Things have been moving rapidly. The guys wanted to get the framer and his crew in this week and by gosh, they've done it! We've got a pile of people and a 7AM delivery of wood expected for tomorrow. We really have been extremely lucky with the weather being so warm though. This has allowed the concrete footings, underpinning and mortar joints in the new foundation wall to set. All of this had to be accomplished for the framer to start his work and we just couldn't have done it with usual Canadian February temperatures -- at least not quickly or easily.
We had one small hiccup that no doubt happened because of all the rushing. I went over to the house (all sick and coughing still so I wasn't over as often as usual) and saw the nearly finished new foundation wall. Looks great! Except there was supposed to be a window in it!
Fortunately the mortar hadn't yet set so they (after a bit of cursing) were able to cut it out fairly easily. The size was modified a bit but I'm so glad we got it in. This is the south west corner of the house and it gets quite a bit of sun.
There's my window on the left and the opening for the eventual french door walk out in the middle.
This is the "Oh my gosh, what have we done!!" picture. But this is the worst it is going to look (I hope!). Tomorrow it starts to get built back up and hopefully we will start to see it all coming together.
wow, so intimidating! Glad that you caught that window detail - it will make such a difference!
ReplyDeleteI'm really glad too, Heather. Natural light makes such a difference in a basement.
DeleteHi Keira --this is astounding! My grandmother would be ecstatic to see what is happening to our house! For a while I felt worried when you couldn't get the permits --so glad it is all ok now.
ReplyDeleteI must admit to a few tears as I've checked in, especially when I made the mistake of looking at the "before" pictures, but I know it will be fabulous when done and the old house will be purring!
thanks for sharing and good luck with the rest of the work
best,
Jane Bennett
Thank you so much for commenting, Jane. It truly made my day today! I am so happy to hear that you think Winn would have approved. It is important to us to keep the character of the house alive and we've made many decisions with that in mind. The front will look pretty much exactly the same (except for updated windows), the living room remains the same, the staircase and most of the layout will remain the same as well. The biggest changes will be in the basement and the back of the main level (which will be open plan). Dealing with the city was sure an experience! So much red tape and waiting. I understand now why people say that the planning stage can take a year. We weren't even expanding the footprint. All the best to you and your family, Jane. And thanks for stopping by the blog!
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