This past weekend Ryan replaced the rotted sill plate under the front door and finished securing the smaller beam in the basement! Jacking up work is done!
New sill plate piece
On Sunday with the help of Ryan’s dad they got the rest of the demo done in preparation for putting in dormers. I had to unwire/rewire a bit and we will need to do cleanup (dumpster) eventually but for now we are ready for dormers as soon as we get good weather on a weekend!
Smaller bedroom – ready for a dormermaster bedroom ready for a dormer
We were hoping for no rain this weekend (3 day weekend) but that’s not going to work out so we’ll have to work on another project this weekend instead and hope the weekend after is better.
The weekend before last we spent all day Saturday working on filling our dumpster … so bathroom demo time! We got a good portion of the upstairs bathrooms demo’d and I took up carpet tacks and trim off of 2 of the bedrooms upstairs when there was no room in a bathroom for 2 people 🙂
Door frames removed from closets – this one is ready for a dormer!Back bedroom – I got most of the trim and all carpet tacks up in here. Not a lot to do in this room hopefully over all.Master bathroom – toilet and sink/vanity removedSmall bathroom – sink and toilet removedLooking from master bathroom through wall to smaller bathroom (where sink and toilet were)
We’re going to get the boat out of the water this week and get it ready for winter (clean it out, get it winterized and covered). Friday we meet with the HVAC guy that did the blower test on the house to get a quote on heating system options and plans. That’s our first thing we need to get done – heat – before it gets cold!
Technically we are done jacking up all 3 of the beams we installed (thanks to Ryan’s Dad’s help today – they got it finished up) but 2 of the beams are really finished (bracket installed). We have to drill holes in the steal brackets for the 3rd beam still.
Bracket with 4×4 in front as extra supportBeams with the extra supports/jacks removed
We still have some jacking up to do – we have another beam to add on the other side and the front needs to be jacked up to remove the rotted sill plate in one section and replace it.
Tuesday we are having someone come out to do some tests and design out our heating system (planning on doing a geothermal system). Once that work is done we can complete the planned demo and start working on the construction projects like dormers!
We had a very productive weekend. We got 2 beams (doubled LVLs) installed with jacks – the real posts are on order so we are waiting for those. In the mean time we were able to start jacking up the original beam and our 2 new beams. We can’t just jack up all the sag at once, just a little at a time so most nights this week we’ll go to the house and lift it a bit each time. We anticipate lots of cracks in the sheetrock and popped tiles but that’s a good sign and all repairable down the road!
A view of most of the beams – we have one more to install on the other side of the stairs but this is a great start.
The far beam was a ton of work – we couldn’t have done it without using dad’s sheetrock lift – that was his great idea!We also got our couch out of storage and now have a place to rest in the livingroom!
A productive weekend for sure. Next weekend is camping!!! Can’t wait and hoping for continued good weather.
Last weekend Ryan finished up the footings Friday night and Sunday morning.
They look great! We had trouble finding the right size adjustable posts and actually had to order them off of amazon of all places for building materials! We spent our day off (Monday) making some brackets to support the beams and starting to put the first one up. This is going to be a lot of work with Ryan doing it mostly by himself this weekend while I watch the kids. Hopefully we can get the beams up and start jacking them up (we need to raise the house quite a bit in some places so it can’t all be done at once.
Once this project is done we can start working upstairs … after labor day since we plan on camping again this year!
Ryan took Friday off last week and we spent the day at the lake house. I had the girls so didn’t do much myself but he got the insulation all removed from the basement ceiling!
On Sunday I did the final basement cleanup (sweeping and bagging up the tiny things – mostly mouse poop) and vacuuming. The basement is ready for the next step next weekend!
On Saturday Alex went up to camp with her grandparents so we had just Bella which meant I had some time to help out a bit when she napped. I got the tack pieces and trim out of the back room downstairs and Ryan and I started taking up the particle board in that room – upstairs we plan to leave it but in this room it was gross and had to come up – it’s not an easy project! We got about 1/2 done.
