Baby It’s Cold Outside

Thanks to the Arctic air coming down from the north, Seattle has been experiencing some very low temperatures this week. And just in the nick of time, the interior of the house is warming up with the addition of the interior insulation. All exterior windows and doors are now installed, except the front door. The deck revision has cleared the building department review and the deck construction will be starting very soon.

On the upper floor, the vaulted ceiling provided by the scissor style truss, puts the “great” in Great Room. Standing in the proposed kitchen, the entire upper floor feels very open and connected to the exterior. The Dining Room has great views from the snow covered Olympics to downtown Seattle. The Kitchen has a great view of Elliot Bay, Downtown and to the north and east toward Mount Baker and the Cascade Range. The Living Room has a glass patio sliding door that will open onto a new deck.

The construction has been moving right along and is staying very near to the proposed schedule.

Character Building

The exterior of the remodel has really come along in the last couple of weeks. All of the windows and some of the trim have been installed and some of the siding work has started. Inside there has been a lot of sub-contractor work occurring. Electrical, Heating and Plumbing rough-ins are nearing completion.
It is a very rare occasion that a remodel project, like this one, goes from the beginning of construction to end without some sort of changes or revisions. The Dining Room and Kitchen were originally planned to be wood flooring, but after further thought by the owners, tile floors will be used there instead. Also, the elevated deck that is on the east side of the house will be enlarged slightly. This change will allow a new sliding door in the Living Room, where 2 windows were originally planned.
After a recent visit to the site, Peter Swindley suggested a bigger center fixed window in the Kitchen. A few options were discussed, but the end result will be a larger window than expected in front of the Kitchen sink.

Great Progress

The building system “rough-in’s” have been moving right along and this week. The heating and ventilation contractor, the electrician and the plumber have been hard at work routing the new systems for the house. The owners and the contractor have been meeting weekly in order to keep everything moving along as smoothly as possible.

The window installation was also underway this week. Most of the installation looks pretty straight forward, but the new dining room window will be the biggest picture window that is made by Milgard. Not to make things easier, but the installation will be on the tallest part of the exterior. How many guy’s does it take to put in an 11’ wide x 4 1/2’ tall window? This window will be one story above where the original picture window looked out toward Elliot Bay and Downtown Seattle.

With the temporary plastic removed from the window openings, downtown Seattle will be in direct view when working from the kitchen area.

Racing the Rain

The owners provided pizza for the whole crew on Friday to show their appreciation for all the hard work that STS Remodeling has done so far. Late Friday afternoon the patchy clouds had the project in the shade, but the downtown skyline was brightly lit by the low sun.

The roofing went on at the beginning of the week, and the contractor has been working on the interior walls and earthquake hardware in preparation for the shear wall inspection. Some of the windows have arrived and STS will begin the installation after the shear wall inspections are completed.

Earlier in the week, one of the neighbors was wondering why the house had no new south facing windows, but now that the window openings have been cut out of the exterior sheathing, the window locations have become more apparent.

The exterior of the house is shaping up. The original siding hints to the impact of the new additions to the original construction.

“Singing in the Rain”

Last week the trusses were delivered and set in place. By Friday evening the house had all the main trusses up but the interior was wide open to the light rainfall on Friday evening. The first picture was taken from Alaska Avenue looking up 37th Ave. The roof trusses are a “scissor” type that allow for a vaulted ceiling on the upper floor.

Early Saturday morning, Seattle experienced some of the heaviest rains of the fall season. STS Remodeling was determined to work on Saturday and get the plywood roof deck on, in preparation for the roofing crew on Monday. With no roof and no drainage system, the rain water gave the project a good rinse. The STS Remodeling foreman and crew braved the heavy rain and wind and during a lull in the storm, the roof deck went on quickly, leaving only a small portion of the front low roof uncovered. Neighbors were in awe of the crew scrambling around on the steep roof in the rain (and on the ready to call 911). The installation of a harness anchor on the roof helped keep everyone safe and will also help the owner with future roof maintenance.

On Sunday the rain died off and Monday the rain held off, enabling the roofers to put shingles on the main roof. Although the interior did get a little soggy, the contractor is ready with some fans and de-humidifiers to help dry out the interior. The interior wetting has everyone wondering if the existing hardwood floors, that the contractor to extra care to protect, have soaked up any rain.

