Burning Down the House

Posted on March 8, 2015 by Janet Vrasic

I’m tellin’ ya, it’s what I feel like doing. Every day. EVERY DAY!!! (yes, shouty letters).

Progress is slow. So slow, that I haven’t posted for months. MONTHS! That’s because not much has been happening, it seems. Once again, it proves that everything is about perspective. We’re living in this “Seventh Circle of Hell” project (as I like to refer to it on some days) but those of you out there will see a complete transformation of the house.

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It’s really pretty! We love the exterior, but we’re far from done.

So. All the siding is up, nearly all the trim is up, and hopefully this heat wave we’re having (40 degrees F, yay!) will mean even more progress. Let’s see, where are we….plumbing is roughed out only to the point where we need a sub-floor inspection; HVAC has been going on for a few days but I’m not sure what their status is (things had to be redone, so they lost a day fixing that); electrical is chugging along. Hopefully we’ll have the inspection within the next week or two.

Word on the street is that we’re supposed to be receiving the stone delivery next week as well, which will be stored in the garage until the weather is warm enough for the masons to construct/extend the chimney.

Inside, we’ve got some exciting news! The laundry room has been re-designed and the cabinets are being delivered and installed this upcoming week. The rest of my Feathered Oyster Quartzite (that has been in storage for the past 2 years) will be cut to fit a countertop area. That gets measured this Friday, and installed the following Thursday.

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This is the original bar, can’t see the top cabinets (they’re exactly the same as the bottom ones). Hello 1958!

We also designed and ordered our cabinets for the wet bar. While I like the cute mirror and furniture I shoved in that space, it’s time to put back the bar. The cabinets are going to be cherry wood this time, not the same as the kitchen. I did nab a part of a remnant of the matching quartzite, so that’ll match. I think it will look super. We’re going to put in a 15″ wine fridge (small, I know, but it’s all we could fit), and a sink (like the island sink). No ETA on the cabinets or other pieces.

Since we’re already in March (how did this happen, really?!?!), it’s technically time to start the garden. However, given the massive chaos inside the house, the 4 dogs, and the fact that we have nowhere to set up the grow light and station, we’re skipping it this year. Honestly, I’m relieved. I hope to do a smaller version of the garden this year, with the essentials and nothing too fancy or complex. We’ll see how that shakes out.

We did get to see the master landscape plan from our team at Schmechtig Landscape, and it’s really great. They truly listened to what we wanted, and the design is practically perfect. Seriously. Now…when all that’s going to happen, well. Say hello to Phases III-XX.

Here are photos of how things have been progressing over the past few months. Enjoy!

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Reflections, Transformations, and Gratitude

Posted on December 31, 2014 by Janet Vrasic

As 2014 comes to a close, I feel it’s important to take a brief look back at the year’s events and take stock of all the good things as well as the things we’re glad to leave behind. But more importantly, I wish to look forward at the transformations on the horizon and express gratitude for all the beauty, friendship, love, and abundance we have in our lives.

2014 was a challenge, no doubt about it. Not specifically related to the house project (which came with its own set of challenges, no doubt!) but personally, in regards to dreams, identity, relationships, truth, and focus. As with all challenges, perspective and attitude determine the outcome. I’m excited for 2015, because good things are happening. No, I take that back. Great things are happening!

Like with the ebb and flow of life, people (and things) come and go. I am grateful for people who have come into my life this year, and sad to see those who have left. I am grateful for all my friends and family who have been kind and generous with their time, thoughts, and love. I am grateful for the opportunity to participate in this wild ride called life, and to be able to engage in this home remodeling project. I am grateful for all my readers, near and far.

I, much like this house, am transforming, changing, growing. I’m excited for all that the new year holds.

May 2015 bring you joy, peace, love, and happiness.

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A Stairway to….

Posted on December 20, 2014 by Janet Vrasic

The second floor! Not quite like the song “Stairway to Heaven” but, well, you know. Close enough. It has been just over a month since I last posted, and this is primarily due to the fact that work on the house really slowed down and I got caught up with holiday stuff.

