Finishing the frame

Now that our architect returned from vacation, the framers and he were able to decide how to frame the roof of the turret. Once decided, the turret roof quickly was framed. Our neighbor's 6 year old says they are the only house next to a palace - because we have a two-story turret.



The cabinet maker came to measure the front door, breakfront and master vanity. He's also going to do some work in the library/office. Ultimately it's going to be a terrific escape for Neal and I, upstairs in the library. Of course, it may be years before we can afford to finish it, but that's ok. We're also thinking that we won't open up the ceiling in the kitchen so much - but then we lose natural light in the kitchen - so I think we're going to keep that ceiling open.

I also checked and the cobalt blue of the Aga Legacy 36" is a true cobalt (not very purple at all) and will look great with the flooring. We're going to order the appliances so that they arrive by October, when we'll need to install them. Everyone is telling us it's going to go very fast now that it's framed. We'll see. The roof should start to go on in a week and the windows will go in by the end of the next week - so it really starts to look like a house. Amazing.

More is coming together...

Stopped by the project today...it's funny because when I showed up unexpected, the foreman was really glad I was there so we could discuss some issues. Guess it's good that I randomly show up. They're putting the sheeting on the outside of the house - and have about another week. They've framed the new wall and breakfast nook and it looks quite sizable. The closet in the former master bedroom looks sizable still - although not quite as big as it was, obviously.

One of the questions was how to do the interior of the dormers. Since there is so much volume in the house, the foreman was concerned that making the dormers volume interiors would be overkill, plus, he didn't really have enough space to insulate them properly if we did. So, I was pretty easily convinced that the dormers didn't need to be peaked on the inside. They'll look plenty pretty as is.

They've also started sheeting the turret. This part is a pain in the neck for the carpenters because they have to bend the plywood. You just have to be patient with it. They bend it around the turret and will cut out the windows when they need to.



One more week of framing, but they start electric and plumbing tomorrow. We're going to do an electrical placement walkthrough on Tuesday morning. Deniz, the General Contractor, is eager to get the finish guys started and the exterior guys started - the framing was more complicated than he thought. Oh well - the house is looking great, no?

coming together

Framing is very exciting - and roof framing is like a final frontier. You can see the entire house - in skeleton form. The builders are doing a great job and really thinking through every connection to make the house beautiful and well constructed. I appreciate their care.

The sun rises to the right of the house so its hard to get great pictures - but you can see the full roof in these shots and hopefully start to envision the finished house. They expect to close it in within two weeks and start working the interior as well as exterior in parallel. That means they need to do the garage, turret and plywood in the next two weeks. Plus the electricians and plumbers are starting their work. It will be great to have new plumbing throughout (under) the house - perhaps we'll get water pressure and faster hot water. Who knows.





I also started talking wtih a color consultant about the walls because we'd like the house to reflect our personalities - bold and perhaps a little eclectic. I also think I found flooring for the kids playroom - Fiberfloor. It's highly recommended but I want to see it in person. Exciting news was that our stove - the Aga Legacy 36" - is now available in Cobalt Blue - the accent color of the whole kitchen. I think it will be gorgeous. I may have to return to cooking. Wouldn't that be wild. I wonder if it will inspire Neal to cook again too. Our boys like to cook - perhaps it will become a weekend activity for our family. Fun.

Enjoy.

Roof Rafters

Roof rafters are pretty impressive - as are the guys that install them. They are walking on thin rails as they stand 2.5 stories above the ground. In any case, the ceilings on the second floor will be 10 feet high and the dining room ceiling will have 30 feet of height. Incredible. Check out the archway into the office (the room with the upper turret).

Master roof and the second story

Today's visit highlights that the master bedroom has a roof frame and the second floor is really forming. The boys and I are standing at the doorway to the mastersuite. The breakfast nook is getting it's floor and the wall to the master bedroom (old one) is gone and getting rebuilt.

Enjoy the photos and Happy 4th of July.