We are in the grip of an ice storm that has taken a branch from an ash tree in the front yard, kept Will and Anna home for their fifth snow day this school year, and left our sidewalk and driveway treacherously slick. I was afraid Ringo would pull me over as we slid down the driveway to the street this morning.
Despite the rotten weather, Nelson, Chad and Jordan are here working. The new windows and back door are all installed, and apart from a cladding color that is not quite what I pictured, they look absolutely beautiful. The nickel spoon hardware, the muntins, the proportions and groupings are all stunning. I so appreciate all the expertise that Cathee brought to our project, and I am starting to really see her plans come to life.
And I am deeply grateful for an emergency cladding consultation site visit yesterday by my friend Jeanette, who heads up the Pella team at their advertising agency here in town. She arrived with cladding samples in hand, scrutinized the windows and concluded I had chosen the closest possible color match. Also, we will know a lot more about the color choice when we see it next to siding that's painted, rather than white Tyvek.
One decision that may need to happen today: settling on the height of the vaulted ceiling in the office bumpout. It's just amazing how much space is up there. When I looked up at the rafters for the first time, I immediately started envisioning bumping through from the north wall in Anna's bedroom and finishing off a storage space in the eaves. It's not going to happen, but it's fun to contemplate.
The back dormer is another area under discussion. It's currently covered in wide steel siding; the office bumpout will have HardiPlank like the garage, so we're debating residing the dormer to match. (As long as we're at it ...) Nelson is concerned about some rotting they discovered underneath the window on the stair landing. His preference is to replace that window with a smaller window, which would be smaller than the bathroom window near it.
The only good budget news: None of us think we need to put an Architect Series window by the stair landing, next to a ProLine window in the bathroom. That should save a little ... though maybe not enough to justify re-siding the whole dormer.
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Monday, January 18, 2010
A respite from winter, and two new roofs
After a week and a half of weather that made outside work a very poor idea, we're now enjoying balmy temperatures in the 30s and continued progress on our two new roofs.
Two of Nelson's workers, Chad and Jordan, have been here daily from 7 a.m. until after 5:00, framing the two roofs and readying them for shingles. They start in near-darkness each morning, with help from a work light so bright that our neighbor Kathy wondered if they were being filmed for a kitchen reality show.
The back peak will be detailed to match the house and the garage, with stucco, half-timbering and brackets. I think it will look less massive when that is completed. Seeing all the space inside, I'm very glad we decided to take advantage of it by vaulting the ceiling in the office bumpout.
We are all waiting with great anticipation for the installation of the curved copper roof on the driveway bumpout. That side of the house (or "elevation" for you architecturally correct readers) will be utterly transformed. And when the copper eventually develops its green patina, it will look gorgeous next to the brick (which includes some dark green bricks) and new shingles (which also have green mixed in -- you can see them on the garage).
There's been a silver lining to the slow process. We still have a functioning upstairs kitchen, which has been a real stress-reducer during this harsh winter. By the time we move operations down to our basement kitchen, we will have already survived the darkest, coldest time of the year. And as we welcome just a few more minutes of sunlight each day, I can see progress toward a different goal: spring.
Two of Nelson's workers, Chad and Jordan, have been here daily from 7 a.m. until after 5:00, framing the two roofs and readying them for shingles. They start in near-darkness each morning, with help from a work light so bright that our neighbor Kathy wondered if they were being filmed for a kitchen reality show.
The back peak will be detailed to match the house and the garage, with stucco, half-timbering and brackets. I think it will look less massive when that is completed. Seeing all the space inside, I'm very glad we decided to take advantage of it by vaulting the ceiling in the office bumpout.
We are all waiting with great anticipation for the installation of the curved copper roof on the driveway bumpout. That side of the house (or "elevation" for you architecturally correct readers) will be utterly transformed. And when the copper eventually develops its green patina, it will look gorgeous next to the brick (which includes some dark green bricks) and new shingles (which also have green mixed in -- you can see them on the garage).
