We are using cherry cabinets, doors and trims in this unit. We’ve removed some walls, added a set of pocket doors, and are working at installing final finishes now. Workers are laying the ceramic tile in the bathrooms and will start shortly on the wood flooring. In short order the countertops and plumbing sinks and trims will be installed.

The kitchen cabinets are also oak with a very light natural stain applied. We used the same cabinets int he bathrooms. The owners selected standard plastic laminate counters for the kitchen as they liked the ‘soft’ and warm appearance. We use a lot of stone countertop materials today, but stone can be very unforgiving with glassware and it has a slightly colder appearance. The bathrooms incorporated cultured marble countertops with integral bowls, creating an easy to clean surface.

The mechanical room is good sized on this home, but it still ends up getting full of equipment. Between the whole-house ventilation system, the furnace, the electrical panels, the sump and sewer pits, the well system, the water conditioning systems the room quickly fills up. We try to organize the equipment during the planning phase so floor drains, stand pipes, and vent locations are determined and located  properly.

Interior work has been progressing as well. The red oak flooring is being installed and finished on site. I like the looks and durability of site finished flooring like this. When sanded the floor is totally smooth and flat. With three coats of floor finish the finish is very tough and will hold up to years of service. Then, if it does need refinishing, it is easy to screen or sand and recoat.

 While the flooring is being installed the carpenters are working on the stairways. Both the upper and lower stairs are red oak to match the floors. There are railings with a newel post at the base. In keeping with the simplicity of the home, the balusters and newels are square materials. The same simplicity holds true for our door and window trim. We are using a heavy oak casing at the head and sill, extending it about an inch past the side casings. The side casings are not as thick as the head casing which creates a pleasant appearance as the two wood trims butt together.

Earlier this year my older brother that lives in Brooklyn, New York had to replace the sewer line to his home. His contractor was familiar with doing such work and everything went as planned. But one thing they had to deal with was a 68″ sanitary sewer pipe! It is hard to see in this photograph, but what appears to be a lump of soil at the top end of the trench, right around the workers feet, is the 68″ diameter sewer pipe. There were other smaller pipes to excavate around, as well as various gas and communication conduits. The excavation has been cribbed and braced for the workers safety. But no matter what you do to the trench, it is a lot of work to excavate under a 68″ sewer pipe to install the new utility line.

Seeing this type of construction makes me realize how difficult it is to coordinate and perform construction projects in dense urban cities. There is no room for staging  or storing materials. People need access to areas at all times. And above all, you don’t really know what you will find in streets that have been in place for 200 years.

The cabinets have been installed in the kitchen and bathrooms. The owners selected oak cabinets with panel frame and style doors. They look great in this rural home and fit the style well. Countertops have been measured and will be installed shortly.

One of the other challenges was the topography on the lot. The site sloped up steeply from the street to the rear of the lot. A house with a tuck-under garage would have fit the lot rather well, but the owner did not care for that style of home. So retaining walls were required all across the back of the house and turning down the sides. The retaining wall installers did a good job getting the walls up. Some hydroseed was sprayed onto the soils and the June and July rains got the grasses growing to stablize the soils well. We ran into quite a few rocks during the excavation work. We retained the rocks on site for the owner to use in areas to retain soil.

We make every effort to work with our clients to accomplish the tasks at hand. Oftentimes a client will want to participate in some aspect of building the home. In this case the owner tackled major portions of the project. With assistance from some friends and family the work was completed they way the owner wanted and everyone is happy.

With the mechanical and electrical rough in work complete, we moved on to insulating the home. For this we are also using a combination of insulation. The rim joist areas receive 5″ of closed cell foam that is sprayed in place. This occurs at the floor joist for the first floor, as well as the floor joists for the second floor. Using spray foam does an excellent job sealing up all the areas around the floor trusses, wires and plumbing penetrations. The rest of the wall cavities are insulated using fiberglass insulation that is blown into place behind a barrier cloth. This allows the installers to make sure they are getting the insulation into every nook and cranny. Once the insulation is all in place the walls and ceilings are covered with a vapor retarder that is sealed at all edges. The end result to all this work will be a house that is extremely tight and well insulated. We then rely on our mechanical system to allow the house to ‘breath’ properly.

Framing has been completed on the house too. The workers just finished installing the windows in the home and are gearing up to start installation of the fascias and soffits. We managed to get the basement floor poured some days ago. That allowed us to complete the wall framing in that area. The plumbing, heating and electrical contractors are just now starting to put their systems in place.