Master craftsmen at work on the library

November 12, 2009

Tom and Norm put their heads together to build our library bookshelves

From the beginning, the library landing has been the heart of our renovation. Paul Rovinelli spent countless hours with us designing it. He knows Bill and I are book lovers—to put it mildly—and wanted a special space to enjoy our collection with our children. The library isn't large, but it will be a congenial space, full of light, and the warmth of books. The window seat will be an inviting spot to curl up with a book, do some homework, or play a board game. I can't wait for it to be finished!

With a seasoning of plaster dust

November 11, 2009

In case anyone was wondering, we still don't have a working kitchen. Sure, we're making do with the old range down in the basement and various small appliances set up here and there around the house—but it's getting old! Yesterday director (and amazing cook!) David Vos took pity on us and brought over one of his signature roast chickens, and a container of his special red beans. What a treat that was! We must have been on the same wavelength, because I chose the same day to bake a few trays of cinnamon rolls for the workers and crew assembled at our house.

End of an era

October 29, 2009

 
So far, with the exception of electrical work, most of the work on our project has been restricted to the new addition, the kitchen, and the basement. Well, recently all that ended as Anne Brady began removing wallpaper from the hallway, upstairs and down, and repairing some old water damage to the ceiling of our dining room.

When will things heat up?

October 28, 2009

Ronnie sets up the new boiler in our basement

Winter is just around the bend. And this worries me, since we don't yet have a working heating system to take the edge off of the chill. We have our fingers crossed that it'll be up and running soon.

Once complete, the system will consist of our old radiators in the existing parts of the house, as well as new radiant floor heating in the addition. And it will all be hooked up to a fancy new boiler.  The veritable tangle of tubes and pipes required to get the system up and running is (understandably) taking some time to assemble. 

To make it all work, we needed one additional radiator. So Bill went to a used radiator shop, where he was amazed by the vast selection (and the hard bargaining). So in the end, it was Ronnie who found just what we needed, and Joe brought it back to the house in the truck. Now can we fire up that boiler?  

We hope so, but in the meantime, we'll keep "roughing it" with evenings in front of the fire. Those little scraps from the hardwood flooring give off a lot of heat!  

Patio party!

October 28, 2009

 
Roger and Bill secure edging around the new patio

We did it! We made our own patio—under Roger's careful instruction, of course—and with family and friends pitching in to help. It was a perfect fall day for work outdoors, and I think we all enjoyed the camaraderie, the crisp air, and the satisfaction of a job well done. 

Preparing the area

First, we had to determine the size and shape of the patio. With our small, sloped yard, we had to consider the proportions of the space and also the grade. Next, Roger came up with a herringbone pattern that was easy to lay and didn't require us to cut too many pavers. 

Tamping down the pavers

Then came the dust storm! Once the pattern was laid, we swept on plenty of sand. Roger showed me how to use a tamping machine to make sure the pavers were solid and even, and that the crevices were full of sand. 

Deborah and David seek refuge from the dust and noise of the tamping machine

It was a lot to accomplish in one day, but many hands make light work. Thank you, everyone, for helping out. I know we will be enjoying this patio together for many years to come.

This Old House on NPR!

October 26, 2009

What fun to have one of our favorite NPR radio hosts (and fellow Newton resident) Tom Ashbrook visit the job site the other day! He arrived for lunch, and then Tom gave him a tour of the house, and was interviewed for an On Point segment you can listen to here.

Other highlights of the day included having our driveway straightened and repaved. Once again, the kids loved the heavy machinery, and it was nice to see the back of the house transformed from a kind of rubble pit to a clean, smooth surface. Thanks, Roger!

We really oughta ...

October 13, 2009

We'd heard it all before. We'd been warned by friends, seasoned renovators—even by Tom Silva himself: The most dangerous words you can hear from your contractor while renovating your house are, "We really oughta..." or "We might as well..." 

We tried to take this to heart, especially since there's not a lot of leeway in our budget for major add-ons, especially after some of the surprise "extras" we incurred early on in the process.

But the garage? From the beginning, this was a sticking point for us. Were we really going to end a project of this magnitude, including straightening the driveway, without somehow addressing the garage problem?  Our leaky, rusty, rickety, mildewed garage didn't seem to be in keeping with the new structure that would be going up a few feet away. As construction progressed, the problem became more and more obvious.

So the garage has to go. However, the other day, Tom came up with an innovative "solution" to demolishing it. Why not just back up the dump truck into the garage, raise the back, and drive it away? All I can say is, folks, don't try this at home...

