Windows, Siding, & Framing

First a HUGE thanks to the Construction Management and Architecture Students from UC that helped the past two weekends. These have been our best consecutive weekends yet!

The new windows look great, they are all 7" wider than the old windows thanks to completely removing the original wood units and reclaiming their lead ballast cavities into more glass. The new rafters in the second floor will allow us to double the insulation previously in the roof and vent it as well. My favorite addition is the narrow window and sloped stair wall, it really opens up what was a dark corner of the home. The bearing height for the dormer is 6'-2" AFF, but the light and space it makes for the master bed does wonders for what was an attic bedroom.

Kitchen Design

Design it & believe it! This should be quite an improvement over the old kitchen. We haven't finalized the colors with the Lawrence family, but the layout should stay similar.

More Framing

Dec 8-15th

We had a big week since school was out. We worked everyday and had some great volunteers! The kid's bedrooms and dormer have come together and we are finished with the plaster so major demo is finally finished! We'll be moving to the upstairs framing and new cooling stack next. Doors and windows should be coming soon too.

Framing

We've been working on various items to get the exterior siding and roof finished. We framed the shed dormer for the master bedroom & some of the openings. Everyone is starting to get a sense for the new spaces. Slow and steadily, its coming together. More framing pictures to come soon!

Also our last review went well with the architecture school, so the hard work is paying off!

Final Design

Roof Begins

Thanks to Formica Company last weekend for helping us get a lot of work done! 

We began shingling the roof on the front and continued with interior demo in the afternoon when the rain started. The roofing is going well, but slowly. It is a 9/12 pitch and not easy to maneuver. 

On the inside you can see the new, open, eat-in style kitchen start to form as we are taking the old bathroom walls out. We had to bust up the 4" of concrete they set the old Marble tile floor on. We're still not sure why they went through so much effort back in 1929 to notch all those joists in the bath and we'll be replacing all the joists in this area. On a good note we did discover the back wall between the garage and basement is 2x6 construction, so we'll have plenty of room for insulation. 

The Shell Begins

It always takes a while to get going, but it is starting to look like a newly remodeled house! We have the siding down and most of the rigid insulation up. We hope for good weather this weekend to get a lot of the roof done. If you are available to help, please sign up! We could use some roofers!
http://www.cincinnatihabitat.org/get-involved/volunteer-opportunities.shtml

The ground was starting to cave in the foundation wall on the front and one of the sides. Habitat hired a contractor to reinforce the wall and add a footing drain. On the front they poured a new foundation outboard of the existing one. One the side they had to reinforce it from the inside with steel beams since there wasn't enough room for the excavation equipment. The new sump pump will push any water up and out of the foundation.