framing – Primm & Property

Posted on August 10, 2020August 10, 2020 by Emily · 3 Comments

Day 297

Nearly 300 days in and it’s been a big week!

At my site meeting with the builder Friday, there seemed to be dozens of people working. Some were framing, others were putting in windows, and then John was out on the bulldozer moving dirt. I’m not entirely sure that some of them weren’t paid actors to make me feel like there was major progress happening. It worked.

The first major item I discovered was the driveway. It has been graded up to the level Josh specified with a fresh layer of gravel. Compared to what it had been, it was like driving on glass.

The second major item: windows!!! They are all in and I couldn’t be happier not only to see my pretty windows, but to see the views again from inside the house.

We have also gained a dumpster. Less exciting, but it means things will be happening.

I’m obsessed with these windows in the library. I had originally planned for 5 here, but when I was reining in the budget, I cut it to 3. Though you’d be hard-pressed to convince me there is such a thing as too many windows, I think 3 feels right here.

Several items of note in this photo:

windows
the raised hearth
there is a chimney and it is the correct size

All of the framing issues upstairs have been corrected. This is the spot where it all fell apart a few weeks ago.

Many walls have been moved to achieve the specified measurements and alignments in each room. Please note here in the master bath that the vanity wall no longer obstructs the windows and that the hall and doorway into the bathroom are now centered on the windows as intended.

Now I can sleep at night.

Chimney take II. Now that the chimney has slimmed down, my shutters will be able to lay flat against the exterior wall.

The lovely library windows again. I am also in love with the small window to the left of the dormer. I put it in to tie in with the windows in the mudroom clerestory on the front of the house.

The driveway up by the garage is looking better and better as John continues to dig it out.

And you might be wondering where all of this dirt is going?

To the front yard! John is getting pretty close to the final grade up against the house.

And who is that off in the distance?

That would be Josh and my dad, continuing to work on the fence.

Yesterday morning, I gave my mom and grandmother a guided tour of the house, highlighting all of the structural updates and furniture placement thoughts. I fielded questions at the end, which led to an in depth discussion of stair parts.

I was stalling to avoid fence duty.

But, alas, I was summoned to put in something on the order of 500 screws to be sure the boards were well-secured to the posts.

Though I own many power tools and am not afraid of a little DIY, we will be hiring out the fence on the other side of the property.

Josh finished putting in the last few hundred screws today. Meanwhile, I sat in the dining room and finalized a detailing document for the builder with diagrams and notes about things like plumbing fixture placement, countertops, tile layouts, and cabinetry coordination. It’s currently 36 pages.

This was my fancy setup.

I never thought I’d be so happy to have a $5.98 folding chair from Walmart.

Posted on August 5, 2020 by Emily

Day 290

Well things have improved slightly in the last week.

They have corrected the bulk of the framing issues and are tackling the final items.

The dining room chimney is FINALLY underway. I have asked about this 147 times because it’s such a critical element to the look of this side of the house.

Speaking of chimneys, they have framed out the fireplace walls inside – woohoo! This is in the dining room on the other side of the wall we were just looking at.

This is in the living room.

You’ll notice, we are missing the chimney here. A chimney had been built, but upon inspection of the measurements, it was not the right size.

The chimney is being rebuilt.

That’s all I will say about that.

Some good news: we can now walk down the basement stairs somewhat safely.

More good news: they’re almost finished moving the dirt for the driveway so we’ll actually be able to park in the garage.

There is still a lot of dirt to move. Our chia pet dirt pile is thriving in the backyard.

Meanwhile, in the front yard, Josh, my dad, and my brother-in-law were getting our 4 rail fence started.

I think the only reason they agreed to do this work themselves was so they could rent a skid steer.

If 2020 were a fence…

Don’t worry, they got it straightened out and set in concrete.

Looking much better!

Still a long way to go…

The guys also worked along our easement road, digging ditches to help with the water runoff issue so that there will be a road left by the time we’re ready to move in.

I’ve been recruited to help with the fence project next weekend. Please send help.

