Install tub/shower unit, exterior doors, siding; Start HVAC, plumbing, electrical.


Return to House Addition - September


This period had a great deal of activity inside and out. As many as six trades were working at one time (carpentry, electrical, plumbing, HVAC, siding, garage doors)! Coordinating all this activity is a major function of the prime contractor, Sean. He is doing a great job! Before the walls are completed, the tub/shower unit is installed by Lowell, Sean, and Joe. The interior hallway framing needed to be replumbed as it was off by 5/8"; this was corrected in short order. A considerable amount of work was done on the HVAC system (heating, ventilating, air conditioning). Kevin and Pete tore out the old heating system, including furnace and ducts, and replaced them with a new furnace and ducting. Coils were installed at the furnace ducts for the future (Spring 2007) addition of a central air conditioner which will be mounted outside the house. Pete and Kevin also ran new gas lines to the crawl space for the furnace and out into the garage for IR gas heaters. On the left, Kevin (background) and Pete (foreground) haul the new furnace into the crawl space; on the right, Pete cuts openings in the floor for cold air returns. HVAC work being done down in the crawl space on the left. The old furnace and ducting shown on the right. Pete pulls flexible duct for a run into the existing house second floor heat/cold air returns. On the right, you can see the pipe threading machine for the steel gas lines. The electric wire runs were installed by Tony and Fred. Tony is shown on the left. We had discuss the locations of all the lights, switches and plugs as well as cable and phone. In the photo on the right, Tony (left) and Fred (right) check out possible wiring routes. Fred goes to work mounting can lighting receptacles, electrical boxes, and other electrical elements. A separate 100 Amp distribution breaker box will be installed in the garage in addition to the 100 Amp existing box in the old house basement. Sean installing the PVC drain, vent and waste lines; here in the wall between the laundry room and bathroom. Sean also did the copper plumbing. Nice to have a working prime contractor! Just about when I thought there was no more room for more stuff and guys, the delivery of the siding was made! The siding installers were Rod (left) and Marshal (right) as shown in the photo on the left. They get right to work installing the corners and starter strip. A brief digression that represents the level of activity; everyone had to fight for parking space with all the trades here. In the middle of all this activity, my neighbor Bill had a visit from his daughter Sandy, who also need a parking spot! Thank goodness I have great neighbors and plenty of parking! Back to the siding (which went up in 2-1/2 days)! Here we see a scaffold set up on the north wall after the lower siding is completed by Rod and Marshall. They use special nail guns that hold the siding nails off by 1/8" to allow the siding to move. Rod completes the last pieces of the north wall while Marshall works on the west wall. Note the soffet and aluminum trim have also been added. Siding and trim work proceeds around to the east side of the house. I had to have the trellis work removed around the front porch so that the siding could be done up to the existing chimney. The siding match to the existing siding is not perfect, since the older siding a slightly deeper simulated wood grain. However, it is hardly noticeable. Rod takes a break to answer a cell phone call. On the right is the saw setup for the siding. A regular plywood, circular saw blade is used, but reversed so the teeth go backwards. This prevents the siding from shattering when sawed! A hand brake was used to form the aluminum trim. On the right you can see an installed piece of complex trim with five bends! The siding guys did a nice job siding and trimming up the north face where the old house meets the new addition. We ran into a glitch while doing the laundry room. This was the old bathroom which had suffered major water damage from a leaking shower tub surround and leaking roof. Here Sean tears out the rotten wood near the old floor line. He had to rebuild about two feet of wall and the floor joists and plywood. These "extras" need to be budgeted when doing house improvements! Although this photo was taken in October, it shows some of the new floor joists which were replaced by Sean. Sean installing the new window in the laundry room. He had to hustle with the repair of the water damaged wood so the siding guys could finish their job! Sean carries in the man door for the west side of the garage. On the right, door installed. Tony came out from Solon to install the garage doors. Here you can see the first of five sections of the small door being installed. Garage door installation proceeds. The small door is manual, but wiring was provided so that a garage door opener can be installed later, if desired. Fred working on the electrical. On the right is a sample of his fine work around the light switch bank in the mud room. I have taken extensive photos of the wiring, HVAC and plumbing prior to the walls being insulated and drywalled. These photos may prove useful in the future. In the crawl space, connections to the new furnace have been completed. These connections included ducts, condensate line (for AC coils), fresh/exhaust air lines to exterior, gas, and electric. In the photo on the right, we can see Sean's handiwork with the drain lines. These four photos were taken on September 14th, showing different perspectives on the addition.

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