More stories

We have a second story on our house! First, let's take a look at the before photo. I took this photo on January 4. Notice the absence of a roof on the first story in the front.

The day after the above photo was taken the crew started adding the structural support for the second story. And then literally a few days later I drove by randomly and was quite surprised to see this.

We have a second story! Seeing this for the first time was probably my favorite moment so far. I think it's because we finally have some construction, rather than destruction.

 At this point, framing for the new concrete pour was underway in the backyard. We are adding a small amount of square footage to the back of the house and connecting the new garage to the main house. The existing left back wall will be knocked down when it all connects but the farthest back wall will remain in the same place.

Then a few days later they poured the concrete piers in the backyard. We were expecting heavy rain the next day so I was glad to see that the inspection was finally complete (apparently the city can sometimes be slow with inspections) so that the crew could pour the concrete before the storm came.

The above photo was taken from the second story, because inside the house we now have a new staircase and new access to the second floor! As part of the revised plans we are moving the staircase (formerly located at the back of house) to the front of the house. To my surprise, the new staircase is built and the crew has started to frame the second floor. 

My sister and my nephews were visiting over the MLK holiday weekend so we took them on a tour of construction land. The next photo is the start of framing of the second floor. When we visited on Saturday, there was a heavy tarp covering the second story roof because the wood planks for the roof have not yet been nailed in.

And this one is standing on the second story looking downstairs towards the front of the house.

Last week I spent three (!!) hours with our contractor on a consulting visit at the plumbing/bathroom/kitchen showroom. Who knew that there are a dozen manufacturers of faucets/toilets/sinks/bathtubs?

This was our (I should say "my", as Scott declined to attend, I wonder why?) first consultation appointment to pick fixtures for our home, and I have a feeling I will have to head into each future session with a very good attitude and prayers for a patient mind frame. Actually the time flew by quickly and it wasn't that overwhelming, but after picking out a half dozen faucets and fixtures, I was so done that I would have accepted anything. The consultant told me (with a straight face) that "the tone of the fixtures in your home sets the tone for the overall feel of the space", so I sure hope I did a good job!

HA! Way more construction adventures to come.