Posted on July 26, 2020July 26, 2020 by Emily

Day 281

Some things have happened at the property this week. Let me fill you in:

I noticed last weekend that we had a rather significant framing issue upstairs. Not a structural one, thankfully. In fact, the house is built like a tank, with more lumber and hurricane ties than you can imagine. No, the issue was regarding measurements. I realized the issue when I walked into the master bath and the vanity wing wall was partially obscuring one of the windows. Per my plans, this should not have been the case.

I started investigating. Come to find out that the guest room had been framed over a foot too deep(!), thus throwing off every wall upstairs east to west. Mostly notably, the master bedroom was 10 square feet too small as a result. No bueno.

I did my best not to have a “come apart” (as they call it here in the south) and started documenting everything for the builder. I was particularly wound up over this because my plans are not only to scale but also dimensioned. I can forgive an inch here or there and realize there may have to be an occasional adjustment, but variations of more than a foot simply will not do.

Good news: I noticed this while still in the framing stage and not as we were trying to move in furniture.

Bad news: I was the one that caught this.

Good news: It can be fixed and our builder is on it.

Bad news: Nearly every wall in the main part of the upstairs has to be moved.

Good news: We will not be charged for this.

Bad news: It will delay us about a week.

I had two 2-3 hour site meetings with the builder this week to go through everything and mark what needs to be corrected.

I should have brought snacks.

OK, now onto the next critical item: the kitchen cabinet color.

It is well-documented that I am my own worst client. While I can be incredibly decisive with selections and decisions for my clients’ spaces, the same cannot be said for my personal spaces.

I have painted this poor door sample with 5 different colors and then my own custom blends of these colors to get the color just right. Let me just say that neutrals are complicated because they can take on various undertones depending on what time of day it is and what kind of light is hitting them. My struggle was that I liked some better in natural daylight and the others better at night with incandescent light. In the daylight some were taking on a fleshy undertone (which I am absolutely allergic to) and at night the others took on a green cast.

My cabinet guy will be delighted when I tell him he has to paint match a 50/50 blend of 2 colors, one of which is at 75%. Here is the winning combination:

This is the same color on the whole door. See how different it looks in light and shadow?!

While the cabinet color took an inordinate amount of time, it took me about 45 seconds to make the call on the roof material.

Back to regularly scheduled programming and progress photos:

They put on the underlayment for the roof and some of the flashing.

They started on the dining room chimney.

They have done some more digging around the garage, though there is still a bit to do.

Josh and my dad laid out where the 4 rail fence will go along our shared property line.

They have their work cut out for them as they put in this fence next weekend.

I will be providing supervision and snacks.

Posted on July 7, 2020 by Emily

Day 263

Well, the whole house is now wrapped in this lovely paper. It just needs a bow.

We have new temporary handrails around the staircase. Not exactly the finished look I’m going for but it certainly helps to define the staircase.

And to prevent injuries.

The view from the top of the stairs.

I have already figured out what is going on most walls in the house but the stair wall is still a giant question mark…

They finally framed in the doorway to Josh’s closet. He had to check it out.

He then asked where my closet was and I informed him it’s the one across the hall from his and twice the size.

He took it well.

After losing interest in the closets, he discovered that they framed a doorway into the mudroom attic space.

Oh man would I have loved to play in there as a kid.

And here is Josh patiently waiting for his man cave.

It might be a minute…

Posted on June 28, 2020 by Emily

Day 255

Looking more and more like a house each time we visit!

We headed out this morning to see the progress and were delighted to see that framing is nearing completion.

The wrap covering all of my beloved windows is really killing the vibe.

Also killing the vibe is the master bedroom windows not being centered under the roof ridge. I noticed these were off when they first started framing the second floor walls. Our builder assures us this will be fixed at the end of framing.

I’m counting the minutes.

At least the view is still nice from the inside, which will be our view as we wake up.

(The dirt piles are temporary.)

I’m so excited about all of the dormers and sloped ceilings in the bedrooms. Super Cozy.

This is the view from the back bedroom, through my closet, through Josh’s closet, and through the master bathroom in the middle, master bedroom on the left, and bonus room on the right. I realize this will not be a view once the walls are drywalled, but it helps to get a feel for the layout upstairs.