Framing Views

What a difference a week makes! Even from a distance, it is obvious that there are major changes taking place to the existing house. The blue tarp covering the construction is visible from quite a distance, even while driving along Fauntleroy. The new upper floor walls are beginning to give everyone a good idea of what a great room the "Great Room" will be.

The newly framed walls are also beginning to show which views will be "framed" by the new windows. The Jarrett's have started to consider some small changes along the way. An additional small window in the master bath shower, rearrangement of some fixtures in the upstairs bathroom and the possibility of expanding the deck on the east side of the house.

The Truss Company & Building Supply inc. has started manufacturing the trusses and the delivery is scheduled for this week. Even though we have enjoyed good weather to this point, rain and wind are forecast for this week.

Under Blue Seattle Skies...orTarp?

“The bluest sky’s you’ve ever seen are in Seattle”, but the rainy fall weather that Seattle is also famous for came for a short visit last week. The blue tarp covering the addition has been extended over more of the existing house as parts of the existing roof have been removed. Originally the plan was to remove the existing finished wood floors on the main level, but at the urging of the owners and after some careful planning by the contractor, the floors are being saved “in place” and protected from the elements.

Behind and under the blue tarp, framing for new main floor bearing walls and upper floor framing have been moving right along. Beam and column supports for the upper floor are being readied and soon the new upper floor walls will start to lift the blue tarp higher and higher. Clear weather is expected in Seattle this week, but the nights have been getting colder, a sure sign that the real fall weather is not far behind.

Under Wrap

The framing for the addition at the basement level and main level is well underway. The contractor has put a tarp over the addition and the areas where the existing roof has been removed. The entire existing roof will eventually be removed and the second floor framing will begin very soon.

This week the window order is being reviewed as well as bids for cabinets and tile work.

Project Begins

The project was started promptly after selecting STS Remodeling as the contractor. The existing masonry chimney was demolished and the owner's temporary living quarters were skillfully placed in the back yard. There were some nervous moments squeezing the trailer down the side of the house, but thanks to extra efforts by the contractor and careful driving by the owner, the owner's trailer found it's new place for the duration of the project.

First, six new pilings were placed for the new addition foundation on the north side of the existing house. Then the foundation concrete was poured. Also, the interior finishes and fixtures were removed from the existing main floor to expose the old framing. There was one piece of history to note, the signature of "Roy Morriss" was found on one of the corner braces. So far, Roy's signature is still on the building he probably helped to construct.

West Seattle Remodel

The view, it’s all about the view. Oh yeah and a place to enjoy it from. This small West Seattle cottage is in a great place. Close to the West Seattle Junction, close to schools, close to recreation and a panoramic view, through an 11’ wide picture window. The view extends from the Olympics, looks north across West Seattle and to Elliot Bay and downtown Seattle. The space was a bit too economical for a growing family of four. The main floor was pretty basic, living, dining, kitchen, 2 bedrooms and a bathroom in 1000 square feet. The garage and unfinished basement was mostly used for storage and laundry.

The owners were looking for a remodel that would increase the size of the house, but maintain an appropriate scale and character with the neighborhood. But where to begin, how about speed dating for architects, contractors and clients? After making a connection with Craig Haveson of STS Remodeling, he gave them good advice to “look for an architect to define your dream”. Asking co-workers and searching the internet they found Peter D. Swindley Architects and Interiors. The owners met and talked to Peter, and were convinced that they had found a “wise sage” of architecture.

The owners had some ideas of where to start. A 2^nd floor addition for “living” and enjoying their place. A elevated deck on the east side of the home would provide outdoor living could still provide a direct access to the rear yard. A small deck on the west could provide “eyes on the street” and views to the west and the Olympics beyond.

A very small addition to the foot print was needed on the north side of the house to accommodate all the program requirements and also provide some additional structural updates to the original building.

The Main Floor would be a point of entry. A den and 3 bedrooms could occupy most of the space and still provide enough room for a central entry stair to ascend to the upper level.

A majority of the basement would have to wait for future improvements. Some accommodation of the new structures required for the upper floor could occur with little impact to the future development of this space.

Follow along with this blog during construction and find out how the project is shaping up!