... pounds of bricks lugged out of 84 High Street.
Gosh, we're hardcore.
Thursday, September 2, 2010
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
Weekend Rundown
Our weekend started off on Thursday night when Ryan’s parents visited for a Thursday Night picnic at Crane Estate. Cajun Zydeco this time. Great stuff. Rick and Denise hadn’t seen the place for quite a while, so it was fun to show them the changes. At the concert, we made friends with Chip, a great guy who moved to Ipswich 12 years ago and who shared his own stories of DIY adventures.
(I had very best intentions of getting a group shot – brought my camera and everything, but it didn’t happen. You will have to imagine the beautiful evening we had at Crane Estate, lit by an orange moon which was sneakily fall-ish.)
I should add that in the flurry of meeting Rick and Denise after work, showing them our progress, packing a picnic, and heading out to Crane Estate, we failed to note that the Phantom Gardener had paid a visit to the house, cleaning out some fried summer flowers and replenishing our window boxes and planter with purple and red Mums that look great with the house’s cranberry trim. Thanks, Mum!
Saturday, Ryan was yet again on electricals (adding outlets and switches) and I continued with insulation. Ryan cut a permanent bench seat and back, and framed in our “look-throughs” in the nook. We used the foil insulation for the first time on the nook ceiling. It went up pretty easy. We cut a hole for the pendant light wiring, stapled it along the strapping, and sealed the seams with cold-weather foil tape.
An afternoon trip to Home Depot inspired us to make a sheetrock purchase, what with insulation progressing along and Ryan half-way through attaching outlets and switches. Before day’s end, we put up our first piece of sheetrock in the nook. Ryan entertained me with his MacGuyver-like ability to scribe a circle for the pendant light, we cut the sheetrock to size, and used the sheetrock screw attachment (still experimenting with technique on that one), and hung our very first piece of drywall. It was exciting enough that I documented it.
It’s a little premature, but we just had to see the space with some sheetrock up. We are really getting somewhere, folks.
Saturday evening, Ryan’s brother Sean and his gal pal Tara came for dinner after an afternoon at Crane’s Beach. After a quick house tour (last time Tara was at High Street, we were doing the roof and not allowed inside… as we technically did not yet own the place), we headed over to The Farm in Essex, one of our favorite spots. Thanks for making the trip, guys!
Sunday morning found us back to our usual tasks, electricity for Ryan and insulation for me. Ryan completed a challenging install of a dimmer on a 3-way switch, which may sound rather dull, but to me, it is nothing short of magical. Not only will we be able to dim our kitchen lights, but we will be able to turn them on coming in the back door or coming down the stairs. We also ran a wire through the wall and up to the top the staircase to a switch that will eventually control a light in the stairwell (there is also a switch at the bottom of the stairs – another 3-way!). And Dad, don’t you worry – the wire terminates at a switch. No live wires hanging out in the walls.
I took some time to hang the beautiful pineapple doorknocker that was Ryan’s birthday present to me this year (right after our offer was accepted and before the weeks of touch-and-go will-we-get-the-house limbo). With all the demo-ing, we hadn’t gotten around to hanging it. It looks great on the door. (Fun fact: did you know a pineapple is a traditional symbol of hospitality and welcome? Fellow history nerds of the world, read on here and for even more detail, here). Symbolism aside, doesn’t it just look swell with Mum’s Mums?
After a few tests and verifications, the main breaker was flipped, the new circuit turned on, and… nothing. After initial disappointment, the electricity how-to book (on loan from Ipswich Public Library) was consulted, a plug or two switched around, fingers crossed, and we tried again:
(Insert: sound of angels singing)
The plugs work, the switches work, even the dimmer works! I could have spent hours just turning the lights down and back up again.
After a visit to Ipswich Clambake Company (I realized at dinner with Sean and Tara that I had gone all summer without a lobster roll and was running out of time), we returned for more insulating and electrical work. We installed a bathroom fan, which in addition to being required by that pesky building code, was much-needed in our laundry/bathroom combo. We also plan to re-vent the dryer. After completing that install, we flipped the main breaker again, turned another new circuit on, and… nothing. Unfazed by our previous false start, we called it a day. Ryan read up on potential causes before bed. I’m told the new bathroom fan may be the culprit. Well, knowing is half the battle…
All this is of little concern to me. I’ll take a dark bathroom. We have LIGHTS in the kitchen, glorious, dimming lights!
Trips to Home Depot: 2
Up next: Fix bathroom circuit, complete fan venting, insulating, maybe even some more drywall... and hopefully install the fan and pendant light (currently on back order, grr...)
