August 18, 2010
The big reveal
Things are still insanely busy (my excuse for not posting in the last couple weeks). We've had many, many late nights recently, poring over decorative lighting and plumbing fixtures (electrician Allen Gallant and TOH plumbing and heating expert Richard Trethewey need our choices asap!) So I'm pretty bleary-eyed as I write this. But here it goes ...
One of the biggest issues with our house when we bought it was there were very few windows out back. In theory, we had a lovely river view, but in reality we could barely see it! Well today, a dark corner out back was transformed into one that is full of light and that has the most amazing panoramic views.
I took this shot (above) at about 6:30 tonight, from the front hall of the house. If I had taken the same shot this morning (wish I'd been forward-thinking enough to do that!), you would have seen practically all wall. The wall along the far side of the stairs used to extend all the way to the bottom of the staircase (look closely and you can see a dark spot in the top of the door frame; that's where the wall used to end). Today, Tom Silva shaved about three feet off the width of that wall and voila, the river-facing corner in the back was revealed!
But just "revealing" the back corner wasn't enough. The corner itself needed help, too. The window you see on the left was just installed today (this used to be just a windowless wall), and the window opening you see on the right was doubled in width. Ahhhh... that's better! From this corner, we can now enjoy the Charles River AND our neighbor Sue's beautiful gardens (thanks, Sue!)
In other news, here are a few other things that happened today (seriously, there is NEVER a dull moment).
We finalized the design for our front door and sidelights(shown here are Tom, architect Chris Chu, and Scott Kearney from TruStile Doors, working through the details).
Richard and Tom installed radiant heat in our new basement family room.
This very cool pumping truck was used to pump concrete up and over the house, down to the basement level in back. A new concrete floor was poured throughout both the new basement family room and the old basement family room area (in the latter, the existing vinyl tile floor and wooden sub-floor had been removed due to asbestos, leaving just crumbly concrete behind).
And the deck footing were filled with concrete.
Phew, another jam-packed day!
(17) Comments
Comment on this BlogAllison the basement looks great and I am glad you posted pictures of the basement. I think the possibilities are endless there and you certainly will have more room. Perhaps you could have a small kitchnette there where you could store extra food and have an area where you could microwave popcorn. Good luck to you!
Double check with the hvac contractor. I don't think even modern windows have a very big R rating. Looks like a lot of cold radiators to me.
I always love watching a house evolve into its new form on the show.
Have you seen Norm Abram around much, and what if any piece of furniture will he be making for your project? He and Tommy do amazing things with wood.
I think the rear web cam is not working. Shows rainy daylight even at night. Can this be fixed?
It's amazing to see transformations of spaces, there are so many options out there and each contractor has their own great ideas, the end result is almost always the right one.
4:30 pm 9/15 white truck with hose extending to upstairs window.. man wearing mask...it must be the long awaited insulation...and the drywall should be coming right behind in. Hoping for lots of activity the next few weeks.
I love concrete pumps they make life so much easier. Looks like progress is going well.
Yes, Judy... insulation went in yesterday (and continues today)! I have so much to blog about, so little time. Hope to get a new post up next week :)
A big thank you to whoever fixed the back camera and adjusted the kitchen camera.Looking forward to watching the deck go up. Curious, now that almost all the siding is finished and front door is in, about your exterior color scheme.
Could you also get someone to look at the living room web cam? It's vision looks to be about 20/100 these days. Thanks...
What happened to the web cams? They are showing night times at 1 in the afternoon. I enjoy watching the progress on the house.
Sorry about the webcams, folks... rest assured the issue is being investigated.
Judy, we went with a warm taupe-y grey called Wood Ash from C2 for the body of the house, and are going to use a stain (vs. paint) to let the beautiful texture of the shingles show through. The trim will be white, and the front door some kind of red. The shutters will be a deep, very dark green (practically black, with just the tiniest hint of warmth). The painters are prepping the house now and will starting staining/painting soon... so once the webcams are back up and running, you should see the house colors soon!
Thanks for the update of the webcams. I like your choices of color for the house and glad you are using stain. Looking forward to seeing it finished.
Glad to hear the webcams will be back soon. I think many of us would like to see an update on the blog too, know you are busy though so I understand. We are all curious though as the webcams don't tell the whole story and as you know break down from time to time. Have a nice day!
On your floor plans you should have befor and afthere planes - also larger pint so you can read it.
The MUD room right off the front enterence ? It should be at the back door near the kitchen or garage.
Yeah, I strongly agree with you. It seems there are really talented writers who are willing to share a very good articles online.
This is to John Podraza, just want to clarify that the mudroom normally would be next to kitchen door/garage, which is where we had originally had it, as you suggest, but in this case, where the family likes to go in and out the front door, this made sense. Also, it allowed us to give Allison the kitchen window view to the front yard which she really wanted. The new pergola is now up and she can not only see the street but can enjoy the view framed through the pergola. Allison will also be able to develop her garden over time and enjoy the view of it from the kitchen window!