Overhangs

The rafter tails have what appear to be tongue and groove boards above them, even though they are very hard to see since they are so high up and so little of it shows.  Despite that we wanted to figure out how to duplicate that look on all of the new parts of the roof on the back of the house.  Here's our problem: for one, we didn't exactly communicate early on what our plans were so the carpenter thought he was going to build soffits around all of it.  So he just had decking on the unfinished rafters hanging over without any thought to appearance since he thought it would all be enclosed by the soffit.  That brings us to our next problem, now that we're retrofitting boards to the decking between the rafter tails, what do we use that isn't too thick and bulky and how does it fasten so that it doesn't pierce through the roof?  As luck would have it, I happened to notice some pine tongue and groove panel pieces on an endcap as we were making our way out of Lowes one evening.  Ronnie thought those might work; and after a few days, the carpenters were installing it.  We are very pleased with the outcome!  Once it's all painted the trim color, it's going to blend nicely with the old.

Exterior Carpentry

Front corner, lot side - frieze and fascia added

Rounding out the updates from this week are a few pictures of the work the carpenters are doing up along the edge of the roof.  The overhang on this house is not very big; and as far as we can tell, it was this way originally.  So I was unhappy with the thought of the siding going straight up to the eaves.  We decided to add a band of trim at the top which I learned is called a frieze.  When it's all painted the trim color, we think that this will add some nice dimension up there.

Plumbing And HVAC Are In Progress!

I knew the plumbers had begun work on the rough in earlier this week, but I was blown away to find all of the duct work installed in the upstairs rooms for the heating and air!  We're going with electric AC through out - of course - gas heat for the lower level and heat pump for the upper level.  This is the same way we did it in the Bailey house, and it worked out great having a split unit for a house this size.  Bean Heating & Air is handling the installation which is who did our first home on E. 13th Street.  I feel like we're in good hands.  Mr. Bean took a great deal of time discussing options with me when we did the walk thru, and it seems as if he's knowledgeable about installing HVAC systems in old houses.  That's always a good thing!

Porches & Exterior Doors

I had very low expectations today when I went to the house.  There were a couple rainy days this week, and I hadn't received as many calls from the contractor; so I wasn't expecting to see a whole lot of progress...plus they're still waiting on the gas company to come move the meter, and there was a delay in getting the door jambs from the lumber company.  But oh the surprise when I arrived this afternoon to find many new changes!  Let's start with the front porch:

Here you can see the front door!!!  And the 6x6 porch posts have been wrapped in 1" thick finish boards.

Happy Anniversary

This month marks a year that we've owned 1705 Vance.  To celebrate, the blog has been refreshed with new colors and a new home at RevivalOnVance.blogspot.com.  Unfortunately, the comments made on the old blog - as well as the followers - did not transfer over.  So please sign up to follow us again!  We'd also love to hear your feedback in the comments section.

Thanks for the support!

Siding is Up!

Last week we were thrilled to see the siding go up on the house. The carpenters are using a cement fiber board with a 5 1/2" reveal which is very close to the original siding. Even though there are many good reasons to use Hardieboard, we were so concerned all along about the reveal being too high. The big pieces of siding used on new construction just weren't going to work on the Vance house. Too much reveal would take away the historic feel of the home. So the general contractor, Ronnie, worked with us on it; and now we are all pleased with the outcome. This makes us very excited to pick out paint colors!!

Major Progress: Week 3

The end of January brought even more changes (and better weather!).  This week the Tyvek went up over the  plywood, the roof was finished (yes, started and finished in a couple days...amazing!), and - my favorite - the windows installed!!

I have no interest in being a roofer

Pieces used to frame the windows

 

Check out the house with windows installed!

Living Room

Upstairs Bathroom

Front Bedroom

Major Progress: Week 2

Rain, rain, and more rain...but there's a whole lot of framing going on!  This was the most exciting week...every day brought major changes.

Rebuilt walls on back of the house

Storage space

New foundation under bathroom

Future back door entrance

Dining room from back porch

Empty lot side

New porch foundation

Before old roof was torn off

Livingroom

New porch from above

Stairs!!

Newly expanded upstairs hall

Completely rebuilt master bath

Master walk-in closet

Master Bedroom from door

Master bedroom from bathroom

Front Bedroom

Front Bedroom with two closets

Closet in back bedroom

Completely rebuilt back bedroom

Upstairs bathroom

Upstairs bathroom toward hall

Going down the stairs

Kitchen

Guest bedroom/Office

Closet under stairs

Two days later back of the house

Neighbor's side

Back porch

Looking like a house now!!

Front with new porch roof

New front porch

New front porch

Front bedroom from hall

Front bedroom toward closets

Attic vent we didn't know was there

Laundry room

New back bedroom ceiling

Back bedroom toward closet

Master bedroom

Master closet

Master bathroom

Upstairs hall from back 

Upstairs hallway from bath