January 22, 2010
It's been a while since my last post, but we're still here! The last weeks of the renovation were a whirlwind, from the extraordinary push to complete the work in time for the wrap party, to the subsequent photo shoots (you can see a story about our house in the current issue of This Old House magazine), the holidays,compiling the inevitable punch list for Tom, and simply unwinding after our nearly year-long adventure with This Old House.
In the run-up to the wrap party on November 19, there was quite a lot of finish work left to do. This included final carpentry, painting, as the painters burned the midnight oil to try to get everything covered in time, landscaping, and installation of light fixtures and hardware (finally, some doorknobs!). All hands were on deck during these last days.
Here you can see Kevin and Tom finishing up the living room bookshelves.
This wall used to be the outside wall of the house, with a window that looked out to the jalousie-glass porch. It's also where Bill's desk used to be. Now, a pocket door separates the living room from the new family room on the other side.
On the day before the wrap party, electricians complete the wiring in the living room bookshelves and in the ceiling above, where we added new down lights. Painters are working feverishly on the landing to finish painting all those shelves and cabinets.
Somehow order emerged from all that chaos and things got done! Bill's desk has found a happy new home in his upstairs office (with fireplace), and we are all enjoying our "new" living room (BELOW) with its beautiful wall of shelves. 
Someday I hope we will be able to put a baby grand piano into this corner.
November 17, 2009
Remember the three-season porch with jalousie glass we demolished to make way for the new, two-story addition? Well, it actually sat a little bit below the level of the rest of the house and below the grade of the rest of the property. We wanted the new addition to sit on the same level as the rest of the house. The problem came in trying to marry the second-floor addition and stairway with the old hallway to maintain enough ceiling height on the first floor. The biggest problem area was in the first-floor hallway where the new stairs to the library landing would have to cut into the ceiling height across the new entry. This presented a big challenge in trying to build the basement stairs with enough ceiling height to meet code requirements, and it was also going to be an aesthetic issue in the entry hall next to those stairs.
Tom's ingenious solution was to match an existing archway in the front hallway using a barrel ceiling to mask the disparity in ceiling height from front to back. We thought it was a great idea to take a problem and make it into a distinctive feature of the house using an existing architectural element. And now we'll always know that we have a "Tom Silva Original" design in the house! Next we need to consider whether we'll add any lighting inside or rely on the existing hallway lights on either side of the barrel to cast enough light on the area. It might be pretty to have small sconces on either side to cast a glow on our distinctinve barrel ceiling. What do you think?
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! 
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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.
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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.
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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!
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.
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!
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...
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.
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