Ceiling In Progress: Installing LVLs

Posted on | January 24, 2011 | 15 Comments

Whef today was rough! We woke up to -4 degree temps. The pipes were frozen and the drain was still backed up. Greg tried to drive to the gym to take a shower when the radiator hose on the truck burst.

Our carpenters started installing LVLs to help stabilize the sagging ceiling. LVL beams (Laminated Veneered Lumber) are being sistered to the old beams. LVLs are much stiffer then typical lumber but they do cost 3xs as much. Tomorrow the new LVL beams need to be screwed into place.

Jeff from ASAP Drains came this afternoon to help us clean out the clogged pipe. It took about 20 minutes to get the drained cleared of a few roots which had caused it to clog, back up, and freeze. We think we could have a potential bigger problem lurking.

When we first moved in we had the same exact issue. We removed a whole pile of roots that built up in the pipes —something I will never do again; see nasty photo here! We also dug out the whole area around the pipe removing all roots we could find and spreading copper sulfate. So either it’s a really bad root problem or we have a strange kink in the pipes that causes poor draining?

We need a bottle of wine tonight!

p.s. it took us so long to get the drain cleared because Greg was calling the wrong person for the problem. There are two plumbing “specialties” for two different types of plumbing: Water/Heating pipes vs. Drain Pipes. He’d called a water/heating plumber who was just going subcontract out the job to the drain pipes plumber which is why we assume it was taking so long to get someone out to our house. We called the drain plumber directly and got Jeff from ASAP Drains to the house in just a couple hours.

Category: house renovation

Yay: New Door, Nay: Frozen Pipes

Posted on | January 21, 2011 | 14 Comments

Check it out we have a real functioning back door! Wow, I know! O.K. maybe not that exciting but we’ve never had a back door that properly closed or even locked since we bought the house. The biggest bonus? No more snowdrifts! The old door was not that the best at keeping out the past four snowstorms. Now we just shut the door and stay clean and dry inside. The door still needs to be painted and sanded but we’ll get to that come Spring.

So I started with the good news…Who wants to be a Debby Downer on a Friday? Be prepared this is gross. The pipes are frozen, again. Well…we think they’re frozen? The water on the second floor works fine but it smells like poo on the first floor. Either the drain is clogged or it’s frozen. I’m on my way down to NY for and left Greg to deal with the situation.

I just got a text from Greg: Called a plumber. The salt (he tried salt you use on your sidewalks to try melt it) and the acid did not work. The smell is overwhelming. Imagine cat poo soup! Makes you want to throw up, right?

So if you have any grand or creative ideas of what it could be please share.

p.s. we already tried the typical fixes hot water and the good old blow torch. Below photos of the sun setting on my train ride down to NY in the snow.

p.p.s Big sis! I’ll be at your hour house around 7 and I’m kinda stinky because I haven’t showered in two days but I brought new color books for the girls!

Category: house renovation

Book: Get Your House Right

Posted on | January 19, 2011 | 17 Comments

This is the book I’ve been searching for! Get Your House Right: Architectural Elements to Use & Avoid, by Marianne Cusato, Ben Pentreath, Richard Sammons, and Leon Krier. I’ve been on the hunt for a guide to explain proper historic proportions and details but most the books I came across were too heady or just an overview.

Marianne Cusato architect and author is the brains behind the project, The New Economy Home; a concept home unveiled at the 2010 Builder’s show as a reflection of the current housing downturn. The new concept is smaller, more efficient with adaptable spaces and removes wasted space found in popular American McMansions. The architecture and floorplan feels more like a historic home—older homes out of necessity had to be efficient.

Ben Pentreath co-author (and my new design crush) based in London bares mention. Literally everything this man designs I love. I think I’m most drawn to his work but he’s a geek for proportions and classicism. Symmetry just works and always feels flawless.

This book is not an overview for wanna be old homeowners. It gets into the nitty-gritty of classic design with “nearly 1,000 meticulous line-drawings illustrating errors to avoid and correct approaches to use”. Design vocabulary is defined educating homeowners to speak the language; explaining what is authentic and commonly used a modern fakes. This is key for me, I have a good eye but I don’t know all the terms to communicate those elements to my contractors.

My house has been altered significantly overtime. The old windows were ripped out in the 1970′s and replaced with new frames. Strange additions have been added without any real thought to design—at times I find these stuck on spaces charming and realistic to New England architecture over the past 250 years. I’ve been struggling with figuring out what is correct or appropriate. The theories discussed in the book are classic examples of historic architecture. Whole chapters are dedicated to exteriors doors, windows, chimneys and interior details.

The main square footprint of my house dates back to 1750. We’ve been working on stripping away any obtrusive modern elements in hopes of preserving the home’s historic character. My renovation is not meant to be a museum quality interpretation of an 18th-century home but a building that feels cohesive while retaining its historical elements. Tight stairs wells and narrow doorways are not at all practical for modern living but if I ripped them out will their be any evidence left of a 1750 home in another 250 years?

Come Spring we’ll be doing more exterior work: replacing rotten clapboards, rotten window frames, corner boards, and rebuilding a frame around my front door that feels like the original—a drunk driver hit and ripped out the front corner in the 1980′s. I’m hoping this book will be great source and guide for all of those upcoming projects.

Category: architecture, books

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