1 AD - Let the games begin!!

The pros showed up promptly at 7am yesterday to get started on the basement. Looks to me like they made a lot of progress and the head guy said they didn't find any issues which is a good start - good soil for the new footings, no contamination, no foundation cracks, etc.

Here are some shots.

3 BD - things are getting dirty

It's been a challenging, tiring, enjoyable few days here as we rolled up on sleeves and demo'd the basement and back deck in preparation for the underpinning to begin tomorrow. 

My Dad/Grandpa, bad back and all came, and put in the better part of 2 days of work when he shouldn't have. We are very grateful for that!

The debris piled up quickly and we have filled two full bins thus far. 

And the end results looks like this. 

No major surprises, the previous walls were built even farther away from the foundation than expected so the new space will be nice and big. It looks like the ceiling joists are full 2x10s so while I hate to jinx anything, I don't think we are going to need to build out any additional supports down there. 

Once that was done I turned my attention to the backyard where the deck and the fences had to come down. Fortunately taking down a deck is a lot less effort than putting one up and things went pretty smoothly. The only challenge was the ice that continues to exist under and around so a lot of stuff was frozen to the ground. 

Tomorrow the pros arrive and things really start to move. Holy crap.

16 BD - well not exactly

So I know that there are going to be numerous delays in this project so I'm pleased that we're coming out of the gate by starting early! The underpinners are finishing their current project early so they will be onsite March 25th rather than the previously stated April 1st. So 16 BD is really 9 BD. 

The only downside is being ready for them to start. There is packing, moving and demo of the basement, pantry and the back deck to be done before they get here. Realistically there is no way to accomplish this even with the assistance of some kind friends, so I expect that they will be taking down the pantry for us. 

We sent the kids away for the weekend and went to town on the basement - good progress was made but now the living room looks like Dante's third ring of hell. This after 2 trips to the goodwill, 2 trips to store things with friends, a pending dump run and 2 piles of kids stuff for friends. 

It's going to be a long few days... and the NCAA tournament starts on Thursday, I did not plan this well at all!!

18 BD - Siding

We seem to have narrowed down the decision on siding to a wood product from Maibec, reasonably priced it seems (less than brick to be sure) and hopefully gives us the look we are looking for. This will go along the side and back of the house. 

Here are the sample pieces that we are trying to 'match' with the brick. My first inclination was to go with the one of the left however both Joey and Jodi prefer the middle so I suspect that is the way we will go. 

24 BD - Our new 'temporary' home

Didn't mention that we finally got a place to move into during the work. 3 bedroom apartment close to Monarch Park. It's going to be tight but I'm sure we'll figure it out for the time we are there. It checks most of the boxes we were looking for: dishwasher, in suite laundry, 3 beds, good location, parking and a 9 month lease. Here is a shot from the outside. 

24 BD - Kitchen controversy

We made some great progress with Eleanor and Leo at the plumbing store on Friday - banged out the shower and shower fixtures as well as toilet for the en-suite. They also came with some very promising suggestions for the floor and shower tile. Off to a good start. 

Kitchen is still up in the air - still locked in a tile vs wood flooring discussion - it is Joey and I on the wood side and Eleanor and Jodi on the tile side. Below is a picture of a suggestion they had to get the conversation going. Not exactly sure how we are going to solve this one :)

27 BD - The great wall of Glebeholme

That is one hell of a tree protection fence if I do say so myself!

30 BD - windows

Quick post about the back windows, which are proving to be challenging, both from a construction perspective and budget. Having wall to wall, ceiling to ceiling windows has been our vision from the outset but the manufacturers we have spoken with can't create the size of panes that we originally imagined. As a result, in an attempt to keep costs 'reasonable', we have had to cut things up somewhat with both the top transome window and the large pane beside the door getting split up. Alas. 

Here are the two designs that came back to us, we are going with the one on the right because the location of the door lines up with the inside stairs and millword and gives the most space for furniture. 

We are leaning towards a dark wood siding around the windows, but that has not be set in stone yet.