Welcome back everyone! We are so sorry to leave you hanging on progress for so long. We have had a little hangup in our personal lives and have had a hard time getting back on track. Nonetheless we have still made huge strides toward completion.
Every inch of framing is complete on both floors. There were a few tweaks and changes here and there, but the original plan was pretty close to dead on.
One of the best changes we have made is removing the framing separating the parlor and living room then replacing it with a massive huge structural beam. Keisha’s brother Kalyb was able to come in on the project and make the most beautiful industrial oil rubbed steel brackets. We couldn’t fathom putting it up there with modern bolts so we scoured the dark web for old deadstock square bolts. They turned out exactly as we planned. Just the right beautiful, era appropriate statements we were looking for. The crazy thing about the beam and the brackets is how huge they look on the floor next to you and then you put them up and the perspective seems to change their proportions. It just dwarfs in comparison to the rest of the space.
Here are the photos of the wall framing that was in place before. We just couldn’t handle having such a great space so sectioned off.
Cleaning up the posts was a real chore, not just for Derek and Granger, but also for the planer. We really gave it a major workout and tested its limits. The results are breathtaking.
We were able to get a bunch of help on a day that Keisha was working, so no good photos of all the helpful muscle. But we want them all to know how grateful we are! And the finished product is so breathtaking!
We were also able to layout where the wood burning stove and log storage is going. We will be building that out of concrete. It will be poured flat over some timber that we reclaimed from a 100+ year old structure that we tore down just a few blocks from this home. We will then tilt it up and secure it to the wall. We are hoping it will come out with a very deep grain in the concrete for that industrial look. We will be doing this up the wall behind the stove and also for the sides of the log storage. Kalyb will also be making straps for the base of the hearth that will match the brackets on the beam.
The stove is in this temporary position right now. The original stacks are still attached outside so we are taking advantage of that. The nights are getting to be below 0 and these bricks hold every but if that cold.
In the end it will be placed upon a hearth just to the right of the bay.
A big majority of the electrical is finished and will be finished within the month. The next step is the plumbing and HVAC then we will be ready for first inspections. We are now a few months behind on this phase because of our setbacks. But that means we are right back on the originally planned schedule. We were blowing it out of the water before with no setbacks and just plowing away at the job. There’s always something though. Murphy’s Law.
Another change we recently decided on was to actually keep the porch enclosed. Because this winter has been so cold and we realized just how much heat we can obtain through that porch area, we decided it will be a solarium. We will be putting slate tiles on the floor to hold in the heat from the sun. But, the main reason we made this decision is because we ran across these spectacular doors that just happened to be the right fit. They are bifolds and even fold up to be almost completely out of the way. Mounted on one side of the opening makes it so that they only stick out about 2″ from the wall. They are just breathtaking! We really love that they have the arch that mimics the arches all over the entrances of the original structure. We will be stripping and refinishing them a deep mahogany along with the beam and posts.
We are really proud of the progress we have made and almost tear up every time we walk in the door. The biggest hurrah after getting inspections will be getting to finally insulate! Derek has had to hook the wood stove up to the old stove pipe that was already installed on the house to keep from completely freezing. Thank goodness for all the scrap we have created throughout this process. It has been keeping him warm through this bitingly cold winter. We are thankful for that old beast, especially for the fact that it has a blower!
We are going to try to keep you up to date more, but we have felt that updating you on more and more and more boards gets a little tedious. We are hoping to start showing you all finishes going in soon! We can’t wait and we know you feel the same!