A big little stone house update
Saturday, February 27, 2016
Most of the windows and doors were installed last week. The front entry door and it's storm door, and one of the basement windows, aren't in yet. None of the windows have been trimmed yet. Still, it looks so much better already! Kate picked white for the interior side of the windows and sandstone for the exterior side. The sandstone compliments the stones nicely I think. She selected it because it's not as eye catching as white, so that the stones are the focal point instead of the windows....she put a lot of thought into it. The new storm door will be sandstone as well, and the entry door will be Metropolitan Orange.
The new kitchen window is shorter, so now the bottom of the window is above the counter, instead of below it.
In the spring they're going to fill the gap on the exterior with stones, so you won't be able to tell there used to be a larger window there.
Of the four window holes in the basement, only one had a window. One was broken and boarded up, one had been removed and boarded up to run the dryer exhaust through, and the fourth had been removed and boarded up to vent the furnace through. Kate had them all opened up. It made a tremendous difference....no more dark basement! The window above the dryer has a section to the right of it where the dryer and furnace will both vent. Once the pipes are done to reroute the furnace vent over to the window above the dryer they can install the final window. Also...the plumbing has been redone in the whole house, and the new washer and dryer have been delivered. The new refrigerator was delivered too, but I'll save kitchen pictures until after the new shelving is in.
Today we painted the bathroom....two coats of primer and one coat of pink...Valerie, it's named. Tomorrow morning we'll paint a second coat. We primed the walls top to bottom, to seal the drywall (no idea if we needed to), but are only painting the top half (and the ceiling) pink, since beadboard will be installed on the bottom half.
Now for the bad news. The roof leaks. We knew, based on the home inspection, there was no ventilation in the roof and the shingles are old, so the roof would need to be addressed within a few years. There were no leaks evident during the inspection, but after the first snow melt a few small ones appeared. Also noticeable were ice flows on the stone, from the roof to the ground, because the roof has almost no overhang. Kate's Uncle Bob, an architect, came out today to take a look, and is going to meet with her builders next week. We were worried the whole thing would have to be restructured, but Bob says no, that the rafters look great, additions can be sistered in to form an overhang and then this, and that, and the other...sheeting, insulation, powered vents, etc... She's planning on putting on a metal roof to match the relatively new metal roof on the garage.
They also had a lengthy discussion about regrading the property, which has to be done sooner rather than later, as well. It's going to be a very busy year.
It is coming along great! How long before she can move in?
Posted by: Audra | Saturday, February 27, 2016 at 11:01 PM
It's looking great! Homes are fantastic but man, they do love to eat up money. It sucks it all happens at once, but at least it will be all done and finished with at once. And who doesn't like working overtime to pay for a roof!?!
Posted by: Kat | Saturday, February 27, 2016 at 11:28 PM
It's looking really great Keli. So nice that someone who really appreciates it has purchased it and is now making the time to do a proper job of fixing it. It'll be a great house when she's done. Also I am impressed at the speed of the renovations. Nothing happens that quickly in Australia....
Posted by: Shannonsminiblog.blogspot.com | Sunday, February 28, 2016 at 04:10 PM
I'm not sure how long it's going to be until she can move in. She's antsy, so I imagine as soon as the bathroom is finished, even if not everything else is yet.
Posted by: Keli | Monday, February 29, 2016 at 11:53 AM
Good thing that she's small enough for a tiny house - it's really throwing her headfirst into the "joys" of being a homeowner, but she'll have the payoff when the work is finished.
She's making excellent choices.
Her momma raised a VERY bright girl!!
Posted by: Susan | Tuesday, March 01, 2016 at 09:51 AM
Hi Keli,
Just back from a month-long road trip in Western USA. What fun and what great National Parks!
CONGRATULATIONS! A Grand Prize winner! So happy to hear the news ... It was a very interesting build and fun to explore through your excellent pics. Hope you are suitably proud.
Love the little stone cottage and seeing it come to life.
Regards Janine
Posted by: Janine | Monday, March 07, 2016 at 08:10 PM