Since then, we have had the roofers out to finish the roofing, then they showed up again to redo some of the roofing (I still do not know what that was about). After Thanksgiving, we took advantage of all the “Black Friday” sales and purchased insulation. That’s right…R11, R21, and R38 on sale at Menards! Fun times. R21 is for the walls, and the 11+38 is for the attic, since the new code requires R49. I can also talk about unfaced vs. faced insulation, but I’d be bragging too much. (I can’t believe I know this stuff now!!). We also picked up electrical boxes and other supplies since Scott will be doing some of the electrical work (in addition to putting in the insulation).

After the Thanksgiving holiday, the carpenters returned to finish out the entryway arch and they built the temporary stairs to the 2nd floor. I finally got to see the upstairs for the first time. Naturally, I did not take photos (it was dark, so that’s my excuse and I’m sticking to it!). We also had another plumber out for a bid, the HVAC guys came out to remeasure a few things, and the “finish carpenters” (a different crew) came out to scope out the house, and to evaluate our progress with painting the siding and trim.

Mostly, though, it has been pretty quiet. We’re still painting (I am SO over it!), but we’re getting close to finishing all the white trim. We actually did have a warm enough day to spray the shingles with the blue paint (it was almost 50!) but we were having a spot of rain with that warm weather, so we didn’t make too much progress. While November was unseasonably cold, December has been very warm. Last year at this time, we were buried under a foot of snow.

Dogs are doing well, getting along mostly and tolerating each other. It will be interesting to see how the new pups react to the Christmas tree. My money is on the boy “watering” the tree while we go out for dinner tonight. Who’s with me?

Here are some random photos from the past few weeks. Enjoy!

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Manic Monday

Posted on November 17, 2014 by Janet Vrasic

Greetings from the Arctic Tundra. It was 10 degrees outside this morning, not normal weather for the Chicago area in mid-November. Last post I jokingly suggested 60 degree weather last Wednesday, snow on Thursday. Let me go on the record to state that I was not wrong about the snow! It snowed (not a foot) but it sure did snow. Yay!

Ok. So. We had some great progress last week, as the photos below will show you. Saturday and Sunday were quiet (no work) and the snow was just beautiful. Saturday, however, Scott discovered that there was an issue with the catwalk/library loft that they built. Keep in mind that the ceiling in the library hasn’t been removed yet, and I’m not about to climb up a ladder and into the dormer to check out the 2nd floor. After the initial freak out, subsequent research, contractor visit and architect visit, we discovered that it wasn’t going to be as impactful as we thought. Thank goodness. Rework, yes. Catastrophic event, no.

Sunday also brought our 2nd leak, all due to the fact that we had the main furnace on and the radiant heat was melting the snow…and that part of the house wasn’t tarped yet. Turning off the furnace solved the problem (along with whatever Scott was doing up there), which is great, but it was in the single digits over night last night, which means it is cold in the house again. Again it could be worse and I’m sure grateful it isn’t.

Monday (today), the focus is continuing to build the front entrance and the saddle (the junction between the garage and the family room roof) because we had ice damming (and major water damage) last spring. We still need to get the roofers back out to complete the rest of the roof, but the weather for the next 10 days looks to be too volatile. So we shall see how that plays out. Painting continues in the garage, and while we’re making decent progress, it is just a challenge.

Enjoy the photos!

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Progress Update: Windows, Rooms, and More!

Posted on November 11, 2014 by Janet Vrasic

Hi Again! My last post was on Thursday the 6th, so I do have a few noteworthy items to share. Mostly, I’ve got photos!

If you remember, Thursday the 6th was another high-wind “no work” kind of day (except for the winds working diligently to shred our tarps). Friday (the 7th) was a catch-up day, and they finished putting plywood on the roof. Additionally, the roofers showed up to start their work, but since the carpenters lost a day and their work was incomplete, the roofers left. (And apparently, never to show up again). We were told that the roofers would be out on Saturday, so the carpenters did not tarp the house.

The roofers did not show up Saturday. Nor did they show up Sunday. Rain was forecasted for Sunday night, and the house was not tarped. Initiate chaos. After about 6 stressful hours of trying to find someone to come out to tarp the house, our contractor was able to get a couple of guys out and they pulled it off. Thankfully, it did actually rain Sunday night or the anxiety would have been for naught.  I painted all weekend, lucky me.

