Refinished

Three weeks ago we moved out of our house. I rented some storage pods and packed up everything that previously sat on the wood floors. Which is to say every room other than the kitchen and bathroom.

We moved into the house of our friends Kathy and Jon, who were going out of town and asked, "Would you like to stay for free in our great, giant house?". We answered "yes".

In that time they have done tons of work, including, but not limited to, removing the hallway wall, punching open the wall between the old and new parts of the house, widening closet entries, framing the skylight, running high- and low-voltage wiring, adding many can lights, and repairing the floors.

This all got done within the three weeks we were out, with the exception of the floors. They weren't going to be done on Saturday. The day we had to leave the housesitting gig and move back in. So, being the incredible family tactician that she is, Erin says "We're going to Disneyland". We went, had tons of fun, stayed overnight, played some more, and returned on Sunday afternoon. The floors were done!

We moved a minimal amount of furniture back in, but the drywall guy is going to be working for three days to "hot-mud" it, so we don't want to move in fully. In fact, we'll keep it spartan until priming and painting are done if possible.

Upstairs framing pano

Here is a new fisheye panorama of the current framing upstairs. These were taken from the master bathroom, and I've added handy labels so you can tell where things will be.

Click and drag the image in all directions to take a look.

Fisticuffs

The heat here in Los Angeles (108 degrees!) has clearly slowed down the rate of construction. The framing looks to be 95% finished but it's taking a while to get that last bit done. We see the framer for a few hours in the morning and then he never returns from lunch. Is it the heat? Does he have another job to go to? Is he waiting on some part to come in? Or is it that his feelings are still hurt from the drama with the plumber?

We weren't home for this, but we've learned from a couple of sources that the framer and the plumber nearly got into a fist fight a couple of days ago. One of our neighbors said they were screaming profanities at each other with such vigor that she heard them from inside her house. She came outside and reminded them that there are kids on our block who shouldn't be learning that kind of vocabulary just yet.

Framing update

Things are humming along pretty well with the framing. They've been putting up ceiling boards on the second floor, so it looks like actual, closed-in rooms up there now. I think the only change that's coming is that the lowest of three windows on the stairwell needs to be moved or resized, since a few inches of staircase intersect it right now.

We're having a design meeting with James in a week or so to see what he's been cooking up for some interior ideas. Here's an approximate exchange from our last meeting:

"So, do you have any ideas on exterior paint colors, James?" I asked.

"Yes," replied James.

I love the mystery! Is it that he can't reveal the colors until he thinks we're emotionally prepared for it? Is there a method of presentation that transcends simply blurting out "Sea Foam!"?

Framing fisheye pano

I just got a wonderful gift from my loving parents (who are avid fans of the house addition). A fisheye lens! Now I can do proper spherical panoramas.

Click and drag the image in all directions to take a look.

Overhang

This is the overhang of the master bedroom.

I looked at the schedule and the rough framing was slated for thirty days. It's only been ten days so far. Will it really take another twenty to finish that? I don't think so, but it's important to remember that I have no idea what I'm talking about.

Framing panorama

Here is a 360 degree cylindrical panorama of the framing. Click and drag the image to spin around. If this doesn't work for you, grab the QuickTime software for your browser here.

Framing is great

Boy, framing really makes it seem real. We can actually walk around inside future rooms. Yay, framing!

One downside to framing is that it's a manly, violent artform that can lead to a baseball-sized hole being punched through the wall over your toddler's bed.

Wood drop

We just got this wood dropped off this morning. They'll start laying out the framing today. The big beams are made from some sort of compressed wood; this is the state-of-the art in beam technology. Much stronger than ordinary wood beams, and they smell like the future.

Slab

This is the slab. It is currently setting for a week before the framing begins. We very carefully selected a mix-in color for it (Messa Buff, ooh!) that happens to perfectly match the dirt. Great.

Trenched

Day 2
Okay, so I guess technically this is Day 3 (but I'm sticking with 2 b/c all they did on the actual day 2 was put up a chain link fence and drop off a port-a-potty).

Today we had both a Bobcat and a little digger here. They got rid of the grass and laid out and dug the foundation. It's weird to see the trenches for the foundation -- it doesn't seem as huge as I was imagining, which is a good thing. No McMansions here, please!

One of my friends who's gone through an addition claims that demo, framing and roofing are the loudest parts. So hopefully framing will begin soon -- the sooner to get it over with.

I thought the loss of our backyard would be tragic, but my son is so into the machines that so far it hasn't mattered. He spent some time this evening running around in the trenches.

Will we see a cement mixer tomorrow?? Stay tuned.

p.s. We have a bunch of rebar in our front yard if anyone's interested...

Construction begins

Not really. This is a photo of a house being built with giant styrofoam/particle board ice cream sandwiches. They're called Structurally Insulated Panels. They are built at a factory to measure and then assemled on site -- no need for traditional framing. We're looking into this because we've heard that they can save on construction time/cost, as well as being very energy efficient.