Rehab on Alabama

Well Ladies and Gentlemen, the project is complete.  The client has moved in, and the place is really looking great.  This particular client has really cool taste, so I think the finishes he chose really help to define the space and add design interest.  The exterior looks great too, but we are sorry to say that he is handling the grade work and landscaping package on his own, so the final product hasn’t fully be achieved from the street view.  That will happen over the summer.  Enjoy the pics.

Plumbing, Painting, and Electrical finishes are all under way.  However, I do have to kick them all out for a few days, as we begin the sand on site floor finishing process.  That will command the project for the next 6 days, but we are really looking forward to seeing the salvaged hardwoods come back to life!  The sun is shining, the birds are chirping, the market is stimulated and going crazy right now, and this project is flowing and finishing nicely….what a week!

Here are a couple pictures of some of the happenings.  By the way, I can’t say enough about Lugger box dumpsters.  See the pictures below, but your typical dumpster is about 10 feet longer, and gets delivered on a roll off truck.  They require much more space, and that comes at a premium as the project comes to a close.  We hold off on garage construction as long as we can, but eventually have to begin the process so we can complete it at the same time as the house.  When that construction begins, we typically run out of room for dumpsters.  In comes the Lugger.  As they say in France….WA LA!

We have been pushing very hard for the past few weeks, and most of my subcontractors are angry at me.  The client has a very real banking deadline, and also was surprised by a quick home sale, so now the pressure is on!  Currnetly we have painters, drywallers, carpenters, and tile installers working around each other.  Most of the time it works, but it can get a little crazy every once in a while.

Here is a example of how NOT to project manage.  Notice the holes in the drywall, it seems that the derilect project manager missed  a small but important detail on the print.  Roughed in for one shower head, found out there was two!  My bad.  Bad went to stupid when the masons showed up (3 days late) to power wash and tuckpoint the foundation.  They helped themselves to turning the water main on, in the cellar.  Bad timing, as the plumber was in his truck getting tools, and had the 4 lines in the shower, he was working on, cut wide open.

All's well that ends well

That is why the ceiling looks like this.  Hilarious….not really.  I do not enjoy peppering the house with holes, but even the Bob Vila hits his thumb with a hammer from time to time.

Had to cut a hole below, to drain the water. Water is not a real problem if dealt with quickly!

Just a day in the life, but really the project is moving forward nicely.  I just thought I should share some of the mini-drama along the way.

Here are some pics of some other happenings in the project.  Enjoy.

We have gotten through the insulation, inspection, and drywall process.  We are just beginning the interior trim and hardwood floor patching processes.  In this home, the client elected to save money and salvage the existing hardwood floors throughout most of the floor plan.  Some areas need patching, and then the whole floor will be sanded and refinished.  The end product will be really nice, noticeably original, but shiny and new!

More pictures to come of the interior and exterior.  The siding work is now complete, and the paint process will begin shortly.  The house will really start to have curb appeal within the next weeks to come.

It’s window day, and gorgeous outside.  The project still looks pretty shabby from the exterior, but the fun part is just beginning.  We had a long lead time for the production of the windows and exterior doors, and we have been unable to move forward with the exterior work until we had them installed.  However, now we moving forward with full steam.  Once the windows and doors are set, we will be able to remove and replace the siding and trims.  The windows and doors are all wood, and had to be approved by IHPC.

As a part of the building process in Historic neighborhoods, we meet with IHPC (Indiana historic preservation commission) on the site to discuss which siding and trims are in decent enough shape to remain, and which can be completely removed.  When that is completed we will replace what is needed with new material.  The exterior will still remain all wood, but the new materials are far superior than the original.  The trims on this house are unprimed spruce, and the siding is unprimed poplar.  These materials looks nice and function for a time, but eventually will fail (as they have) since they are raw on the backside.  The materials we will install will be redwood siding that is fully primed, and cedar trims that do not require back priming (cedar naturally resists moisture, can be installed in exterior applications, and has a very long lifespan)

While it may seem a little odd to save any of the materials at all, it is very important to historians, and we value their influence.  Without a commission such as theirs, a lot of integrity would be lost in historic areas such as the Old North Side.  This also saves the client money, and makes us all feel just a little bit better about ourselves.  When you can, why not conserve?

Since the last post, we have been chugging along, in the cold, and now have the mechanical systems all roughed in. The HVAC (Heating, venting, & Air Conditioning) technicians and the plumbers are the first trades in. These trades, historically, fight for space in the walls and mechanical “chases” and need to be coordinated before they begin.  Their systems are largly comprised of rigid piping, but there are some adjustments and alternate routes that can be taken, if need be, for one anothers sake.  After they are complete the electricians and Alarm/AV techs come right in and begin their work.  They are always the last trades in before insulation,  as they have the greatest flexibility in the location of their devices and routes of their wires.

While this is going on the masons are on the outside of the home, reconstructing the original historic chimney.  There is certain criteria that is very important to the historic “value” of a home in a designated historic neighborhood…. Original materials such as wood siding and windows, roof lines and shingle type, keeping the window and door openings in their original place and size, and also the height, size, and shape of the chimneys.

This window location was in an undesirable location for the layout of a bathroom on the 2nd level. So we deleted it. We were able to win the case with IHPC (the indiana historic presevation commisssion), that the rear elevation of the home had been remodeled and was not "historic"

The original siding and chimney

Electrical installation

Recess lighting

New kitchen wall and wiring - notice the window beyond. It had leaded glass and was very important to the historic comminssion to keep. So we cleaned up the sashes and glass, and "blacked them out" from the inside. They will be insulated and walled over, and disappear for all intents and purposes, on the inside.

It has been a while since we have completed a full rehab. The green and energy efficiency movements seem to have directed home buyers to new homes, and that has been the main percentage of projects we have completed in the last few years. However, with relatively new and attractive bank packages, such as 203K’s, home buyers are enabled to purchase homes in need of work and acquire loans that are worth the proposed end result, rather than existing condition. This has helped the rehab market enjoy a small resurgence, and we are happy to be back in the familiar and historic neighborhood that is The Old North Side. A common misnomer, that may also have played part in the rehabs decline from popularity, is that you will still have an “old” home, after construction is complete. While aspects of that are true, what is left, is simply done so for historic requirements and charm. The home, when complete, from top to bottom will be as energy efficient as any our our new constructions.

Please check in on the progress of this home, as I plan to post updates during the mechanical installations, show you what we accomplished in the cellar, of course during the insulation process, and throughout the rest of construction. We go out of our way to ensure that when complete, our projects (whether new or rehabs) will meet high Green building standards, and be as efficient with energy consumption as possible! Here are couple of pictures that I took on a very dark and cold day. The quality is not outstanding, but they are of some of my most enjoyable parts of the framing process….Leveling the floors. You should have walked through this place before we started. Lets just say the some of the nastiest greens on Augusta couldn’t hold a candle to these floors! Just kidding, but you get the picture.

The blue tarp is where we removed the old brick chimney. This will be put back exactly the way it was, on the exterior only, to replicate the historic original.

A beam installed to keep the floor in its new (now level) loacation.

Once the floor below was leveled, the carpenters move to leveling and jacking the floor above