Monday brought a full crew out to the house and they began the demolition over the library (the space between the new 2nd floor and the garage). We protected the library floor, baseboards, and windows in anticipation of them demolishing the ceiling. We’ll be having a loft (over the pantry/laundry room) and an open 2-story ceiling for the library. If you think back to before we started, this area (library + pantry/laundry room) used to be my parents garage. Neat! They also put in most of the windows and began building out the rooms (walls and floor).  Since the temps were in the high 50’s yesterday, it was paint-o-rama and we were outside spraying the blue paint on as many boards as we could.

Today (Tuesday) was originally supposed to be a snow day (they had called for 3″ of snow last week). Since the weather seems to be changing literally every hour, we ended up with only a light rain in the morning. However, the guys are super busy working upstairs and building stuff. They’re working under the tarp (in the section connecting the new garage and the space over the laundry room/pantry so I don’t have any progress photos of the upstairs at this post time.

Also of note: the main furnace has been off for 7 days now. We’re supposed to have temps in the mid-20’s tonight, so I have kindly requested (demanded, insisted, mandated, your choice) that they remove the tarp over the chimney so we can turn on the heat! Temps are, at this time, looking to be highs in the low/mid 30’s; lows in the low/mid 20’s overnight for the next few days. But who knows. Tomorrow it will probably be 60, then we’ll get a foot of snow on Thursday. You just wait.

Enjoy the photos!

 

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Up We Go!

Posted on November 6, 2014 by Janet Vrasic

 

Day 5: Plywood and other debris from the roof.

Monday morning.

OK. So Monday, I caught you up on the Wicked Weather of Halloween and progress thus far. On Monday, it was showtime, as we had like 8 or 9 guys working on the house. Because rain was forecasted, they focused on building the walls, wrapping them in Tyvek, then tarping the house. That was actually a good plan, as it did rain. We did actually have a leak (our first) but it was really, really tiny. That’s right, I don’t sleep well anymore, because I was up at 3am and just “happened” to hear it. It lasted all of 45 minutes, no major damage. Thank goodness!

Tuesday we went from 0 to 100 in one day. From no second story to “hey, where’d that come from?!?!”. Seriously. Check the photos below.

Wednesday, they put plywood in place for the roof, did some other stuff (not sure, I was painting all day), and then waited until dark to tarp the house. Whoops.

Thursday, Mother Nature the Big Ol’ B showed back up with 25 mph winds. No work was done today. The tarps are shredded. No lie. They. Are. Worthless. The upside of this is that, supposedly, we’re supposed to get our roofing materials delivered on Friday at 7am (sure……) and the roofers are supposed to roof the part of the 2nd story that has been completed. Right…..I’ll believe it when we see it. This is happening so fast!!

Did I mention that when they tarped the house on Wednesday, we had to shut off the main furnace? Oh yeah, that’s awesome. It’s 61 degrees in the bedroom, no heat. It was even more awesome having them not work today…another day of a freezing house. No matter, though, we had the kerosene heater in the garage going (not for my comfort, mind you, but so that the paint could dry. I was reminded of that multiple times. Thanks.)

Keep in mind, nothing is being done inside of the new 2nd floor….once they get it under roof, they may put in the windows in, and then they’ll start on the section over the library (old garage). That’s the section between what just went up and the (blue) garage. All the inside stuff will happen after the major demolition is complete.

Wambulance

Meanwhile, I’m painting. Priming/sealing the backside of the cedar shake boards; then spraying and rolling the shingle side with that gorgeous blue (Benjamin Moore Blue Note). We’re using the “Ben” Exterior paint. Oh, and if I wasn’t just loving this painting crap, I just found out that I have to paint all the cedar trim, too. Somebody call the Wambulance, I’m having a meltdown and my hands hurt. Waah.

Enjoy the photos!

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Mother Nature Has Been Downright Mean Lately

Posted on November 3, 2014 by Janet Vrasic

Seriously. Like a total wicked, bitter, “B” kind of mean. (Yes, I know, Chicago weather is just remarkable at times, but this is ridiculous). So first, we wake up on October 31st to snow. Ok, that’s not that unusual, as we spent many Halloweens in the ’70’s trick or treating in our winter coats. Besides, this wasn’t our first snow this fall. The carpenters are here, on the roof, building stuff.  Fine, all good.