What we're learning

October 8, 2009

Bill and I recently learned about some interesting—if not downright odd—tools of the trade for those who install blue board and plaster. Even though our belongings are now covered with a fine film of plaster dust, we love watching all the steps that go into building our addition, because we're learning so much in the process.

The naked truth

October 5, 2009

Now that the vinyl siding is off and repairs to the clapboards are finished, the next step is to prepare for painting. And what a preparation it has been! Every scrap of paint has been removed from the house using liquid stripper. Windows have all been re-glazed. Nail holes have all been filled (there were many of these left where the old siding had been attached), and every inch of the place has been lightly sanded and made ready for paint application. How strange to see our house completely stripped, exposed in all its naked glory!

The paint crews have been working long days—even weekends—to keep up with deadlines. If you'd been at our house last week, no matter which window you looked out of, you'd have likely seen a painter on a ladder working right outside. Their vehicles were lined up and down our street (once again, our apologies to our saintly neighbors). 

Even the most jaded of the commuters, children, and dog walkers who regularly pass our house paused to take a look in recent days. After all, how often do you see a house in the altogether like this? 

S.O.S. (spraying on site)

October 5, 2009

After all of the various disruptions we've encountered during renovation, who knew that insulation would be the thing to drive us from the house? I think we were really beginning to think we wouldn't have to vacate for anything! 

Spray foam insulation is going to be wonderfully snug when the wind starts blowing, and it certainly looks harmless enough—a bit like whipped cream. It already dampens the sound in the house quite a bit. On the downside, the fumes are pretty strong when it first comes out of the nozzle. We were strongly advised to stay off of the premises for twenty-four hours after installation, which ended up meaning several days away as the spraying itself took more than one day to complete. 

Many, many thanks to the kind neighbors who heard our S.O.S. and took us (including the dog) in, on very short notice.  Now that the fumes have dissipated, it feels great to be back home, even in its current, torn-up state. With new insulation in the walls and ceilings of the new addition, the attic, and parts of the basement, we will be cozier than ever!

What is it?

September 23, 2009

Maybe, to some of you out there, this object looks familiar, but I certainly didn't know what it was when I saw it leaning against the wall in the kitchen. The scalloped pattern in the wood looked like a decorative trim, but I couldn't imagine where it belonged. Can you guess what this is for? Do you give up?

A siding story

September 17, 2009

Tom, Norm, and I remove vinyl siding from the front of the house

One of the first and, perhaps, riskiest things we've tackled as part of our renovation is removing our vinyl siding. Something we did against the advice of many naysayers who warned, "You never know what you'll find underneath that!"; or, "People put that stuff up for a reason." Still, I was convinced that removing the siding would improve the appearance of the house. And Bill felt that if there were, in fact, some problems—such as rot—under the siding, it would be better to expose them and address them. Still, we knew we were rolling the dice in terms of our budget. I'd say that, in the end, we got off easy. There were some necessary repairs to the clapboards underneath (including a dormer that had to be completely re-sided), but no huge surprises. "Nice claps," a neighbor remarked when the vinyl first came off.

Riding in style

September 16, 2009

Emmy comes for a visit

Congratulations, "This Old House," on your recent Emmy for Outstanding Lifestyle Program at the 36th annual Daytime Emmy Awards. The winning production team included executive producer Michael Burton, senior producer David Vos, and producer Deborah Hood. 

"This Old House" has now won 17 Emmy Awards, and 82 nominations throughout its 30-year history. We are so proud of everyone and delighted to be a part of such high-quality educational programming. Hooray! 

And now, back to our regularly-scheduled renovation...

TOH cameraman Steve "Dino" D'Onofrio and producer Deborah Hood.

Newsflash: Light returns to the landing

September 11, 2009

Any faithful webcam watchers will remember the day the landing went dark. Up until that point, our southwest-facing landing window drew in plenty of bright sunlight—both direct and ambient. But when the new library was framed in where the old flat roof had been, none of that light made it into the original part of the house. A dark time, indeed. We needed electric lights, even on the sunniest mornings.

Upstairs, downstairs

September 3, 2009

These should save us quite a few trips outside through the bulkhead to access our "kitchen" in the basement.

The new basement stairs are complete! But figuring out how to build them wasn't exactly easy. Their placement was determined by the architect's drawings, but some existing conditions meant Tom had to calculate how much to cut into the house's foundation to get enough headroom to meet building code, without compromising the structure. 

All in all, we spent quite a long time in the basement for such a beautiful August day. But that's what it took to make sure the stairs were perfectly level, plumb, and just the right height.