Astheimer.org 2.0

There’s been quite a bit of progress in the past couple of weeks. Windows are in and the siding has been repaired. What do you think of the new 3rd floor window?

The gas fireplace also went in last week. The original plan was to keep the center chimney and fit a unit inside of it, but getting the space back on the third floor bedroom drove us to put a whole new unit in.

And finally the basement windows have been replaced.  They are so much better than the drafty old windows that used to be there. In fact they were so ugly I don’t think we have any pictures of them!

So next the HVAC, plumbing and electrical are to go in and then we can start the finishing phase!

All but two of the windows were installed this week and the roof went on this Saturday.  The new architectural shingles look great and we are happy with our window selections.  Now we wait for the back door and sink windows to be installed at the back of the house and the work can move inside!

The demolition crew came in last week and started the destruction.  The heating system and plumbing were taken out so there is no more heat.  The closet walls between the front bedrooms were taken down to the studs to make way for the second floor laundry room.  The dropped kitchen ceiling is gone and the walls were opened up to frame the new office area.  The crew was quite busy last week.  Plans for this week are to start the roof and framing. Woo hoo! We might have a house to live in some day! Click on any of the images above to see more pictures.

The final step in getting this project moving has finally happened. We closed on our mortgage/construction loan today so get a move on it GC! The clock is ticking…

After I don’t know how long, the Town has finally granted us our permits. Let the renovations begin! Woooo!

The wonderful Town of Needham has decided to reject our applications for permits a second time because there “wasn’t enough detail” in the architects plans.  So we’ve started to take our frustration out on the poor house…. demo time!

Goodbye harvest gold bathroom!

We finally got ambitious enough today to see what was under the horrible 1970′s linoleum floor in the kitchen.  We discovered tile that was at one point yellow, but then painted over a teal color. Seems like a 1920′s color?  You can see how worn it was in places where the old yellow color is showing through. I’m now inspired to try to keep this color in the new kitchen, maybe in the form of a valance?

In anticipation that we will get permits from the town this week (fingers crossed) the first dumpster was delivered. We finally got to clear all of the waste that we’ve been storing up all summer – an entire house worth of carpet, junk wood from our sheds, the old mantel and the tire changer that came with the garage.  Even though it snowed 2 inches last night we managed to trudge through the snow and fill it up!

We had a gas line installed a couple of weekends ago. Now we face the debate of converting our oil heater to gas or to get rid of the baseboards (which are ugly and need to be replaced anyhow) and go to forced hot air.   Its not our first choice, but since we’ll be installing A/C anyhow seems logical to drop in heat at the same time. We’ll see what the HVAC guy says…