september october transition

Curly maple and "Dakota" solid surface for the upstairs bathroom vanity. 

All the windows are in, the framing upstairs is done, and the electrician arrives tomorrow. Things have slowed down since the whirlwind days of the house raising. The foam insulation has been pushed back a week, to October 12. Our contractor is trying to get more than one house snug before the colder weather comes in. We are trying to be patient.

I've been out in the world, making choices on all sorts of things...each decision taking twice as long as I hope it will, it seems. I'm not sure what happened to "plain and simple" in the design world, but there's not much of it happening these days. As I check things off my list, though, I can imagine things coming together in a few months, and then it will all be worth it. :-)

Our main floor is now wide open, with lots of big windows all around. Kitchen, dining and living space will flow one to the other. We are envisioning a very clean, Shaker esthetic. I am wondering if any of you have ideas for very neutral wall colors that will embrace the sunshine and views that we are so blessed with.

And the exterior color? Will reveal that next week.  

a progress update (since my mumsie has worn out the last post!)

I want to thank all of you for your enthusiastic comments on the last post.

It's such fun to share this long dreamed of project with you!

Another detail from the day of the house raising--

Steve guides an existing power cord up through a carefully pre-drilled hole in the new sill,

just before the wall is actually set into place.

The purple cord was used by someone on the ground to guide the wall into place, 

as it was floating from the crane. 

(It looked oddly as if the guy was walking a giant dog!)

Here is the wall on the second floor, facing the road, being set into place.

(bathroom on left, upstairs hallway in center, guest room on right).

Taken from the driveway, this photo shows the 

corner where our kitchen sink will sit. 

Windows on both the south and east sides, 

so I can watch the sun rise as I make breakfast.

And that very hazy view to the south west?

The Green Mountains.

 This is how it all happened so quickly.

The magic crane.

The crew came back on an amazingly gorgeous Saturday

and worked all day to get us closed in before Saturday night's rain.

I LOVE the way the old and new lines are coming together.

It's beginning to look like a Vermont farmhouse!

(The photo above was taken from the side yard, 

where the wedding tent sat just a month and a half ago).

The old woodshed to the left stays the same.

The three season porch will get a bit of shoring up, 

new windows and some new siding.

(Photo above, taken from the view side of the house).

I have not been up to the new second story yet,

but folks say the view from up there is amazing.

(This photo was taken from the driveway).

Can't wait until the stairs go in next week.

The "man lift" and windows arrive tomorrow.

The electrician and plumber work next week.

The spray foam is scheduled for October 5th.

Peter and I continue to clean up the project site every day.

The "freecycle" pile up by the road has been a great way to 

get rid of things that are still useful, and a fun way to meet new friends.

There has been much discussion about what color to paint the house.

The window frames will be black.

To save money, we will be painting 

the siding and the trim the same color.

Do you have any suggestions?

(It cannot be white, because it sits so close to a dirt road,

which kicks up a lot of dust).

We are close to choosing a color

and let me tell you...

it is way out of my comfort zone.

:-) 

Please give us some ideas for further consideration!

Thanks, friends!

House raising at last!

So much has happened since I last posted! Peter and I have been doing a lot of demo ourselves, yanking out ceiling tiles and old and disgusting insulation, taking out old kitchen cupboards, cutting out old baseboard heating units and eventually smashing some drywall (my favorite part). Taking down some of the vintage faux wood panelling was a huge thrill. We took a pick up full of metal to the transfer station for recycling. Some stuff went to the burn pile, some to the dumpster.

About a week ago, our design/build team came in to build the second floor decking and six exterior walls. All of these components were built and stacked in our side yard, covered with an industrial tarp and then we awaited the perfect intersection of good weather, crew and crane availability. The forecast this week was prime for a spell of sunny days and dry nights, so the pros moved in and it's been quite a week!

On Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday two exterior walls on the first floor were demoed, the standing seam roof was torn off and the space was readied for the pre-built components. I hauled more junk to the dumpster and wrangled the sections of standing seam roof up to the roadside, so neighbors could salvage what they might want for sheds or woodpile covering. (This morning only a few sheets remain!) Hooray for sweat equity!

Yesterday a huge crane rumbled up the road and set up in our driveway. Then all of this happened!

The view side, front wall prepped for flight.

Swinging up over the three season porch...

...and right into place. 

Jon, our design/build guy was disappointed that there was 

a 3/16" gap where the corners met.
Good grief!

Here's the entire second floor decking,

being prepped.

Liftoff!

Gently, slowly, carefully...

...and then, just like a giant Lego,

it fit right into place!

The four walls of the second story went up like a charm,

and in the last part of the afternoon, the first roof truss went up.

Here you can get an idea of the size of the crane!

Due to the urgency of maximizing the fine weather window, 

a lot of the clean up of demo

debris has been left for next week.

Peter and I will tackle what we can this weekend.

(I have graduated from garden gloves to contractor's gloves).

:-)

(This old window will make a fine cold frame.)

When Peter and I first walked into this new space we 

both had about 35 years of longing lumped in our throats.

Eyes may have been teary.