Up next: Fix bathroom circuit, complete fan venting, insulating, maybe even some more drywall... and hopefully install the fan and pendant light (currently on back order, grr...)
Process shots
Well, the rest of the chimney came down pretty fast. Ryan made himself a tent on the second floor with plastic sheeting and took down all he could from that rather claustrophobic perch and then moved on to the first floor. We moved at a slightly slower clip, in part due to the loss of our erstwhile cowboy/daredevil third wheel Dave Case and also in an effort to minimize dust.
Monsoon weather conditions caused some concern over the er, skylight we’d punched through our roof, but it kept us cool and the flying dust down. A temporary patch remedied immediate concerns and we are completely thrilled with the results. Well worth the work (and the associated dump run bill which we are still taking over/under bets on, should you wish to submit yours).
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Monday, August 16, 2010
Weekend 3 of 3
On Thursday, Cait’s parents and nephew Kit (visiting from North Carolina) came out for a Picnic Concert (Big Band this week), and toted along with them a “refurbished” lawn mower – very exciting stuff. Ryan missed out on this one, as he was in Boston picking out his studio for the upcoming semester. (I can’t understand why he can’t just use our ongoing renovation in place of his coursework and thesis…)
Lazy weekend warriors that we are, we took Saturday off to venture to Crane Beach with Eric, T, the boys, and Kit as an early celebration of Eric’s birthday. Our friends Fred, “T2”, and Fred’s kiddies also met up. With all the work at the house and weekends away, this was our first chance to go to the “town beach” all summer. It was a perfect beach day – not too hot and aggressive gulls aside (Eric had a sandwich pecked right out of his hand), a very good time.
Sunday got off to a leisurely start, with Ryan running more wire (shocking, I know) and me continuing on with insulation. Cait’s dad Lou brought down some unused insulation from the Vermont mudroom project and Ryan salvaged some (perfectly good) insulation from an intended dump run with Frank (they were the transfer station’s first customers on Sunday at 6:50am), so combined with the insulation we’ve bought, we are in good shape to seal up the “new” kitchen nice and tight.
Mid-morning, Dave Case came up from the Big City via MBTA transport and the real fun began. As you readers know, we’ve been hemming and hawing about taking down the chimney, when we will take down the chimney, the need to take down the chimney, and how much better life would be without the chimney… We’ve also been keeping an eye on That Damn Calendar and the impending fall (since opening the fireplace, it’s become apparent we are lacking a chimney cap and while that’s been all well and good in the summer, come fall and heating season, it’d be another story). So, over post-studio registration beers on Thursday, Dave and Ryan (who, don’t worry, will be in the same studio come fall semester) decided Sunday was the day.
Things got off to a slow start… we didn’t want to put roof jacks into the new roof, but the ladders we’d assembled weren’t quite doing the job. There was a brief and glorious attempt to lasso the chimney, largely inspired I think by Dave’s recent trip to The Wilds of Colorado (the “primitive campground” in Vail) and a new-found desire to be a cowboy. Alas, it was unsuccessful.
Right when I thought they’d given up, Ryan brought a ladder around the front, tossed some climbing rope over the roof, and Dave hoisted himself up the back of the roof rock climbing-style. It was quick work from there.
Dave had that chimney below grade in a half hour flat (I verified with the timestamp on my digital camera). One by one, the bricks came out, got thrown down the chimney to the first floor, and carted out to the awaiting dump truck by Ryan and me.
After we got Dave down from the roof (same rock climbing approach), we moved on to the attic, first stripping back the fiber board that enclosed the plaster-covered bricks, and continuing along with demo (our favorite) and removal of bricks from the hearth on the first floor.
After finishing off the attic level and hauling bricks out to the dump truck (this next one's going to be an expensive dump run), Ryan and Dave worked on a temporary patch for the roof with plywood and an ice and water barrier. Murphy’s Law, of course it rained Sunday night and drizzled Monday. Needless to say, we will need a permanent patch sooner than later (we'll provide an overall house shot once the patch has been made).
I think we’ve found our worst dust yet. It’s been pretty awful and at this point, Ryan and I are well-conditioned to construction dust. After a lot of sweeping, and a lot of shop vac’ing, and mopping the kitchen passes and well, we haven't been doing much besides cutting lumber in the front rooms for quite awhile. On Monday night, Ryan and I swept down the attic and checked in on the patch - held through the rain so far. We're hoping to get a permanent patch up tomorrow night.
Three more levels of this. Floor 2’s chimney is obscured by a currently in-use clothing closet between the two bedrooms, so we need to devise a POA before we move on.
Dave was an absolute rock star and I am yet again reminded of how very lucky we are to have such hard-working friends who have volunteered their time on the house.
