A good start to the New Year

I didn't get back to see the house til the Wednesday after New Year's. The team has been very busy: the new bays in the family room and in the upstairs guest room have been framed out. There was a small bump when Lee told me the sides of the upstairs bay would be too small for windows. But when we looked at it, it seemed ok to not have the windows on the far sides. It actually might work out better that way for privacy, but Peter and I will go tomorrow to take a look.

The heat pump has been removed from the bathroom closet, and they were able to do it without breaking down the hall wall. That was a bonus. It'll be so nice to have a closet in that bathroom.

The 3rd floor is completely down to studs so it's easier to make a few decisions: we will widen the hall to Sarah's room by 6 inches; we will not make the bathroom any larger; we will reconfigure the sink/closet arrangement in Emily's room to maximize closet space (for us, Emily, not for you).

On Wednesday, when I went into the blue cocoon, it was a bit chilly and the masons were actually wearing sweatshirts and gloves. Apparently they had run out of diesel fuel. Fortunately, all was warm and snug by Thursday. The walls really look terrific and I think soon they will put the final mortar on to match the original foundation.

The Thursday meeting was productive: we chose a trim color for the exterior and settled on complementary brick/bluestone patterns for the walkways to the frontdoor and to the vestibule. When I arrived before the meeting I found Lee and Mark actually looking at the plans. I took a picture to show Miriam. I tried to get a shot when they weren't pointing and laughing...


And Katelyn is back to cleaning duty.

I stopped by on Friday morning, but it was too early to see any changes. Lee was busy measuring and cutting. I don't know what it's for, but the sparks were impressive. He told me the concrete guys were coming back to pour the area to the vestibule. I'll have to miss the action, but I'm anxious to see the results.