There's been a silver lining to the slow process. We still have a functioning upstairs kitchen, which has been a real stress-reducer during this harsh winter. By the time we move operations down to our basement kitchen, we will have already survived the darkest, coldest time of the year. And as we welcome just a few more minutes of sunlight each day, I can see progress toward a different goal: spring.
Friday, January 1, 2010
Cold temps, warm hearts
Happy Chilly New Year!
The temperature this afternoon is 7, with a windchill of -14. If you've been wondering about how construction can continue during the brutality we call an Iowa winter, join the club. We were worried that progress would grind to a halt, but thankfully, that hasn't happened.
On Wednesday, Nelson and Joel were here most of the day working on the wood brackets that will support the copper roof on the driveway bumpout. We called Cathee with a question about the roof shape, and she zoomed over for a quick consultation, which was fantastic.
Yesterday, while Doyle and I were off having his gallbladder removed (he's recovering nicely, thanks) Joel was here working all day despite the frigid temperatures.
Before he left, Joel set up two heaters in the driveway bumpout to help cure the concrete on some fill-in brick he had laid. Unfortunately, the circuit breaker tripped and the heaters didn't heat. Thankfully, the concrete is fine, but a lack of insulation in a different part of the same bumpout caused the dishwasher connection to freeze up.
When Doyle thawed it out this morning, some mysterious but necessary dishwasher part broke and we had a small flood in the kitchen. After we turned off the water to the dishwasher and mopped up the water, we sent Nelson an e-mail. We didn't know if he'd be checking e-mails instead of watching New Year's Day bowl games, but thought it was worth a try.
Nelson called us within 30 minutes, and made it here an hour and a half later. He checked out the situation, put in more insulation, apologized for the problem, and said he would pay for the dishwasher repair. We couldn't have felt any more taken care of. As soon as I knew he was coming, I baked some chocolate chip cookies to send home with him.
It's a fact of any construction project, especially for an older house: There will always be problems and surprises. But it warms our hearts on this frosty start to 2010 to know that Nelson is looking out for us, even on a holiday.
Here's to 2010, the continued adventure that is kitchen remodeling, and the family, friends and workers who are helping us along the way. Happy New Year!
The temperature this afternoon is 7, with a windchill of -14. If you've been wondering about how construction can continue during the brutality we call an Iowa winter, join the club. We were worried that progress would grind to a halt, but thankfully, that hasn't happened.
On Wednesday, Nelson and Joel were here most of the day working on the wood brackets that will support the copper roof on the driveway bumpout. We called Cathee with a question about the roof shape, and she zoomed over for a quick consultation, which was fantastic.
Yesterday, while Doyle and I were off having his gallbladder removed (he's recovering nicely, thanks) Joel was here working all day despite the frigid temperatures.
Before he left, Joel set up two heaters in the driveway bumpout to help cure the concrete on some fill-in brick he had laid. Unfortunately, the circuit breaker tripped and the heaters didn't heat. Thankfully, the concrete is fine, but a lack of insulation in a different part of the same bumpout caused the dishwasher connection to freeze up.
When Doyle thawed it out this morning, some mysterious but necessary dishwasher part broke and we had a small flood in the kitchen. After we turned off the water to the dishwasher and mopped up the water, we sent Nelson an e-mail. We didn't know if he'd be checking e-mails instead of watching New Year's Day bowl games, but thought it was worth a try.
Nelson called us within 30 minutes, and made it here an hour and a half later. He checked out the situation, put in more insulation, apologized for the problem, and said he would pay for the dishwasher repair. We couldn't have felt any more taken care of. As soon as I knew he was coming, I baked some chocolate chip cookies to send home with him.
It's a fact of any construction project, especially for an older house: There will always be problems and surprises. But it warms our hearts on this frosty start to 2010 to know that Nelson is looking out for us, even on a holiday.
Here's to 2010, the continued adventure that is kitchen remodeling, and the family, friends and workers who are helping us along the way. Happy New Year!
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