Week 8

The crew continues to work on the back addition. We are still having record high temperature so they have been coming in real early in the morning. I am hoping the neighbors will forgive me for the noisy wake up call. The walls are up and I can start feeling the space. We were scheduled to install the windows next Monday but the Pella coordinator called me to tell me that they will not install the windows unless the roof is shingled. I had ordered the windows directly and had them initially scheduled for the following week but Steve was expecting to have everything under roof and asked me to move the installation date up thinking that a sheathed roof would be good enough. But the roof without felt or shingles that may not be dry enough and the window company would not take such a risk. It turns out that at any rate the roof framing was not quite completed by the end of the week so we returned the window installation to its initial date hoping that we will have enough good weather to complete roof. Steve brought me some large samples of the shingles and they look great next to the stone. So I am very happy with this selection and can't wait to see it up.

The framing of the back addition is a little tricky because it needs to be aligned with the existing roof of the garage and the intersection of the 2 roof lines with different pitches. We also had to install a supersized beam to replace a pre-engineered girder trusses. The large beam is needed to keep a clear span in the kitchen and was critical because I was trying to keep it as high as possible. We made some changes again going from a pre-engineered roof truss system to conventional framing. In general I try to use that whenever possible but it makes it difficult to make any adjustments if needed as we cannot cut or alter them. Plus there is the wait time for manufacturing. So once again I had to go back and run calculations to make sure everything is structurally sound.

The insulation remained an unresolved issue so I contacted a third company to come look at the project. I am learning a lot about foam insulation. That third company uses closed cell foam and will only work on existing walls filling the cavities through holes from the outside. The rep was very upfront with me about not being able to help. Then finally the first company called me back to give me a final estimate and tell me that they are working on my energy calculations to make sure we will not run into a problem with the building department. If all the paperwork is resolved then I will go ahead with them.

I also got a new HVAC bid and it is a lot more reasonable. We are adding a separate HVAC system for the addition and decided to go with the highest efficiency and quietest especially that the outside condenser will have to sit by the new back door.

Confession: With the intricate roof framing the carpenter asked me if he can trim the top of the beam. As with the bedroom beam I gave him the specification of what can be cut. I was not convinced it was necessary but he kept explaining that somehow it was going to protrude from the roof if we did not especially that I was trying to raise it as high as possible to it does not hang down into the space. According to my drawing it should not have hang down more than 4 inches. Steve and the framer explained the beam will hang down 8 inches and that the existing condition was not exactly as I had anticipated. To tell you the truth I was still not convinced despite several mock up they had done to show me how the rafters will run and connect. And since I was not the one actually cutting the wood and doing the framing I had to go along with their recommendation. As I said before remodeling is a bit more unpredictable then new construction and it doesn't matter how many additions I designed it is impossible to anticipate every condition. So as long as the change does not cause major negative effect we go with the flow and work with the changes.