turned 11 over the weekend and more work has been done taking down the maids' wing.  See below!  Laura (photos by Scott and Caleb)



Caleb turns 11!

A family birthday party...David and Judy in attendance!




A last glimpse of canary yellow (1st floor of the maids' wing)




Getting right down to the studs! (2nd floor)



Almost filled our second dumpster today!

Porch Ceiling is finished! Demolition of the maids' wing begins... [12/2/10]

Yesterday the porch ceiling was completed, and today work has begun on the maids' wing.  We've had electricians and plumbers through the house the past three days shutting off the water and electricity to the wing, and then the contractor built a temporary interior wall between the kitchen and dining room (right through the hallway) so that they could start taking down the wing.  All the doors were saved and Mike is keeping a lot of the good materials (door trim, beadboard, bathroom sink, etc...) with the hope we can reuse some of it in a later phase of the construction.  Caleb is hard at work today along with the men...he's been looking forward to this part for weeks!  Laura

Finishing the porch ceiling...



The prettiest porch ceiling ever!



Looking from the kitchen, stairs to the maids' wing on the left,
BEFORE the interior wall is put up.



Now looking from the kitchen with the interior wall up. 
For the time being, we have just a narrow hallway to move from the dining room to the kitchen.



Looking towards the pantry from the other side of the temporary wall...



Looking into the maids' bathroom before demolition...

Caleb IN the maids' bathroom, taking down the wall
(he's standing where the bathtub used to be).



Bathroom wall is gone!  Looking from the maid's bedroom into the former bathroom.





From the outside...ladder creates a walkway right into the dumpster.
It's a beautiful day, perfect for this kind of work!





Thanksgiving

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!  It was very quiet around the house for four days while we all took a break and celebrated Thanksgiving.  Before the holiday, our work team prepared the bead board for the porch ceiling and began putting it up while the electricians spent a day wiring lighting for the porch and disconnecting the electricity in the maids' wing which will be coming down shortly. 

Preparing the fir bead board for the porch ceiling.



The porch ceiling is going up...plus recessed cans for lighting.



Door from Audubon (that went to nowhere) has been installed in the Nursery (to be Eliza's room), so it will be easier to go out on the balcony.



Door in "The Nursery" from the inside...



Cedar Harbor Conly and Scott checking the turkey just before our Thanksgiving dinner.



Prescott peeling a pomegranate...



Pumpkin Chiffon Pie (Hannah's recipe)



Sunset over Pine Hill



Eliza, Cedar, and Caleb at the Franklin Park Zoo

Today we rescued the pear tree along the front drive from miles of entwined vines.  We hope it will look healthier in the spring!

Gutters and posts! 11/19/10

Hello all!  This week our porch was adorned with lovely new posts and gutters!  They are currently white but will eventually be painted a nice historic green.  Our contractor, Mike Dwyer, also told me this morning that the house has been made completely weathertight for the winter -- they have insulated and sealed all the areas where work has been done, so we will stay dry and warm inside.  With the exception of some rain early in the week, it's been a good week for the men to work and our porch is looking great.  Happy weekend!  Laura (photos by Caleb)


New post!



Posts going in!



Gutter, fascia board, soffit , and soffit vent!



Birds' eye view of gutter and drain...



A diagram that shows what a soffit and soffit vent is...plus the fascia board,
and attached to the fascia boards, we now have gutters!



Masons finish the stonewall! 11/15/10

Today was Monday and while we were all back at work and school, lots of work took place here at the house.  The masons finished the stonewall under the porch -- these photos won't do it justice as it was very overcast late today, but the stonewall looks like it's been there forever as though the new porch was built on top of it!  They did an amazing job.

Outside, some work continued on the porch and we filled our first dumpster!

Inside, the ceiling in the laundry room and its environs were torn down so they can check the foundation under the servants' wing.  Tomorrow a structural engineer is coming by to check the floor joists and other things to find out what needs to be done to the foundation to support the new family room. 

Phew!



The mason left us a little escape hatch so that if we ever needed to crawl out of our basement bedroom windows, we could do so.  It will be closed in at a later time.



Goodbye to a full dumpster, hello to a new one...

Eek!  The laundry room is dusty!

Looking through the laundry room into another small basement room...