131 Mansfield Ave: Friday, November 30, 2007

Friday, November 30, 2007

Concrete happens....

The concrete footings for the garage and mudroom went in late this afternoon- Friday November 30th......

Almost six months to the day since we closed on the property......

Peter Post is troweling the square area in the basement where the new structural support pillars will be placed.

Concrete and Footings go in!

Neighbor Rod Carr comes by to check out the action!
Glenn and Peter Post look on as the concrete footings go in.
We've all been looking forward to this day......

Truly an amazing site to see the concrete truck at 4:15pm after work and even more fun to see the team of guys getting the concrete into the footings -- kind of like working with VERY HEAVY cake batter in a pan..... They worked until dusk then wrapped everything in black tarps. It was nearly freezing... yes that's some snow on the ground... and a blizzard is coming this weekend.

Coming soon.......addition foundation, dormer,framing

First floor northeast corner -- was a closet with a steam pipe on the inside and a rotting corner on the outside. Taking down the closet and all the plaster reveals longstanding water damage from the outside -- funky gutters & inadequate drainage and water damage from the inside - steam pipe was wrapped in asbestos --moist quarters.....

Day 2 Notes

Day 2 began as a gray and rainy, almost blustery day. I stopped by the house before work around 6:30 am and left a bag of snacks for the DREAM team to fuel their efforts. When I returned around 6pm the transformation was remarkable.

Outside:
The garage had been taken down, 2/3 of the concrete driveway was removed, the back of the original house (bathroom, shed, etc., including the chimney) was removed. A large hole around 6 feet deep had been dug and mounds of earth were everywhere. A 30 yard green dumpster was alongside the south side of the house. The front porch pillars (wooden component) were removed, and wooden struts were holding up the front porch roof.

The backyard seemed to double in size with the garage removed. We can now fully appreciate the amazing tree from Rod's yard ( behind our house) that he has been lovingly shaping for years.

Inside the house -- there was much transformation. All the woodwork on the first floor was removed. The casings around the front windows revealed the inner workings of the rope and lead weight pulley system and the windows were actually operational for the first time since we purchased the property.

The built ins are all removed and stored in the basement. The conference ceiling in the former dining room is down, along with the lighting fixtures. The mantle, bookcases, and other doors and trim are also removed.

Most of the old circa 1940 +/- kithen cabinets are removed along with the old washboard porcelain sink.

The carpet and wood floor from the former dining room are removed exposing wooden subflooring.

The door to the basement and the casing and door jamb is also removed.

Foam padding encases the bannister to the second floor for to protect the wood.

On the second floor most of the interior walls have been removed exposing the studs. Its a funny feeling to walk from "room to room" by walking between the studs.

The carpenters did a great job of removing the fancy built in closet and drawers from the second floor landing.

The second floor bathroom is still intact for the time being.

The house is losing its funky 'this old house smell' and I couldnt be happier about that!

Stay tuned for more updates as Peter Post and his crew of wonder workers transform this 1927 house from gloomy to roomy!