Ryan found my camera charger and wire just in time to document the chimney coming down. A couple other selected gems that was finally able to pull off the camera –
Ryan with the grill:
Cait’s parents come by on move-in day:
In case you were wondering where all our belongings are, here’s a shot of the barn:
And in case you forgot what we look like cleaned up (understandable), here we are at Abby & Bryan’s rehearsal dinner:
Trips to Home Depot: Actually, none… oh wait… one on Friday (for more wire)
Up next: remove debris from attic, more cleaning, insulation and wiring… oh, and do something about the hole in our roof
Lazy weekend warriors that we are, we took Saturday off to venture to Crane Beach with Eric, T, the boys, and Kit as an early celebration of Eric’s birthday. Our friends Fred, “T2”, and Fred’s kiddies also met up. With all the work at the house and weekends away, this was our first chance to go to the “town beach” all summer. It was a perfect beach day – not too hot and aggressive gulls aside (Eric had a sandwich pecked right out of his hand), a very good time.
Sunday got off to a leisurely start, with Ryan running more wire (shocking, I know) and me continuing on with insulation. Cait’s dad Lou brought down some unused insulation from the Vermont mudroom project and Ryan salvaged some (perfectly good) insulation from an intended dump run with Frank (they were the transfer station’s first customers on Sunday at 6:50am), so combined with the insulation we’ve bought, we are in good shape to seal up the “new” kitchen nice and tight.
Mid-morning, Dave Case came up from the Big City via MBTA transport and the real fun began. As you readers know, we’ve been hemming and hawing about taking down the chimney, when we will take down the chimney, the need to take down the chimney, and how much better life would be without the chimney… We’ve also been keeping an eye on That Damn Calendar and the impending fall (since opening the fireplace, it’s become apparent we are lacking a chimney cap and while that’s been all well and good in the summer, come fall and heating season, it’d be another story). So, over post-studio registration beers on Thursday, Dave and Ryan (who, don’t worry, will be in the same studio come fall semester) decided Sunday was the day.
Things got off to a slow start… we didn’t want to put roof jacks into the new roof, but the ladders we’d assembled weren’t quite doing the job. There was a brief and glorious attempt to lasso the chimney, largely inspired I think by Dave’s recent trip to The Wilds of Colorado (the “primitive campground” in Vail) and a new-found desire to be a cowboy. Alas, it was unsuccessful.
Right when I thought they’d given up, Ryan brought a ladder around the front, tossed some climbing rope over the roof, and Dave hoisted himself up the back of the roof rock climbing-style. It was quick work from there.
Dave had that chimney below grade in a half hour flat (I verified with the timestamp on my digital camera). One by one, the bricks came out, got thrown down the chimney to the first floor, and carted out to the awaiting dump truck by Ryan and me.
After we got Dave down from the roof (same rock climbing approach), we moved on to the attic, first stripping back the fiber board that enclosed the plaster-covered bricks, and continuing along with demo (our favorite) and removal of bricks from the hearth on the first floor.
After finishing off the attic level and hauling bricks out to the dump truck (this next one's going to be an expensive dump run), Ryan and Dave worked on a temporary patch for the roof with plywood and an ice and water barrier. Murphy’s Law, of course it rained Sunday night and drizzled Monday. Needless to say, we will need a permanent patch sooner than later (we'll provide an overall house shot once the patch has been made).
I think we’ve found our worst dust yet. It’s been pretty awful and at this point, Ryan and I are well-conditioned to construction dust. After a lot of sweeping, and a lot of shop vac’ing, and mopping the kitchen passes and well, we haven't been doing much besides cutting lumber in the front rooms for quite awhile. On Monday night, Ryan and I swept down the attic and checked in on the patch - held through the rain so far. We're hoping to get a permanent patch up tomorrow night.
Three more levels of this. Floor 2’s chimney is obscured by a currently in-use clothing closet between the two bedrooms, so we need to devise a POA before we move on.
Dave was an absolute rock star and I am yet again reminded of how very lucky we are to have such hard-working friends who have volunteered their time on the house.
Ryan found my camera charger and wire just in time to document the chimney coming down. A couple other selected gems that was finally able to pull off the camera –
Ryan with the grill:
Cait’s parents come by on move-in day:
In case you were wondering where all our belongings are, here’s a shot of the barn:
And in case you forgot what we look like cleaned up (understandable), here we are at Abby & Bryan’s rehearsal dinner:
Trips to Home Depot: Actually, none… oh wait… one on Friday (for more wire)
Up next: remove debris from attic, more cleaning, insulation and wiring… oh, and do something about the hole in our roof