Kitchen Cabinets

On saturday we met with the kitchen cabinet sales person. Scott came over to measure the kitchen and to chat about what we wanted. The drawing that Archi-Tom did were on the money, dimension wise and Scott was impressed with the level of detail that Archi-Tom had done in his drawings.

Today we received some draft renderings of the kitchen.

One great suggestion that Drew made was regarding the corner upper cabinets. We figured we'd have the typical corner cabinet with a lazy-susan inside. Drew said that in his experience it is more functional not have an upper corner cabinet. Especially in our situation where one face of the wall is so small. We've gone with that suggestion and think it will work well.

I'll post the drawings tomorrow after i convert them to the right format.

Plumbing pictures

Some pictures of the new plumbing.  It is now complete and ready for inspection. We have all new copper water pipes and PVC waste/vent pipes in the entire house except for a bit that runs into the downstairs bathroom.  But that is newer. One great thing is the plumbers installed a new master water cut of switch. The old one was, well, old and we didn't trust it to remain off if we ever needed to shut down the water. 

The first photo is the bathroom floor.  Looks like a mess but it all makes sense. I'm wondering if i should insulate the hot water pipe. 

The second photo is the kitchen wall and you can see the bathroom to the right. The kitchen wall has been made thicker to match up with the new SIP wall. 

The last photo is the utility room.  Here the main waste stack pipe ties into the old cast iron pipe that runs under the house.  It is alone this wall that we'll put the sink, washer and dryer. 

Plumbing Begins

Yesterday and today the plumbers were here plumbing away.  They made lots of progress and we now have running water again. I'll post photos tomorrow as it was too dark to get any. 

The best part is the hot water run from the in-line heater is nice and short, just like we planned when it was installed. The long loop from the in-line heater to the old supply line is gone, replaced with new pipe straight from the heater to the fixtures.  So, we'll get hot water at the tap very quickly now. 

There's new PVC pipe for the waste lines and vent stack.  Our kitchen sink will now be vented!  No more gurgling as the water runs down the drain. You can see the location of the bathroom toilet, tub and sink and kitchen sink. 

In the basement the supply and waste lines are in place along the wet wall. Everything looks much cleaner as the old pipes have been pulled. 

Tonite Kanohi noticed a large crack in her ceiling. It's in the corner opposite the wall that forms the entry to the pantry from the kitchen.  I'm guessing that when they framed the doorway the banging caused it. 

Interior Framing

Action today on the inside. We came home to find the openings covered with plywood. Definitely changes the look. We wanted to see inside so out came the claw hammer to open the doorway enough to squeeze in. 

Looking up while standing in the pantry you can see the framing for the new access way to the green roof. The opening has also been cut out. Since this is now the highest part of the house we want it insulated very well since all our heat will end up here.  A minimum of R-52 to match the R factor of the roof SIPs in the new section.  

Also in the pantry the old window gone and a new frame is in place. This will be just an opening but it reflects the original design by maintaining an opening here. 

The north wall of the kitchen has been made wider to match up with the SIP. This is both visual and will allow for lots of insulation. At least we'll have the kitchen and bathroom exterior walls insulated, unlike the rest of the house. 

The bathroom is framed out. With a slightly thicker wall in part for the pipes to the sink and to do a recessed vanity. 

On the exterior they finished the eves, built the overhang for the back stoop and put up the fire rated drywall on the north facing wall. 

 The strange thing about the fire-rated drywall is that it is on the outside of the SIPs. 

Last of the SIPs

The last 3 SIPs went in today. They span the window and door openings.  We have an even better sense of what it will look like.  Drew is checking on the arrival date for the windows. They can go in anytime so hopefully as soon as they arrive they will be installed. 

The crews also built out the eves and added another layer of plywood to prepare for the roof installation. 

Inside they installed the aluminum wall studs. The first floor is now being supported by these. Much better than wood since they will never rot or be eaten by bugs if we get water in the basement  and they are 100% recyclable.  In fact, they are probably made from old aluminum. 

We discussed plumbing, regarding the placement of the sink, washer and dryer in the utility room.  The plan is to place them all side-by-side along the wet wall. This will free up space along the wall with the window. 

In the bathroom we decided to build out just the portion of the wall that will have the sink. It needs to be built out to house the water pipes.  We didn't want to build out the entire wall and loose the space (only a few inches) as it will be a tight fit already with the new bathtub. 

Holy SIP!

For the first time in 2 weeks the whole family is home. 

Drew and company have gotten most all the walls and roof SIPs installed plus the foyer landing and first floor.  In other words, we now have a back room!  You can see exactly how the space works.  The best part, so far is the view out of the new basement room.  The window opening is great, right into the garden...we are thinking of keeping the toilet in its present location. 

Three more SIPs to install; the ones that form the walls between the windows. 

