Week 26 of the Restoration (12/24/2007 – 12/28/2007)

Mon, 31 Dec 2007 10:00:00 GMT

We almost completed framing the 2nd Floor Carriage House this week. The framing plans changed once we had a better look at how the space actually looked with the most everything in place. More room was given to the bathroom, less to the laundry area. We also are not planning to put any shelving or table areas on the left hand side of the space because we loved the open feeling of the hallway and rooms. There is plenty of ceiling height – close to 7’ 4” – it feels nice and airy.

Week 25 of the Restoration (12/17/2007 – 12/21/2007)

Mon, 24 Dec 2007 05:00:00 GMT

We’ve been framed!

Short and sweet for week 25. It was mostly about framing up the 3rd floor main space and bathroom. Eric also got up the ridge beam and posts for the 2nd floor carriage house portion of the home. It will take the remainder of next week to get the carriage house all framed up and ready to go for the plumber and electrician to do their work.

Chuck finished most of the HVAC work on the 3rd floor and he’ll be able to now work on the dining room gas fireplace insert once Fernando is able to rebuild the fireplace marble mantel.

We’re keeping Renato busy with refinishing the Victorian Wet bar built in . Also he is starting to work on the Houdini Bench refinish which we’ll display at the Home Tour in March.

We purchased aluminum gutters and downspouts and Claudio painted them black to go with the other black decorative detail (crests, spires, storm windows, drip edges) on the exterior.

The good news keeps on coming for our Victorian Home Restoration company, ModVic. A regional magazine – Boston Magazine’s Boston Home & Garden www.bostonmagazine.com/home_garden/index.html is doing an April 2008 “before and after” photo spread and story of our restored period kitchen in Sharon MA! The momentum continues to build for our North Attleboro Home Tour in the Spring.

Week 24 of the Restoration (12/10/2007 – 12/14/2007)

Mon, 17 Dec 2007 05:00:00 GMT

24 is my lucky number (born Feb 4th) and we’re lucky on week 24.

The roof made it up just in time before a major snowstorm hit the area and covered the house (and roof) with at least 12 inches of snow. We are now watertight and can now start to work comfortably on the interior finishing for the next 2-3 months for the home tour planned in March/April 2008.

The big news on the inside was that Eric and John finished the framing for the third floor bathroom and closet. We just need to now create a soffitt run on the back side of the room for Chuck’s A/C piping and vents.

Fernando finished putting in the third kitchen beam and new supports rafters along with the ceiling strapping. The plumber will be coming out next week to discuss next steps on where best to start the rough plumbing runs. Marcelo and Fernando’s guys also stripped the circular staircase walls and foyers of all plaster and just left the lathe. We are planning to have the plasterer come out and sheetrock and wet plaster all the areas for smooth (rounded) walls.

We also started to put in new rafters in the master bathroom area to make room for the bathroom venting equipment.

Chuck installed the first fireplace insert in the master sitting room. We were able to get the piping to the back outside wall with minimal turns within a soffitt area that was already built for the A/C pipes!

The weeks go on and we are checking off major accomplishments every week. I’m proud of the guys that are working for me and know that it’s through their hard work, skills and persistence that we’re going to have an amazing beautifully restored home.

Week 23 of the Restoration (12/03/2007 – 12/07/2007)

Mon, 10 Dec 2007 05:00:00 GMT

We now have the exact year when the major Italianate renovation was done! Our architectural historian had dated the renovation in the late 1870s. When we opened up a dormer on the third floor this week – we found the date that one of the original workers drew – 1877.

Week 22 of the Restoration (11/26/2007 – 11/30/2007)

Mon, 03 Dec 2007 10:00:00 GMT

You know what… I can’t put my finger on anything major to talk about this week. Here’s some “minor” stuff: posting down into the basement from the 3rd floor ridge beam; 3rd floor rafter sistering, wall and ceiling demolition in more rooms; chimney removal; electrical work, basement door framing, landscaping and hardscaping.

Week 21 of the Restoration (11/19/2007 – 11/23/2007)

Mon, 26 Nov 2007 05:00:00 GMT

We were ‘beaming’ this week.

Most of our efforts this week were spent on demolition of ceilings and walls to prepare for installation of the structural beams and posts. Eric and John moved a super heavy LVL beam into place on the third floor and jacked it up into the ridge for a tight fit. The real tough part was posting down through the circular staircase and circular closets into the foundation of the basement. It takes expert skill and creative problem solving to make it happen properly with minimum aesthetic impact.

Week 20 of the Restoration (11/12/2007 – 11/16/2007)

Sat, 17 Nov 2007 10:00:00 GMT

It’s a race against mother nature…and time.

The weather has been amazingly cooperative with us going into mid-November. We were finishing the exterior painting in the front, ripping up the driveway and putting in landscaping this whole week. Nine inches thick asphalt (approximately 4 old driveway layers) took awhile to rip up and dispose of properly. We also dug an 18” ditch for the electrical wire for the street lamp.

Week 19 of the Restoration (11/05/2007 – 11/09/2007)

Fri, 09 Nov 2007 10:00:00 GMT

If you permit me…I’d like to call this the week of the permit.

The building permit finally came this week – and it feels like we finally turned up the restoration volume!

Week 18 of the Restoration (10/29/2007 – 11/02/2007)

Mon, 05 Nov 2007 10:00:00 GMT

The weather held for us! The whole week was spent painting – focusing on the front tower and dormers. We also were able to paint the front porch railing and the tops of the Corinthian columns. The C2 paint makes the colors “jump” from all parts of the house. I literally stood in front of the house for about 30 minutes just marveling at how much the house has come back to li

Week 17 of the Restoration (10/22/2007 – 10/26/2007)

Fri, 26 Oct 2007 07:00:00 GMT

Exterior painting was the focus this week and painting it was. Lots of accent and detail paint went on the decorative pieces of the house. Next week – the weather is projected to be nice – so we’re renting the lift again for the high parts of the tower.

Still waiting on the approved plans from the town – we’re hoping this week it will come through and the roof can be closed up and made watertight.

The guys are trying to keep going inside and were able to demo some of the 2nd floor carriage house (future bedroom, bathroom and laundry room). It’s amazi

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