From the exterior point of view

On Monday the brick guys came and took down their scaffold so we can see the results of their work more easily now. Those small roof peaks fit in just fine with the overall view of the house from the road. But I'm pondering whether we should have requested some gargoyles or something similar to give it character...!
After taking down the scaffold more bricks were laid for the garden wall. Then in the afternoon the electrician was busy laying all that blue conduit in there to take the wall lights and outlets.

I'm sure looking forward to getting rid of that pile of clay because spring is not very far away and my garden will be coming to life shortly. I'm seeing lots of birds already including, on two different days, a flock of bluebirds which got me very excited. So this afternoon I cleaned out the bluebird house ready for the season - birds nest in it every season but not (yet anyway) the bluebirds for which it is intended. Then I turned over three of the birdbaths and filled them with water because it seems like we have a stretch of weather ahead of us without freezing temperatures. And I like to keep my birds happy. One of the reasons for all those outdoor electrical outlets in the new garden wall is so I can perhaps position a birdbath there and be able to plug in a heater to keep the water from freezing during the winter.

We have dust...

Today saw the arrival of the sheets of drywall. It made for some entertainment for Rolo to watch from the front window as they unloaded the sheets and stacked them right there by the curb on what used to be the best lawn in the neighborhood.
Pat got busy right away with cutting and installing the drywall. The photo above shows the joint of the beam in the elevator shaft between the ground and first floor. That beam and bolted joint make for a very rigid and sound structure. Even the county inspector is amazed but our contractor told him that he did want his clients to get in the elevator and have a smooth and safe ride every time and be glad that they had chosen him as their contractor.
Here we are in what is the Family Room although it is a bit difficult to tell right now! On the right is the framed opening for the elevator door and adjacent to that is where the new cabinets for the "entertainment center" will go. Yesterday we had a lot of discussion about the placement of the various power outlets and light switches.
Remember that photo way back of the "old" sewing room? Well, this is what it currently looks like. Casey is standing in what will be my quilting/fabric storage closet. I'm not sure why we have a curvy photo!

This morning the County Inspector came by to do the electrical, insulation and framing inspections. All passed inspection and so Pat was able to call for the drywall delivery.

And I do know that in another few days I will have to call my posting "lots more dust" once they do the drywall taping and spackle.

time out

So it's been a few days since my last posting. We had the brick guys on site for most of last week. By the end of the week they were almost complete with the elevator shaft as you can see above. Additionally the carpenter was busy working on the trim to the roof line. We thought the roofer was going to be on site on Friday to work on the roofing shingles and the rain gutters but that didn't happen.

On Monday, the brickies came down off the scaffolding and began work on the garden wall. Look how well they created a curve with little rigid rectangles of clay. That pile of clay behind the wall will be leaving the site soon I hope. The area behind will be regraded somewhat to allow for rain water to get away better than it has in the past.
And now here we are inside today. This will be my new fabric closet on the third floor. (I stood in there and did a little glee dance after Pat had left for the day.)To the right you can just see the elevator shaft. Break through on this floor happened on Monday after a frantic weekend clearance of the old sewing room.

Tomorrow Pat (the carpenter) will break through the wall in the family room to be able to frame for the elevator doorway on that floor along with the new cabinetry for the "entertainment center". That will mean that all three floors are now "under construction" from the inside.

Casey and I spent the morning emptying out the existing cabinets, disconnecting the television and vcr and taking down the draperies.

It's all go on all fronts.

It's all about bricks today

After the very cold weather of last week we are now having much more "worker friendly" days. The bricklayers celebrated by coming to work on Saturday. The photo above was taken around 10:30am today when I was hoping to get a good action shot but it did not quite work out that way.
Now here we are at 4:00pm when they have quit for the day already.
This shot shows you a couple of things: the progress made today and how the appearance changes once the bricks and mortar dry out. After all the brickwork is complete it gets an acid wash which takes off further debris. Those bricks that show pale in these photos are our reused bricks and "should" look the same as the existing wall to the left. But they appear quite pale - I'm thinking because of the dust created when they were being cleaned of all the old mortar.

I did not have the camera at the ready when I looked out at one stage and saw the brickie with what looked like a big pastry/frosting bag and he was squirting mortar into the joint between the old and the new - it would have been a fun photoshot!

Inside we had the electrician show up today to start pulling wires - the electrical board is at the east end of the house but power is needed at the west end.

Pretty darn cold around here.

Weather has been a factor in progress this week. Today was really very cold and altho the bricklayers showed up and were on site for a couple of hours they then disappeared.
But I'm posting a shot of what they did on Wednesday. The brick does need to properly dry out to show it's real color.
This morning they tried to create a "tent" around the shaft. They got the scaffold arranged with tarpaulins closing it in and had the brick stacked ready to lay with the outdoor heaters ready to roar into action. But the temperature was still doggedly sticking at about 20 F (more than minus 5 for you C people) so I think they gave up for the day.

On Wednesday we had the framing inspection done which meant that insulation, plywood and other outside stuff can be completed. I've been told to expect "break through" on the first and second floors to begin on Monday.

So I have my work cut out for me to finish clearing out the spaces where they need to break thru.