Ryan also got some trim removed upstairs (no pictures due to lighting). On Sunday we went around and removed all the window trim that we needed to so we could take measurements and get windows ordered. We didn’t plan to order this early but we already picked out the kind we want (Anderson 400) and they are having a 10% off sale this week so we decided to put the order in and we’ll have them when we need them. Always good to save some money.
Evenings and weekend work has continued at the new house, we have a dumpster now so it’s a bit easier to cart everything out. All the doors have been removed, all carpet except for a few stair treads has been removed. 2 walls have been removed in the bedrooms where the dormers will go.
Master bedroom – dormer and closets will go here.Downstairs smaller room – carpet removedDownstairs larger room carpet removed and evidently we’ll be removing this particle board stuff too!Staircase – carpet removed from most of it.
Last weekend was busy as we had a family pig roast to attend out west and then we spent sunday with family and out buying a boat (lots of driving!). Next weekend we should have our new (to us) boat and we’ll also be spending the night at the new house, and a 3 day work weekend on the house. The basement work will get started next!
Even though the blog has been quiet it’s been an eventful 2 months. First off – our second little one arrived almost 3 weeks early (like her sister) – June 11 – Isabella Georgiana. She was 6lbs 10oz and was healthy as could be. She’s 6 weeks old now and growing like a weed. Her sister just adores her and that particular transition went better than I had hoped!
Also in June we closed on our Nashua house – it’s officially in new hands now that will hopefully love and appreciate it as much as we did. We’ve actually been in touch with the new owners a bit via email answering questions.
Around the same time we found a new house that we couldn’t pass up – it’s 2.5 acres on a lake, very private property (surrounded by trees) with large yards. It’s a cape cod style house – 2 floors, 3 bedrooms upstairs with 2 baths upstairs (one master). It was built in 1974 and has never been updated so it has some work to do but nothing like our last project!
Our first night owning the house and we had already unloaded a trailer full 🙂
This weekend Ryan started right in on some projects! First he mowed the lawn, our trailer makes it easy to borrow his dad’s mower so he had a rider and it still took quite a long time.
We won’t move in right away, we’d like to get the upstairs renovations done before we move in so that is done and we have a finished space to live in, no moving beds around. We will spend nights there so we are moving in to certain rooms – the kitchen for one is a future renovation so we’re moving in there, and the livingroom and diningroom will be a livingroom and bedroom most likely while we do renovations. The garage and basement will store tools and other items and we’ll keep one storage unit for sure while we work on the house.
The first project Ryan did was tear up the carpet upstairs, it’s hot up there but he got all the carpet and most of the underlayment up. He’s going to finish that up today.
Master bedroom – sans carpetBack bedroom sans carpetFront bedroom sans carpet
I’ll do some more posts with more pictures (before pictures) of the house and what we plan on doing. Upstairs though we plan to put in 2 dormers (master bedroom and front bedroom), adding closet space to the master and light to the front bedroom. We’ll replace the doors and trim and windows throughout. We’ll add ceiling fans and add a new heating and a/c system throughout. We’ll put down new wood flooring throughout and we’ll completely renovate the bathrooms.
Once those projects are done we can move in and start work on the downstairs projects more. There’s some structural work that will happen very early on and other downstairs projects that will happen because it makes sense at the time to do things all at once but the kitchen, livingroom, bathroom, washer room downstairs will all wait until we move in.
Wednesday was a very busy day. First Ryan did a bunch of cleanup/moving stuff to prepare for demo (out on the roof mostly). Then after lunch he started the actual demo with a break for dinner. After the little one was in bed he finished the last 2 walls and I helped with the cleanup of that and all the lathe that was out in the driveway (thrown off the roof). By 9:30 we had the wood all in the dumpster and Ryan has all the plaster bagged and on the roof/in the room ready to get thrown off the roof into the truck (and driven to the dumpster) later. (Truck was in NY at the moment).
