Addition Progress - From Balcony to Room

As much as we've enjoyed having a balcony, it was time to say our farewells and move on to more safely enclosed spaces. Sniffles were had by one and all.

Last Sunday, Stephen and his friend Jake spent the day enclosing the last wall of the addition. It was a very sober affair. Star Wars was never quoted. Not once. There was never a Captain Kirk/Piccard debate. Scout's honor!

First, they framed in the area for the window.

They were thinking of aiming for a more stylized window - the type modeled after the doorways in submarines...

But then, how would they have reenacted this scene from a Muppet Christmas Carol?

"You there! Young man!"

"Me, sir?"

"What day is today?"

"Why, it's Christmas day!"

"I haven't missed it!! The prize turkey in the shop window. Has it been sold?'"

"The one as big as me? No, sir!"

"I want you to go and buy it for me!"

...I'm not making this up.

   

Once the window opening was cut, they finished enclosing the space.

We only have a few more steps (outersheeting/flashing) before the first inspector can come and let us know if the whole structure is bound to fall over or not.

And they did all of this, despite how very, very hot it was outside.

Thanks for all of the hard work, guys! It's looking more and more like a room.

Special Thanks To The Addition Crew

We would like to thank all of the wonderful family members who helped us begin construction on our addition.We really appreciated everyone's willingness to traveling long distances and give up one of their weekends. We couldn't have accomplished so much without the expert feedback/troubleshooting and extra hands.

Rob - Thank you for ripping up the roof on the first level and for persevering despite severe allergies and the lack of Benadryl. We will frame & immortalize the piece of ceiling that you put your foot through.

Sarah - Thank you for bringing Rob Benadryl. ;)
Uncle Bob - You are awesome. We probably never would have even started this project without your help. You worked so hard and we really, really appreciate it! Uncle Rich - We never would have gotten the permits without your knowledge of architecture and advice. Without your help, we'd still be working around the whole "missing fourth wall" problem...

Uncle Charlie - Thank you for helping with the cutting and measuring. I look forward to talking about wall tiling with you in the future!

Jamie and Suzanne - We loved having you and your munchkins! You are welcome anytime. Apple picking? Anyone?

Munchkins - We know you could have put the whole addition up yourselves, but we were happy to let you play with the gumball machine instead...
Grandmom - You make an excellent foreman. You can bring your jackhammer and boss the guys around anytime! (Plus - we have a Sharp Shopper!)Dad & Theresa - Without you, the addition wouldn't have a roof or any walls. Thank you for coming back the following weekend to help!!Mom - Thanks for going bargain shopping with me while the guys sawed a holes into my house. I'll let you hold Joseph anytime. You might have to fight with Sarah and Paula at the beach though...

We love you all and are very grateful to have such a wonderfully close and supportive family. THANK YOU!!

The Addition

For those of you who were unaware (assuming anyone still reads this blog outside of my family), we started work on the addition for a second upstairs bathroom with the help of my husband's terrific relatives.

However, before we ever lifted a hammer, the Professor put a lot of time into planning the addition and applying for permits.

I'm glad he has the skills to use programs like Sketchup. If the plans had been left to me, they would have looked like this:
What? I do all of my best work with crayons and napkins. Bunch of plan snobs.

Ok, ok! The permit office never would have taken us seriously and the addition probably would have fallen over. Not to mention the fact that the house would have been eaten by an oversized kindergartener's flower...

Thankfully, the plans produced by the Professor looked a little more professional than my plans. His plans had actual measurements and lacked the color magenta (mores the pity).

His plans were approved by the permit office. We are officially building on top of the existing downstairs bathroom addition.

The future layout for the bathroom started out looking like this:Ooo! A toilet and a door! How exciting!

Then the layout progressed to this:Not bad, but the stairs are floating in the middle of the room and the shower's plumbing would be difficult to access.

With some expert feedback from my husband's uncles, we changed the bathroom layout to look like this:

Thank you, expert uncles! We appreciate all of your time and expertise! You saved us from the giant monstrous flower. I shudder to think what would have happened without you...

It's going to be a while before the addition becomes an actual bathroom with a toilet, sink, and shower. For now, the existing platform/roof make for a great balcony!

Shiny White Porcelain

We're slowly beginning work on our existing bathrooms - both of which need MAJOR OVERHAULS... I think it's the puke yellow and pepto bismal pink that make me so prejudiced against the little rooms. They must go.

The first step was really more of a step to save on the water bill... The old toilets have a tendency to run and have larger than standard tanks... Oh. And they are UGLY.

Here's the upstairs toilet.

Here's his shiny, new replacement - all in one piece and easy enough to clean.

Gross... Must clean... I can't wait to replace that nasty old linoleum with some bright and shiny tiles... After all, it's peeling away from the floor...

So. A minor change. Small improvement. Just one step in the right direction.