we have lights in the kitchen!

and we laid the tile subfloor...we are ready for the cabinets, but we still might wait until after the holidays to install them.

insulation

the new gas furnace and heating system is complete


and the air conditioning unit is installed

we passed our rough electrical inspection

here is some of our fancy wiring...

we received the shipment of kitchen cabinets, we might just get them installed before christmas!

oh..and a picture of the roof edge, after the ice dam was chipped away and the snow was shovelled! the ice is building up again, so we will have to do this again.

update...

long overdue post, i know...but there hasnt really been anything to photograph yet. we are just doing electrical work and we started insulating yesterday.

we had a text book ice dam this week too, very exciting. because there was no insulation in the roof, the 12" of snow that was packed on the roof was melting from below (from the heat of the house) and this causes the melting snow to drip off of the eave. as it drips off of the eave it freezes and not only creates lovely icicles, but the entire length of the roof edge was solid ice--about 3-4" thick! that ice, as it expands, works its way back under the shingles---and as more snow melts, it finds its way inside the house!

we caught the ice dam in time and scott went outside to chip away the ice...so a major problem was diverted. if you have a well insulated roof/ceiling, then you shouldnt get ice dams...so we have started to insulate, now that the wiring is done.

because our blog has been empty lately we joked about posting a daily injury report -nothing major, but we get some pretty nasty boo boos on a daily basis (no photos, just imagine). like puncturing my head on a roofing nail that was sticking through the plywood in the crawlspace...or, repeatedly puncturing the back of my hand on those same damn nails! or how about this one...when working over my head my hand slipped and my thumb whacked against a ceiling joist---no biggie, except that there just happened to be a nail or splinter sticking out of that joist in that very convenient location and it jammed its way under my thumb nail-pretty deep! (eee, that still makes me cringe) and of course, the classic hammering of the fingernails--kind of boring as far as boo boos go, but i got a nice blood blister from one! and did you know, that if you are on a ladder all day and you lean your shins into the next ladder rung for stability...that you get pretty uniform bruises on you shins? i have a 3" horizontal purple and blue band on my legs--about 12" up from my feet!!! nnnice!

time capsule...

i was fishing wire through the wall today...i opened up a small hole at the base of the wall (where the future baseboard will cover) and out popped a small wooden toy traincar!


then a plastic dart and a baby with no head...


and more and more and more....

inspections

rough framing: passed
plumbing: passed
gas: passed
final deck: passed
1992 Camry emissions: failed

The exterior is pretty much finished...just in time! we just need to figure out what to do with the cracked concrete walkway (hopefully we will have a couple of warm days this winter so that we can tackle that project)


we need another warm day so that we can paint the side door;






here is a photo showing the heating/ac ductwork at the 2nd floor;


we are getting our rough plumbing and gas inspected tomorrow...so we hope to have heat soon (we have been working without heat ever since we started this project!)

today was a beautiful day!

we worked outside and installed the new shutters, painted the front door and the bulkhead, and installed the deck stairs and rail posts.

plumbing...

we installed the bathtubs today....
it was actually very easy to do- the fiberglass tubs are very light!


the network of plumbing vents inside the wall is impressive;


as i mentioned before, the tub in the 2nd floor bath is a deeper, wider soaker tub;


the plumber also installed the shower valves and hot and cold supply lines;

calling all coupons!

if anyone has any coupons for discounts from lowe's, home depot, or other local hardware stores (like ace)...and you dont plan on using them...

please send them our way if you dont mind---10% of alot of money, is alot of money!

thanks so much! we really appreciate it!

The siding is finished! we just need to install the gutters and shutters, and paint the doors.

here are some before and after shots (click to enlarge):




we also installed the ceiling rafters in the master bedroom (very easy to do if you have a laser level!) and we started wiring the 2nd floor.

we couldnt have a cathedral ceiling because we needed to provide an attic space to run the hvac ductwork. but, we were still able to vault the ceiling to almost 9 feet, which is certainly better than the 7 foot ceiling that was there.

we are also making progress with the plumbing and expect the rough plumbing inspection on tuesday.

the siding is under way and will probably be finished up by wednesday...we used the same color siding as the previous flip (it is in stock at lowe's).


we also decided to remove the existing bathtub in the first floor bathroom. it was in bad shape and it is actually cheaper to replace it than it is to have it refinished.

it was a cast iron tub, so we took a sledge hammer to it and broke it up into more manageable pieces. it was alot easier than i expected (you just have to put a towel over the tub before you smash it because the porcelain fractures into tiny shards)

we bought two new fiberglass bathtubs...a deeper soaker tub for the 2nd floor bath


our plumber has started to run the new waste and vent lines in the basement;

2nd floor framing

today we started to frame the interior partitions on the 2nd floor. the walls need to be in place for the plumber and heating sub--who will both begin work this week.

view from the master bedroom towards the bathroom;



view from the small bedroom towards the bathroom

scott and i went out for a late lunch today. when we returned he walked by the bathroom and happened to glance in to see a round ray of light projecting up from the floor where the toilet used to be. the perfectly good, toto brand, toilet that we had no intention of removing. after some detective-work, we found the toilet, smashed to pieces, sitting at the bottom of our dumpster... (the plumber threw it out!)

in renovation, things need to look worse, before they can look better...

here is the new side entry door that we installed the other day;


and the front door;


the siding is scheduled to be installed tomorrow, but we are expecting rain.
today was a beautiful 60 degrees, so we worked outside and installed some deck boards;



we also installed the copper flashing at the house before the last board went in;


here is a view looking toward the newly dormered master bedroom;


and another view looking back towards the smaller 2nd floor bedroom;

there has been alot of activity at the house over the past couple of days...the electrician upgraded our service, there is a crew finishing up the dormer and a crew installing the roofing...


they stayed until the front 1/2 of the roof was finished...


and used their headlights to help them see!



there is only one subcontractor who is awol...the plumber, of course! he was supposed to begin last week---but there has been no sign of him...not even a phone call!

the building inspector stopped by on saturday to inspect and approve the deck foundation holes, so today scott placed the concrete footings and we should be able to finish up the deck this week.

scott and i also were able to install the new front and side entry doors today (sorry no pix...maybe tomorrow!)

stair to the 2nd floor...the back of the house was demolished today







tomorrow, the walls and roof will go up!