After demo!
I think the negative air machine worked well, it really helped keep the dust from escaping throughout the upstairs (man i hate demo dust!).
While Ryan did demo our contractor was here and he finished the crown molding in the livingroom (which is now our bedroom)! Only the front hall and the diningroom left to get crown!
Crown installed!The rest of the crown
Today started with driveway cleanup (sweeping for nails from last night), then cleaning off the porch. Next Ryan took off the railings and finally started the porch demo (pulling up the decking). By 4pm Mark (his dad) was here with the new railings and they are out there now getting a start on the porch project! I’m so excited about this one! (I guess i’m excited about all projects but I am looking forward to enjoying the new deck for a bit before we leave!)
Railings gone – this was before the deck was pulled up
I’ll have porch updates this weekend for sure! I am hoping to get some weekend time (naps) to work on the demo cleanup (vacuum out ceilings etc) and getting some electrical/lights installed in our empty rooms so we can work after bedtime too. Those rooms just need to be prepped for insulation and sheetrock and electrical has to be finished. A full week to go still (although admittedly ryan will need a couple days off too!)
Friday and Saturday we rented a lift to complete some up high projects around the house. First up Ryan got a coat of paint on the shakes on the driveway side and the molding up under the soffit. Some sections of that molding aren’t done yet but they are easier to get off a ladder so we waited – wanting to take advantage of having the lift. Ryan then painted all the green that he could easily get with the lift that was left (again what’s left we can get off a small ladder on the porch roof).
Red shakes done – green around the windows done! Almost finished with painting 3 sides!
Next up Ryan moved to the back and removed both the aluminum siding and the original siding from the back side.
This took about an hour and a half to get to this point!
That was all on friday, Saturday it was a second coat of red on the shakes and moldings, then he installed the last 2 windows in our entire house that we plan on doing! Our contractor is going to reside that back side (hopefully very soon so we can insulate) – so we’re done with that upper section, leaving just the back porch for us to deal with. The flashing for that porch was fine so a little ice shield to keep water from getting behind it until it’s sided and we’re good to go for now.
Last 2 windows installed! The attic one is just a vinyl window
We attempted to get the lift to reach the small section of green by the electrical wires that i couldn’t reach by ladder last year but it wouldn’t reach 🙁 So we’ll have to pull out the bigger ladder to complete that green paint. Finally we started pulling aluminum off the back porch which didn’t really need the lift but we ran out of actual projects that needed it!
Porch with most of the aluminum off. This siding is in decent shape, we’re going to patch the missing piece of sill and sand/paint the siding/trim as is. Not putting a lot of work into this porch as it really should just come off the house and have a garage attached!
Sunday we returned the lift, went out to breakfast and then I spent the day packing while Ryan was on Dad duty. I got our bedroom packed and ready to empty and the back porch emptied. These are the next 2 demo projects although the back porch is only getting partially demo’d. During naptime Ryan got the front area grouted so that tile job is done! The front hall just needs trim and paint to be completed!
Grouted!
Maribeth and Dan came out Friday night and spent Saturday morning stripping paint off the little front porch off our bedroom. They are back to it today and it’s coming out great (pictures coming soon!).
Today is a day of getting lots of small stuff done. We were hoping our contractor would come today and finish the crown in the front livingroom (he did the cupola crown over the weekend) so we could move our furniture down there and it wouldn’t be in the way but he has another job holding him up at the moment. The plan is to demo our bedroom Tuesday and Wednesday. Then get electrical done Thursday.
Cupola has crown! Just needs caulk, prime, paint!
Friday will be the start of the porch project – that is very exciting — a finished porch coming soon! I’ve had a hole in my porch for so long now! I wrote a list of everything I can see that needs to get done still and while it’s huge it seems manageable with the next 2 weeks of Ryan’s time so I’m excited. He’ll need a break next week for sure but hopefully putting up trim or doing some smaller easier tasks will be okay!
