Deliveries + Deck + 2nd Floor Flooring = Progress

Our first delivery was from our reliable local building supplier with the materials to build the structure for our deck.  (We miscalculated and I scurried around to stores to find stainless steel rod.)  Our spiral stairway came second and the driver was not keen on traversing our driveway with his 18-wheeler. I took the pole in my van, and Bill got the skidsteer and moved the 800 lb. pallet of goodies. Our last delivery was the decking and railing materials.  They still need to deliver one box which hopefully will come Monday.

Deck Structure Building Materials

Spiral Stairway in a Box

The Spiral Stairway's pole

Felix and Bruce working on the deck and the last delivery in the foreground

Vincent came and worked with Felix and Bruce, making sure the posts were appropriately placed, and later that the deck structure was square. We were introducing them to the LockDry Decking System.  Our latest picture of progress:

 

We met with an enthusiastic flooring salesperson, and made the decision to complete our flooring with his company.  They started work two days ago and have completed vinyl plank and tile throughout the second floor.

Ronny stapling the luan to the subfloor

More stapling

Wayne made sure the subfloor was clear of debris and the luan seams were smooth and flat

Adhesive applied to the luan

Vinyl plank applied

The finishing touches on the flooring

The upstairs bathroom (floor)

Another crew is due to arrive Monday and work on the first floor.  We will be completing most of the area this next week, and wait until after Thanksgiving to have them come back and tackle the remaining four rooms.
Our carpenters noticed that we had a lot to do this weekend in order to have people come in to work on the first floor, so they came, and are helping us out with a smile!

Thank you, Bruce

Thank you, Felix

The Barrel Vault in the Living Room is Painted

We are very happy that the ceiling is finished in the living room.  Bill is currently working on the window frames (drywall) and then we will be making the wall smooth enough for paint.

The Last Windows are getting Trimmed

We are working on those mini-projects that require the scaffold in the living room.  I am working on finishing up the barrel vault painting.  Bill is working on the window trim.  You can see the windows on the right are trimmed, and those on the left are still to be done.

After this wall is completed, we just have one pocket door to be framed, and after the drywall is applied, we will be done hanging drywall in the house proper!
Meanwhile, we are getting quotes on getting the floors done. Next week, we take delivery on materials to frame the North deck.

Painting the Living Room Barrel Vault Ceiling

Yesterday, I painted one of the 'bays' - the 6 foot wide arch from 9 ft from the first floor to the center beam.  And today, Bill and I finished the next two bays so that the West side of the living room is finished except for some touch-up.

As you can see, we still have the East side to do.....another day.

North Wall with Leaky Windows vs North Wall with New Windows

Leaky Windows 8 ft tall

The carpenters cut away the EIFS and took out the windows on the first floor, replaced Tyvek, flashing and caulk.  They installed the new windows and put an extra strip of flashing over the windows.  They also took the door frame out, made sure the door would fit the new door frame, which is made out of PVC, and installed the door and new frame and installed flashing over the door. It now works without binding. Vincent was able to enlist the services of Wade to remedy the EIFS and caulk around the windows and doors.

New 6 ft tall Windows, Door, and slab

We water tested with a hose, but have not had a decent rain, nor a Nor'easter, to check the weatherproofness of the windows. 
The next step on this wall is a deck.  We are awaiting availability of the carpentry crew -  they are expected to be here before the end of September.
Meanwhile, we will be working indoors on the drywall and painting that could not be accomplished while the windows were leaking.

The North Side of House - Before and After (Slab, Windows, Door, HVAC)

North Side of House Before Patio

 We now have a 10 x 40 North patio.  It has fully cured and is looking good. In the "before" picture, you can see the ramp up to the door, and a white pipe sticking up about 2 feet out of the ground.

North Side of House After Patio

 In the "after" picture, we were still curing the slab which is covered in plastic. We had also covered our leakiest window in plastic.  That seemed to ward off any rainfall.






And in the "after that" picture, we have the plastic off, and we have replaced the windows and entry door on the first floor.  The EIFS is scheduled to be repaired next week. You may also notice on the left, a new HVAC heat pump unit. And our Serious Materials Windows that we were not doing their job, are on pallets laying around waiting for some way to use leaky windows.  They are replaced with Simonton Windows.


 

North Side After THAT!

Leaky windows, we hope, are no longer an excuse preventing our progress with the deck, the indoor drywall and the painting.  We await some needed rain later this week, testing the Simonton waterproofness.

Garage Temperature, House still in Drywall mode, Concrete Excitement

I visited the garage Wednesday.  It still needs some work done.  But I was interested in the temperature and whether it had any humidity problems.  We have a Min-Max thermometer there.  The current temperature was 70.3 F  The Max was 71.0 F and the Min was 47.8 F.  I reset it.  I did not see any moisture or feel any.  The earth tubes and umbrella seem to be keeping the garage at a good temperature.  We still need to finish the insulation on the end wall around the garage door, and do drywall and incorporate electric lights.  The garage will have to wait, our main priority is the house at this point.

We continue to continue to mud and sand.  We still have the North wall awaiting the deck installation and the solution to our window leak problems.  We had some signs of humidity in the house and we found that our HVAC contractor cannot install our system until mid August, so we invested in a dehumidifier. For now, any humidity problems are gone.   It is a very pleasant 71 F, and a little hotter upstairs.

On the exciting side, our concrete contractor showed up today.  They started grading for the slab on the North side and setting forms.