Progress Report-3 weeks

3 weeks exactly since we started on the new addition to the house and the progress is amazing.  We are completely framed up with a roof, plumbing complete, and electrical going in this week.  HVAC will go in next week and then after all the mechanicals and framing inspections are completed we start on sheetrock.  It is incredible to actually go upstairs and see the rooms rather than having to visualize them from the architecture plans.  We have made some small changes to the framing of the rooms as the crew builds to allow for additional windows in the kids rooms, and modified the closet spaces.  Very soon my laundry will be moved upstairs and the staircase will be built, allowing me to continue laundry with only 1 day sans laundry access-thank you Jeff!  I have been warned that I will be doing laundry in a construction zone, but  the alternative was 2-3 weeks with the washer and dryer in the dining room and having to go to the laundromat-that was not gonna work in this house!

We have had many people come through the house to check on the progress, and most immediately say "I could never live through this"maybe we just have a high tolerance for disruption and chaos? but honestly, the first two weeks were the worst and beyond that it just hasn't been that bad.  In the first two weeks they laid the floor system which included massive structural beams and a variety of holes in the ceilings in almost every room of the house.   They were sawing, drilling, etc right on top of our heads and it was SO LOUD.  The entire house would vibrate for hours on end, so much so that we had many shattered wine glasses in cabinets and picture frames on the wall.  You couldn't hear yourself talk for the majority of the day, so Hank took to screaming very loudly to be heard above the noise which added significantly to the chaos in my head.  It was difficult for the girls to nap with this sort of noise, so naps were often cut short resulting in two crabby ladies (3 if you included me). At this point the crew still didn't have good access to the upstairs from the outside, so they were having to come through the house and up the attic stairs nonstop with very large wood beams. There was a steady stream in and out of the house 8 hours a day-tracking a lot of dirt with them.     They would have to rearrange furniture in different rooms each day to build temporary supports from the downstairs before they could lay structural beams upstairs.   (often the kids rooms, resulting in moving the girls back and forth in attempts to accommodate sleeping and avoid a ceiling falling through onto them).  Crew would often come down and ask us to either leave the house or keep everyone confined to a "safe zone" while they did some sort of work that was deemed unsafe for us to remain in the house.  

So, yes this was not fun; however it was 2 weeks-not even really, probably more like 7 bad days.   Once the floors were down, and they moved onto framing, we hardly notice them at all.  They no longer come through the house and access the upstairs from ladders on the outside.   The noise is so much less than before that we don't notice it at all-we are also just used to it at this point.  Many of our neighbors have done this type of renovation before and moved out for 3 months to some sort of rental property.  Honestly the effort and money of moving 3 kids to a temporary location seems like a nightmare compared to the minimal disruption this has been.  It's obviously chaotic, as we have to store all the contents of the old attic downstairs, and find new homes for things that are being displaced.  We have a variety of holes in our walls and ceilings downstairs, and now that winter is arriving it is slightly drafty at night as we listen to the tarp blow in the wind (but nothing a few space heaters doesn't fix).  We still have a steady stream of people as Jeff stops by typically twice a day to check on things, Curtis our electrician comes by at least once a day to make sure we still have electricity, but honestly on the weekends the house seems kind of empty without our framers, Randy, Oscar, Omar, and Edgar and the constant hum of the compressor on the front porch.  

So the pictures can tell you more than I can.  We are starting to get into fun things like picking out fixtures in the bathroom, and deciding on floors etc.  I spend entirely too much time on Pinterest, pinning ideas for "bungalow bathooms" and "craftsman playspaces".  But seriously, how often in life do you get to custom build an 800 sq foot space specifically for your families needs?  It's so exciting to think about the finished product, that I feel like  kid on Christmas eve-likely what is contributing to my patience and tolerance for the chaos.  Short term discomfort for long term reward...repeat.

Looking into Hank's room from the top of the soon-to-be staircase

Plumbing is done!

The view from Hank's room down the hallway into the playroom and girl's room

Standing in the playroom looking into the doorframe for the girl's room

Inside the girl's room

Inside the girl's room-the beds will sit on both sides of the window

The old vents on the side of the house will be converted into windows and we got Jeff to carve out some space to create little window box nooks in both of the kid's bedrooms

The view from the outside-the tarp doesn't really come off these days now that the outside is framed.  I imagine it helps keep the crew a little warmer up there while they work