The Big House Blog

Monday, February 7, 2011

Second floor hallway

Woke up to a day that felt a little like spring! Some of the snow is melting, and our parking area is a skating rink. Today the construction crew framed the opening to the second floor hallway looking over the new family room. The pictures don't do it justice because already the light coming in makes such a difference.

Looking up from the new family room to the
opening onto the second floor hallway...
(temporary door and wall below).

The opening that will overlook the new family
room from the second floor hallway.

Another look at the new opening (and the coating of
dust...poor old house). The area to the right is
where there used to be a door to the maids'
bathroom...now it will become part of the wall.

There was a back door and a small window here...
they have been removed and boarded up, awaiting
a new window!

Looking from the inside to where there was a back
door and small window...framing for the new window
now in place. (This is the "pantry" area of the kitchen).

Looking from the kitchen to the pantry...
framing for a new window which will enable
us to see through the brick arches towards the
parking/garage area.

The cone of shame...Scout had her ACL
surgically repaired last week and sometimes
needs to wear this special collar so she leaves
the sutures alone. Poor pooch...

Friday, February 4, 2011

Caleb's update 3/4/11

Hello everyone! Today something really exciting happened. The Pella Windows arrived! They are still wrapped up so we haven't got a good look at them yet but I'll show you the pics anyways.

the Pella windows arive on a huge truck.

Mike Dwyer unloading the truck with some help from the driver

some windows stacked in the family room.

all the windows safely stowed and ready for installation.

Tuesday, February 1, 2011

Work on the kitchen continues...

Well, still more snow has arrived! The kids had a half day of school and we are home for the rest of the day and maybe another tomorrow. Our crew has been working hard this week on the kitchen, building it back up after "gutting" it.

Looking down the driveway at the "fork"...

Our snowplowing company brought in
some serious equipment to do the plowing today!

This is the pantry where they put in a new supporting beam (see
the picture below which shows the new header).
Like many old houses, when you open them up you find all kinds
of "fun" new issues. In our case there was some serious rot which
needed to be addressed and the area by the mudroom had to be
jacked up. This has turned into the better part of a 2 or 3 day job.

Here is the new beam in the area that is being supported in the
picture above.

This is the door which will go into the area where the half bath and
coatroom will be off the kitchen. Mike and his team were able to
salvage the old sliding door (shown here) which went into the old cooks bedroom.
You can see that they've cut the door into what will be the front foyer although its
not that clear from the photo.

Looking from the kitchen down the hallway before
leveling the floor...

Looking down the hallway after leveling the floor.
The crew also replaced the rotted sill and floorboards
near the kitchen door on the left.

Friday, January 28, 2011

Kitchen demolition

Well, we've had more snow! And a lot of it! Our construction crew spent the week inside, working in the kitchen. The pictures you're about to see will show you what a big job it's been. Although the extent of the job was bigger than we had anticipated, we are glad they learned that a couple of the walls didn't even have insulation. They are also moving pipes accordingly and finding a section of the underfloor that had rotted. Our "new" kitchen will be built for the ages!

The kitchen before...

The kitchen now!

Looking toward the pantry...

The recessed area where the refrigerator, cabinets, and
wall ovens will go.

Beginning to frame the new 1/2 bath...

What is this?? When the crew took away the plaster
in the small room off the kitchen, they found this
"hidden" window...

We never knew there was a "hidden" window in
this paneling in the front foyer...

Caleb at Monday's drum recital

Some of us are unfazed by all the construction...

Friday, January 21, 2011

Kids bathroom demo

Here are a couple more pics of the demolition process going on at the farm. These are what will be the kids' bathrooms:

This is Caleb's room (the Bulge). He will
lose the door just to the left of the radiator, and
a new door will go in where the radiator is located.
That will be an entry into a 1/2 bath for him.

This is (was) the bathroom between the Bulge
and the Nursery. It will be replaced by two 1/2 baths
and one shower room that the kids will share.

This is the old bathroom (Nursery to
the right through the door). There was
a built-in closet straight ahead which was
removed to make room for Eliza's 1/2 bath.

The new doorway leading out of the kitchen -
it's been widened (looking at temporary
wall and door which will be open to family room).

Thursday, January 20, 2011

Mudroom takes shape and kitchen demolition (1/20/11)

Hello friends and family! Our construction crew has worked through snow, sleet, and rain this week and the result is a fully-framed mudroom and a demolished kitchen! The electrician was here replacing all the old outlets and light switches, and the plumber has been here rerouting pipes (what a maze!). Auntie Mouse (a.k.a. Annie Bartol) was here yesterday helping us with ideas for paint colors for many of the rooms in the Big House -- she was loads of help! Lots going on here at construction central!