I call this to your attention because most views upstairs look like this, which is basically a maze of 2x4s.

I did get this shot of one of the critical axes upstairs from the guest room, through the main stair hall, master hall, and into the master bedroom. I’m standing in the master bedroom and my dad is in the guest room. Hi, Daddy!

They have really cleaned things up downstairs. I am standing in the kitchen, looking into the entry and the living room. Feeling good!

We headed up to the office next. Josh approves.

Barry was studying all of the details of the framing.

The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree…

Posted on June 25, 2020 by Emily

Day 250

Hey there!

I stopped by for a quick visit between meetings the other day and saw many interesting things as I turned onto our easement drive:

The property adjacent to ours that has been for sale for quite a while now has a gigantic septic fence in place.
The “For Sale” sign had been taken down, so this sale is likely really happening and we are getting some new neighbors. We were secretly hoping the seller would give up and offer to sell it to us and our existing neighbor for a fraction of the cost.
Due to the odd shape of this lot and the gigantic septic field in the middle of the lot, I have no idea where they will place a house. I really hope it’s not a big factor in any of our views.

On a more positive note, I spot a chimney!

A little imagination required, but can’t you see it coming to life?!

Screen Shot 2020-06-24 at 8.08.58 PM

The chimney was really exciting to see. There is another one on the opposite side of the house that is more for looks and balance. This one here is a wood burning fireplace in the living room, but the dining room and library will have ventless gas inserts.

I love fireplaces.

It’s hard to imagine wanting to have a fire right now because it’s almost 90 degrees and 80% humidity as I write this.

No worries, though, because I can just lay down in the puddles on the floor to cool off.

It’s sort of a panicky thing to see water like this on the interior of your house even when you’re still in this rough stage of framing. The good news is there are no windows and doors on the house at this moment in time so there will be plenty of time for this to air out and evaporate.

There’s that gigantic septic field fence from the other side.

As soon as I saw this, I told Josh we may need to go ahead and put up a fence along the shared property line…

Back to the progress! Check out these dormers taking shape. The bedrooms are going to be so cozy.

Though I know we have to have it for waterproofing, I really detest this paper they are putting on in a somewhat random fashion. It is very distracting and they are covering up the window openings.

I can’t wait until we can cover it up with siding and put in the windows. I’m hoping at our meeting tomorrow, the builder will tell us this is happening very soon.

I like this view because you can’t really see the ugly paper.

Also, it cracks me up that it looks like our house is hiding behind the tree, somewhat unsuccessfully. Sort of like when my cat sticks his head under the sofa and thinks you can’t see him.

I turned around from my vantage point and admired all of our little “volunteer” trees that have sprouted up. Hopefully some of these will make it to be big trees someday.

As I was leaving, I spotted a work truck at the edge of the other property adjacent to ours. It is entirely wooded and we have about 40′ of woods between us, but we haven’t see a soul or any evidence of human life on this property the entire time we have owned our property. A little strange that literally the same day that the other property looks to have something happening on it, this one does too. We went from feeling like we were out here by ourselves to all of a sudden having a bunch of activity.

Looking into that fence tomorrow…

Posted on June 21, 2020 by Emily

Day 247

Hi, it’s me again!

More framing progress to report over the last 24 hours.

We had a family site visit yesterday afternoon while my aunt was in town. It was neat to give the grand tour and walk through each room.

Our greek revival cottage is taking shape!

The office is feeling really good and looking like a disco in the afternoon sun.

As they add the sheathing, it frames the views and I just can’t get enough. I’m all about the views.

The second floor is still quite the maze of framed walls and temporary supports.

Here’s Josh looking out the dormer window in the back bedroom. I’ve always loved dormers so each room on the second floor has one. I might have gone a little dormer crazy in the design, but I think they make the rooms cozy and add a lot of dimension to the exterior.

We have some rain in the forecast, but I’m thinking framing might be complete by the end of the week. Stay tuned!