Archi-Tom rode by while we were outside so he stopped and chatted for a spell. 

Slipped inside the "kitchen/bathroom" area and took one shot. You can see the old pipes, wire and assorted debris of about 100-years of use. Yuck!  

One small issue that needs fixing. You can see light gaps in spots between the 2x12 boards (splines) that wed the individual roof SIPs together.  In other words - air gap!  Drew will have to foam insulate from the top and bottom to close these gaps. 

I'm neurotic about proper insulation and not having air gaps. 

Courtesy of our lovely neighbor - the architect

SIPs all up

I would upload some pictures, but Doug has stolen the camera.  

All of the SIPs are up.  The split level flooring looks "stable" enough.  I haven't tested it out yet.  I hope since the roof is up, Drew and Co. will be able to work without worrying about the weather.  What I am really hoping for is access to the basement - aka the bathroom!  

Major SIP action

Stopped by the house around noon today. Drew and co. had almost all the wall SIPs up. I was surprised to see LVLs being used vertically as well as horizontally. The horizontal ones will help carry the load of the roof and so it is with the vertical ones. You can see these sorta-inside the SIPs.

While at the house Drew as putting in one last LVL on the south wall. It was too long so he was cutting away with the saws-all and another guy was knocking on the wall. Not sure if they got it to fit.

Dry Day - lots of work

It isn't raining. Doug stopped by the house and said they are making great progress installing the SIPs. Photos will be posted later.

More Details on Back

I returned from my week in Seattle and michele and i came home to see how things are going. I took some photos of the former kitchen by sticking the camera through a gap in the plywood sheets that now constitute the back wall. 

The first photo shows where the refrigerator sat and to the right is the pantry.  You can see the power outlet hanging in the middle of the wall.  

The 2nd shows the doorway to the rest of the house all sealed up with plastic.  

In the 3rd you can see the wet wall between the kitchen and bathroom. All those pipes will be moved as the entire wall location is being shifted to make the bathroom a bit larger. 

The last photos are of the SIPs.  You can see the thickness difference.  The thick ones are for the roof and the thinner are the walls. 

Beam and one wall/SIP up today

Great progress today.  The structural beam went up - see 2x12 at top of house.  There was no way that beam was going up without taking out part of that closet.  Also, one wall (SIP) was put up - see wall by tree at the left of picture.  Note, the styrofoam interior of wall.  

Also, the porch is now officially standing on its own (however that could have occurred

 yesterday without me noticing...).

Structural beam

Today they are installing the structural beam to help support the SIP roof.  The back of the house is officially opened.  All of the vertical 2x4's have been cut in the back wall.  Kanohi's closet is emptied out into her room and the door sealed - they needed to knock that out to install the beam (see hole in upper right of photo).  I am surprised by the insulation in the back (bottom right of photo).  The only utility we have active to the house is a few electrical outlets.  Our bathroom is officially the porta-potty in our driveway.

  

They preped the concrete footer with wood for installation of the SIP walls.  Hopefully, they will be able to put some up today.

SIPs - small delay

One of the guys from yesterday needed to go to the hospital to get his eye washed out this AM. Movement on the SIPs scheduled for this afternoon.

BANG

Just heard a loud crash, but no screaming...a good sign.

Demo and dust

Demo has begun.  Walked in with the sheeting partially covering the doorway.  So, I gave the guys duct tape to retape it up and created my own dust barrier.  

I keep hear the workers coughing.  The dust is pretty bad for them even through they are wearing masks.  Hear the saw a lot - for taking out the ceiling.  Power is cut to half of the house - however, the computer outlet is still working.  Need to  make sure the refrigerator circuit is back on when they are finish - or maybe I will find the extension cords...

When they were on their lunch break, I took the following photos from afar.  Being my clumsy self, I did not dare walk up the plank to the kitchen.

An openbed semitruck just pulled up with a bunch of wood on it.  Need to tell him not to store it on the grass.  SIPs should be up tomorrow; therefore weather tight.

SIPs Arrive

The SIPs have arrived.  (Yes, they look like styrofoam sandwiches - but they are structurally sound and have a huge R factor for insulation).  They are smaller than expected so no crane will be needed for lifting.  They are going up on Thursday. 

 

Cabinet Removal

Today Rick and Tom came over and helped remove the old stinky cabinets from the kitchen.  It went nice and smooth. The fun part was lowing the cabinets down the ladder into the new basement then back up the Sauer stairs and into the garage. We are now without cooking facilities and the fridge still needs to be moved into the dining room.  

Someone is coming tonight to pick up the old cabinets.  We are glad that some of the stuff can be diverted from the landfill. It pains me considerably how much waste is generated. 

It begins...

The kitchen and bathroom are scheduled to be demoed week of the 10th. Photos will be posted...let the camping begin.