Then, Mother Nature loses it, and throws high winds our way. Wind speeds of 28 mph and higher. Winds that make it too dangerous to be on the roof. The guys leave at 10:30am and we spend the rest of the day watching lumber blow off the roof. (It was put there to hold the tarp in place). I’m talking 2x4s, plywood sheets, etc. The tarp has torn in a few places, so stuff under the tarp is blowing around, too.  Makes for lots of scary noises accompanied by lots and lots of barking.

Today, we woke up to 25* temps outside. With no roof on the house, you can imagine the temperature inside the house this morning. My feet are still cold. It’s actually warmer in the garage.

No real roof progress on Friday, now it’s the weekend, so that means we only had 4 days of real work this past week. So, we’ll see how things progress this next week. Rain is in the forecast for Tuesday (of course).

Meanwhile, in the garage….I’ve been painting the cedar siding. Priming/sealing the back of the siding, actually. I’m about 25% of the way through. At some point, if the weather warms up, we’ll switch to the exterior blue paint and spray that outside. But for now, it’s rollin’ rollin’ rollin’….inside (rawhide). Ha.

Photos below, enjoy!

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Day 2 and Part of Day 3

Posted on October 30, 2014 by Janet Vrasic

So yes, let me catch you up. You have seen the photos and update from the first major work day. That night, let me tell you, was insane. While we did NOT get any of that rain, we did get lots of wind. Like blow branches down kind of wind. And as I tried to sleep, the only thing between me and the sky were a comforter, the ceiling drywall, about 12″ of insulation, and a blue plastic tarp. Needless to say, I didn’t sleep. Hence, no post on Day 2. Just way too tired.

However, they made astounding progress on the 2nd day, and I slept very, very well last night.

Day 2 was spent putting up the knee-wall, floor joists, and sub-floor over the master bedroom area (clearly why I slept better!).

Day 3 has been more roof demolition over what is now the kitchen and “bow-window room” area, as well as over what used to be the garage (now library and laundry room). Progress was only halted when they discovered that we hadn’t completely emptied the attic  that was previously over the garage. Sadly, no treasure was found, but we did empty out a lovely pile of junk (photo below).

So far, no major damage in the house, just a few nail pops in the ceiling and a few loose can lights. Note to self: check shower can light before showering for spiders.

Enjoy the photos!

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The Roof Is….Gone!!

Posted on October 28, 2014 by Janet Vrasic

IMG_2816Though we technically started the project on Friday, today was, without a doubt, a day of major action. It started with a beautiful sunrise and a quiet morning. Then, destruction and demolition, barking dogs and rattling light fixtures. A day of change, for sure, as the house I grew up in is truly transforming. It struck a cord today, for some reason. I guess the interior demolition of 2013 did too, but I can’t remember what happened 3 days ago, so there you go. Today was sad but exciting. And noisy.

The roof has been removed from the South portion of the house, which is the master bedroom suite. They are also making their way over the kitchen and former living room area (bow-window room). Can I tell you how freaky that is? It really stressed me out. Not so much the noise, but the fact that it’s all exposed. Naturally, it’s supposed to rain tonight. All in all, fast work! We also got a second dumpster and our cedar siding and trim. They have tarped the house, as they will every night. Fingers crossed that we don’t get any leaking!

Enjoy the photos.

 

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Phase II is Underway!

Posted on October 25, 2014 by Janet Vrasic

IMG_2727That’s right, we’ve started! It took a while, but we officially started on Friday, October 24th. Though we had lumber delivered two weeks prior, the trusses were delivered last week, then the glorious port-potty arrived on Thursday, and I knew we were almost there.

So yesterday (Friday) the carpenters started on the prep-work, including removing gutters, soffits, old lights, etc. Tarps were delivered (100 ft x 100 ft) to cover the house during construction, and the dumpster arrived. Let the fun begin!

The exterior photos below show various sides of the house and the gutter/soffit removal along with shots of the house from the road. The interior shots show how we’re living, with furniture stored in all kinds of inconvenient places! That all came out of the library, and is waiting to go upstairs. Plus a few dog photos thrown in for good measure.

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