Posted on June 20, 2020 by Emily

Day 246

I think there has been more progress in the last week than in the last 8 months combined! I can barely keep up and I’ve been out there almost every day this week to check on things.

Yesterday, I stopped by during lunch and ate my salad as I watched them finishing the roof over the garage.

They were also starting on the mudroom/laundry roof that is one of my favorite features of the house.

They were even starting to put the wrap (might have a more official name?) on the house.

The second floor was almost completely framed. I stood where the bed will be in the master and looked out the window at what will be a peaceful view to the east.

(I very intentionally situated the master bedroom so our bed could face east and the sun can gently wake us as it rises.)

(I’m a nerd.)

I also had a moment in my closet (not pictured). By today’s standards, it’s not huge, but it will bring me joy to have all of my things in one place. It also brings me joy that my husband will have a separate closet that I need not set foot in. We have very different closet maintenance strategies. I will leave it at that.

While on the topic of things that bring me joy, this nook here at the back of the office will be Josh’s mancave. I’m very happy for him that he will have a mancave. I’m also happy that it’s as far away as possible from the rest of the house so I don’t mistake sounds from Josh’s movies/video games for an actual threat to our safety.

A little off-topic, but this is on our drive up to the property and it just makes my day every time I drive by it.

Headed out again today to see if the main roof is on!

Posted on June 19, 2020 by Emily

Day 244

Last night after work, Josh and I went over to check out the progress at the house. I had been there just over 24 hours before but it was amazing to see how much had changed!

I spy a some second floor walls!

It was at about this point that I almost jumped out of the moving vehicle to run up to the house.

They finished both sets of interior stairs! Here’s Josh, casually walking in the front door.

Hi, honey!

We walked upstairs and my daredevil decided to sit on the edge.

The closest I got was about 10 feet away.

This explains a lot about us.

Meanwhile, in the opposite direction, the guest room at the front of the house is shaping up to have the best view. Who wants to come and visit?!

…in 2021…

Next we had to go up the back steps and check out the office.

I will be able to look out these windows from my desk and see what the neighbor horses are up to.

Hopefully when I got by tomorrow, they will have finished framing the second floor.

And I hope they add a few more temporary supports on the back porch. I think they are asking an awful lot of these few 2x4s…

Posted on June 17, 2020 by Emily

Day 243

I can barely concentrate on anything else at the moment because I’m so excited about the framing!!!

But, first things first: Check out our driveway that has been graded up so there’s no longer a pond in the middle of it. They also put in a massive pipe specified by my dear husband who does not mess around when it comes to proper drainage.

I had been parking at the very beginning of the driveway due to it being impassible in my short SUV. Next time, I will drive on up and park in front of the house…

… right by the front porch!

They are starting to put in the floor system for the second floor. The room above the front porch is the guest room. Kath (my mom) will be so delighted to see this as she is eager to stay in her suite.

They put in the stairs to the future headquarters of my design firm. The way things are going with COVID-19, it sounds like I will be subletting some of my office space to my husband.

Ok, back to the tour.

My kitchen!

Which will eventually look like this!

But probably not for 6 months…sigh.

This is the living room, which overlooks the front porch and yard. They had somehow missed one of these windows in the first round of framing, but they quickly got it added in after I brought it to their attention.

I’m sure I’m their favorite already.

Though I planned for all rooms to have lots of light and pretty views, I am particularly smitten with the view from the dining room.

I am also a big nerd about sight lines and axes. This is the view looking the opposite direction of the previous photo. Once all of these lovely temporary supports are removed, there will be a sight line down through the hall and out the windows of the library on the back of the house from the dining room table.

The L-shaped screened porch that wraps the back and side of the house will have an uninterrupted view of the tree line. Though right now, these temporary supports are really killing the mood.

Here’s another angle showing the screened porch and those library windows I’ll be able to see through from the dining room. I foresee spending a lot of time on this porch. So does our cat, Bu.

And this is the beast from her widest angle.

This house has been in my head and in my heart for so long that is really surreal to see it come to life.

Screen Shot 2020-06-16 at 9.35.43 PM

Still quite a bit left before she looks like my rendering, but well on her way!