Northfield Construction Company » Residential Remodeling

Structural Repairs

Ray Cox — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 17:03:29 +0000

Our structural work on an older home in N orthfield is wrapping up. Just before New Years we completed the installation of the beams, insulation and drywall on the ceiling. The drywall was finished an painted last week and we are now busy installing the milled wood trims on the beams. We made the trims in our shop and gave them a coat of primer and finish paint. The carpenters are fitting everything in place. Then the painters will do one final coat of paint on the walls, celing and trims. This has been a lot of work and quite a disruption for the homeowners, but the end result should be worth it.

Eastside Porch

Ray Cox — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 21:39:25 +0000

If you’ve been to lunch or dinner at the Ole Store you’ve probably seen our crew at work on our porch project across the street. We finished the foundation work and capped it with a concrete floor to create a water tight, solid floor structure. We are now working on framing the roof system. We are hand cutting the rafters which we typically do on a small roof like this. To maintain a low profile on the porch we are using a hip roof that slopes on the front three sides.

Structural Repairs

Ray Cox — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 20:31:43 +0000

We slowly lifted the floor joists back into position on the older East side home that we are working on. The floor joists had cracked and sagged over the years which resulted in quite a slope to the upstairs room. We went slowly with the lift so that we didn’t damage the walls and floors.

Now we are busy installing proper structural supports in the living room. The architects specified microlam beams in several locations. But in two locations they specified microlam beams with a steel flitch plate sandwiched between the microlam layers. We constructed this in the shop by drilling holes in the steel plate and bolting the steel plate between the two microlam members. We countersund the bolts so that they will not interfer with the finish trim to be applied to the beams. It is a bit of a job lifting these beams in place, but they will surely take the load once the jacks are removed. At the perimeter of the room we have fastened a microlam ledger to support the new beams. At set locations we also fasten the ledger beam to the existing wall framing using steel angles and through bolts, making everything work together.

Structural repairs

Ray Cox — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 12:42:23 +0000

We are helping out a client with a structural ceiling problem. For many years the owners had dealt with a sagging floor upstairs. At one time they had drywall installed in the living room ceiling using furring strips to level the ceiling. The most recent problem started when a pipe in their living room ceiling started leaking. The plumbers cut open the ceiling to repair the pipe. Once that mess was started the owners decided they should address the sagging second floor joists once and for all.

The first order of business was to remove the existing ceiling finish material and expose the structure above. When that was done we discovered 2×6 joists. Some of the joists had been severely notched by long ago plumbers. Another joist was cracked and had a splice patch nailed alongside of it. Because of the framing, plumbing, existing finishes, etc we will be installing a series of support beams under the joists. But first we are slowly jacking the joists up to try and remove some of the floor sag.

Exterior Siding Work

Ray Cox — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 17:35:08 +0000

The siding, windows and exterior work we are doing for a East side Northfield client has moved along nicely. The windows have all been installed. Much of the soffit and fascia work has been completed and the siding is being installed. We installed new house wrap under all the siding which will help protect the materials under the siding from moisture, while still allowing the home to ‘breath’ if needed.

One of the challenges in remodeling older homes is compliance with current building codes. The one major issue we had to deal with on this home was the bow window in the main bedroom. The existing bow window had four separate windows. None of the windows was wide enough to meet current egress regulations. So we had to remove the bow window and replace it with a newly framed bay window….with three separate windows. This allowed us to gain the necessary width to create a legal egress window for the bedroom.

West Side Porch Expansion

Ray Cox — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 14:04:13 +0000

Last week we started work on a West Side Northfield porch expansion. The work involved demolition of the existing small front porch on the home. We salvaged several items, including the porch columns, for reusing in the new porch. The new porch will have a full basement underneath it. This is being done to get good support for the porch, but also to provide nice dry storage for the owners. The old porch had started to tilt significantly and we discovered why. The porch was not original to the house and it was supported by fairly weak foundation columns. The footings at those columns were too small, allowing the columns to sink into the soil.

The new porch footings are properly sized and reinforced so the new porch will stand straight and true for decades to come.

Lake Cottage Finishing Up

Ray Cox — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 15:08:19 +0000

Our ‘up north’ lake cabin project is winding down now. The painters have been busy the past two weeks on site completing their work. They have done a beautiful job matching the wood colors. The lake side room received true half log interior as well as half log trims around the windows and doors. The painters matched the color of the stain to the existing logs in the cabin and finished the logs with a nice, well-sanded clear finish coat. Half logs were installed on the ceiling as purlins to match the rest of the log cabin work. We installed pine boards on the ceiling which are finished in a nice golden color.

Other areas of the cabin have vertical pine 1×6. When we cut in the new opening to the bedroom/bathroom addtion we continued the pine 1×6 wall and ceiling finish. Again, the painters did an excellent job matching this new pine to the existing pine boards. The bedroom and bathroom walls are finished with drywall, but the bedroom and bathroom ceilings have pine boards, again giving a nice golden hue to the room. All the new window trim and doors are maple, finished with a natural clear coat.

Exterior Envelope Improvements

Ray Cox — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 14:28:53 +0000

Last week we started an exterior home improvement project for a client on Northfield’s east side. The work involves removing the existing siding and windows and installing new house wrap protection membrane, windows, siding, soffits, fasicas and trims. When we are done with out work the owners will have a very low maintenance exterior for their home. When we install the new windows we use current installation methods that include properly flashing the windows and sealing them againt air and water penetrations. For most of the windows we were able to obtain stock window units that fit the existing openings. We are having to deal with a bow window in a bedroom that did not have sashes that meet current egress code requirements. We will be rebuilding that area to accept a proper egress window.

Window and Door Replacements

Ray Cox — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 20:56:17 +0000

Our carpenters are replacing a large window unit and an exterior door for a client. Both were custom orders, with the window from Marvin Windows and the door from Taylor Door. The window fit nicely and will look great when it is trimmed out on the interior and exterior. This is an older home where the side door is only 6′-2″ high. But replacing it with a steel insulated door will lessen the heating bills and make it much easier to enter and exit the house.

With cold weather approaching again it is wise to think about the condition of your doors and windows. We can generally remove and install windows in a day or two. It makes a tremendous difference for overall comfort and maintenance to have quality windows and doors in a home. Give us a call if you are interested in such home improvements.

East Side Renovations

Ray Cox — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 21:09:35 +0000

We have just about finished our work on our East side renovation project. The new windows and the patio door have been installed and look very nice. We used some Marvin units which match the existing windows on the house well. We retained the existing windows in the sunroom. The new electric service has been installed as well. This is one of those things that most homeowners do not like to deal with as the are costly and don’t ‘show’ at all. The existing service in the house was a 60 amp panel that had been added on to a couple of times. As part of our work we added central air conditioning to the house. The 220 volt load for the new AC unit simply would not work with the existing electric panel. So we upgraded it to a 200 amp service. That provides plenty of fresh circuits for the home.

One of the final things we have to do for the new patio project is install a low seat wall around the perimeter. We are using tumbled concrete block products for this. The are about 7″ wide so they work well for a seat wall. They set in place easily and should work well for the owners.