Adding On: Progress Pics

Adding On: Progress Pics

First wall on the second floor:


South wall, second floor:


The sign doesn't look nearly so high now:

I love this view, looking up the Tygart River Valley:

Adding On: Progress Pics

Second floor rafters:

Looking up:

Stairs:

More Random Picture

Here's a quick post in the spirit of trying to keep up with the blog even if it means posting old pictures:



These next ones are a little bit newer; the saws are a good representation of what is happening inside (I will post new inside pictures soon):






Here's where the wood scraps go:





The countertop comes next week and the espresso machine will be here the week of the 8th!

I've had an incredible response to the tiny 'Now Taking Applications' ad in the Mountain Stateman (Thank you!).

I also have a new sign that will go up this weekend with others soon to follow....

Front Window(s)

All the pictures I took of the inside front wall have been marred by the two blocks at the bottom of the old windows. (Sorry, I'm too lazy to link it to an old post right now - you can find it if you look, or let me know you're interested and I'll find it. It probably took me as long to write this as it would have to go find it and link it...)
On July 4th, the blocks were removed and the window was installed. Actually, it's windows, plural, as it made more sense cost-wise and headache-wise (trying to find that large of a window that opened the way we wanted, etc.) to install two smaller windows.

Here's the hole in the wall:

Notice the wet tile. I was just finishing up with the grout.

Here's another view (with the tile again):



Outside, on the sidewalk:


And check this out:

See the thin layer of face brick? That's the new stuff that was applied to the blockwork to make the outside look good. I'm not sure when that was done, but mid-80s is a good guess. What a difference in building technique from the three-bricks-thick-interlocking method of the 1890s!








I can't resist another shot of the tile (it looks pretty good, huh?):

Outside - Pouring Concrete Part 1

We poured in the early evening. It was the best time according to our schedules, but probably not the best time according to the sun. In the afternoon the sun hits full onto this side of the building and, between the bricks and the asphalt, it can get pretty hot. Add a layer of sunblock and it feels great, but the concrete sets up faster that way. It gets thick and goopy coming down the chute; the driver kept hosing it down to keep it moving easily.


This picture shows the wooden forms PC built against the building:






Remember those asphalt squares that were removed from the parking lot? PC was able to dig them out about 18 inches. The soil beneath the parking lot was packed very tightly and made for some hard digging. He found a few glass shards and some old bones. (Bones!? Yep. There's a story there, don't you think?)
Next, he built wooden forms around the boxes to bring them all up to the same elevation because the parking lot slopes slightly toward the street (I didn't get pictures of the tool he uses to do that - I was busy holding the measuring stick).






This isn't the greatest picture, but it'll give you an idea of what he did. The wood around the outside, obviously, is to form the concrete into shape and to bring it to the proper elevation. The 2x4 across the top is there to hold the 'J' bolts in place. (They're really shaped like the letter 'L' with a long vertical leg, but they're called 'J' bolts. I don't know why, I'm just telling it.) On top you can see those two little knobs - those are the threaded ends with washers and bolts and covered in duct tape to protect them from the concrete (it gets messy). The long ends are floating down in the hole so they're anchored good and tight once everything sets up. You can see the pencil marks on that 2x4, too. He's got it set up perfectly to bolt down the columns that will support the entryway overhang. (Right now the columns are sitting in the garage here at home waiting for me to wire-brush them, sand them and paint them. Instead, I'm sitting here drinking coffee and writing blog entries.)






Here's PC doing some last minute reinforcing. I'm sure that there's some formula for figuring out the amount of pressure that gets exerted against concrete forms, but I don't know what it is. It's enough for me to know that it's a LOT. TONS. Or more.
I've never seen forms blow out, probably because I've always helped pour into forms that PC builds and anything that PC builds will not be going anywhere anytime soon. Anytime soon meaning in the next hundred years or more (way more). (I'll have to show you pictures of the log cabin that he built -but that's way off topic....)
Apparently, though, blowing forms is not all that uncommon. PC has says when it happens they explode. Yikes.






Here it comes, pouring the boxes first, PC ready with the shovel:




A quick thank you to Curtis for helping out with this pour and also to Jim Mayle, the driver from Builder's Service & Supply. This isn't the first time that Jim has brought us concrete. He's delivered to our house at least a couple of times - once core filling the block walls for the garage and once for half of the floor in the garage (one of these days we'll do the other half). Jim is soft-spoken and patient and he knows what he's doing. Thank you, Jim.

Blogger wouldn't let me upload more than these 5 pictures so, instead of fighting to move them around I'll just start another post. I have time, I think; the kids were worn out last night....

Bathroom Wall Framing

Before we get back to the question of color (and my indecisiveness), I'm going to post miscellaneous pictures. I cleaned off the memory card in my camera and I'm trying to organize them on my computer; I've found a few that will be good to post here, but they're random...

The beginning of the bathroom wall framing: