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progress report: week 7
Ok, anyone getting tired of framing yet?
We didn’t have time to do much during the week, but a rainy weekend turned into a fairly productive two days.
1. The loft framing is done! Here’s a quick stitched-together (and slightly distorted) panoramic photo.
Here’s the opposite view looking back into the rest of the attic and the “light shaft” over the basement stair.
Another view of the light shaft. The plan is to install a fan from the sloped rafters that will help regulate temperature between volumes.
A view from the attic looking back into the loft (with the light shaft in the foreground) – so glad we decided to go ahead with the space!
The attic/loft framing was my own personal jungle gym today as I tried to get different shots. Good thing neither of us are afraid of heights!
This shot was taken from the basement stairs looking up. The shaft will provide peek-a-boo views up into the loft (and vice versa) and help with natural ventilation (via a fan and large operable skylight).
Sorry Bails – not for you. (We actually had a loft in our previous rental house and made the mistake of coaxing a young Bailey up the ladder. He got up ok, but getting him down was a nightmare!)
2. We also installed the new window for the dining area! Last year, we decided to go ahead and remove the old kitchen window and patch it in, since the size and location wouldn’t work with the new layout. And because we had kitchen cabinets along this wall, we had to wait until demo was over to install the new window.
Last year we scored a great deal on some windows that were left over from a larger project. The only problem, they were long and skinny and sort of awkward. We used six of them for the front porch, and decided to install the seventh in our dining area. The size and shape probably wouldn’t look right by itself, but we’ll be installing a long and narrow skylight above so it will (hopefully) read as a vertical ribbon of light.
In no time, the window was installed and we were amazed at how much light came in! We’ve also been thinking about planting bamboo or some type of fast growing, tall plant to provide a little greenery outside this window. Sadly, the Camellia bush transplant seems to have been a failure.
Here’s another view of the new window – the higher sill works well since we’ll have a bench seat or banquette of some type in this location. I didn’t have the right light to capture it, but the trunk of our neighbor’s large fir tree is perfectly framed as you come in the front door.
3. Progress was also made on Bailey today. He went to the groomer and came back feeling very good about himself.
There are still some framing odds and ends to do, plus the skylights. Those will probably take an entire weekend, but we’re hoping to move on to electrical by the start of next month (June! AHH!).
progress report: week 6
Had we not decided to add the loft, I think this week’s post would have shown us finishing up the framing. But alas, that’s not the case. The good news is, we did make some major headway converting the west part of our attic into a cozy 200 SF loft space.
1. First though, we finished framing the opening for the 2nd bedroom. All the seemingly superfluous framing at the top will be blocking for the barn door track. The piano continues to be stubborn.
2. We finally built a temporary guard rail at the stair, using scrap pieces of MDO and 2×4’s. The blue ladder is more or less where the future loft ladder will go.
3. We finished framing the vault over the kitchen/dining area!
4. Next, we moved on to loft framing. Not only did this involve working in tight spaces and lots of ladder climbing, but it was ridiculously stuffy (even though it was only in the 60’s outside).
Oh, and there was also the insulation. Before demo, Kyle and Dustin spent a grueling afternoon shoveling all of our loose attic insulation over the north side of our house (the part that wasn’t about to get obliterated). Now that we’re adding the loft, we needed to move even more insulation in order to put down a new subfloor and knee wall. By the time Kyle was done, he was drenched.
Fortunately, Kyle had the foresight to install some plywood insulation shields that would keep the growing pile of insulation from further blowing down into the space below. After the drywall is up, we’ll fill the flat portion of the kitchen ceiling (upper right corner) and then lay the plywood shields/sheets down over the joists so we have a walking surface from the exterior attic hatch. The photo below also shows the extents of the floor area and the sill for the north knee wall.
In addition to framing the surrounding walls, we also had to sister new 2×6’s to the rafters in order to get enough depth for r-30 polyiso insulation. I think we have officially doubled the amount of wood that was used to build the original house. Also, I have no idea why we own a snow shovel, but it has certainly come in handy around the house.
We transferred some of the extra insulation into the triangular space behind the knee wall (the plastic sheeting holds it in place until we get the drywall up). We’ll do the same thing on the opposite side, and the remaining pile will provide a super-insulated ceiling over the bedroom and bathroom. Good thing we never got around to adding more attic insulation!
Here’s a glimpse at how the loft is coming together. We’ve thrown around a few ideas on how we’ll furnish the space, including low chaise-like daybeds on each side with a desk in the middle and maybe some low slung shelving. We’ll also be installing a rather large skylight (more on that later).
This week we’ll finish up the north knee wall and start framing the “light well” that will visually connect the loft down to the space below. The framing fun just doesn’t stop. Also, check back later this week to see what happens when you combine a gutted house, a ramp and a motorcycle.
lofty ideas
One of the exciting things about taking out walls and ceilings is that your perception of your space and design ideas can instantly change. In previous design iterations, we considered doing a full attic loft, but had concerns about being able to create enough acoustical privacy from the bedroom(s) below without having to add more structure/insulation thus decreasing the head height. So we changed directions and decided the extra volume would be better spent vaulting over the kitchen/dining area. But then, after demo, we couldn’t help but think that the area above the future living area would make a sweet little loft space, especially since the new 3/4″ plywood MDO “ceiling” could also serve as a subfloor. It would be cozy, but a perfect place to curl up with a book or as extra sleeping space for guests. Because really, who doesn’t enjoy a secret space to retreat to? In fact, when I was a kid I once convinced my mom that I really wanted to convert our cedar-lined linen closet into my bedroom. The space was maybe 5’x7′, but it had a built-in dresser on one end with a window at the top and I used to sit up there and draw and read and (unsuccessfully) sleep. The absence of an actual bed eventually sent me back to the room I shared with my sister, but I still always loved the coziness of that space.
So we recently revisited the sketchup model to try out a few schemes (above is a cutaway section to show the vertical relationships). The challenge was that we didn’t want a loft that was completely closed off but we didn’t want to lose the vaulted ceiling either (we tried making the vault bigger but it just wasn’t working). So here’s our plan: slope the portion of the ceiling over the stairwell to provide a peek-a-boo view from/into the loft space. Access to the loft will be from the living room, so it works with the angle of the stair below. Right now, we’re just showing a wood ladder of some type, but we’re also exploring ship ladders and other materials. Once you get to the top of the ladder, you then side step into the loft space. The ladder would then (conceptually) extend up the wall to form a guardrail/screen of some sort to prevent people/things from falling through to the other side.
We had some initial concern about how another angled plane would look next to the adjacent vaulted ceiling, but after Kyle plugged it into the sketchup model we felt ok. But what we are most excited about is the opportunity to take advantage of some natural ventilation strategies! As we all know, “heat rises” and the loft space was bound to be on the toasty side in the summer. But by utilizing the law of thermal convection, on warm days we can open an operable skylight in the loft and windows on the main floor which will create a natural convection process, drawing heat out of the house. Installing a fan in the stairwell will assist in this process as well as “pull” cooler air up through the basement (which is always several degrees cooler on any given day). In the winter time, we can reverse the direction of the fan to help “push” warm air back into the main space.
Below is a cross section at the front of the house, showing the extents of the loft space and the composition of the stair and loft ladder.
While setting up a few interior shots, we realized that the angled ceiling at the stairwell isn’t even that perceptible unless you’re standing on the stair looking directly up.
We will now have to cut back some of the exposed joists and head them off for the loft access, but we think it will work with the aesthetics of the space.
Another glimpse of the loft access, standing in the future kitchen.
So there you have it! Even though it won’t be a typical loft that overlooks a big space below, it’s another chance to carve out a little bit more room in our small house. One of our next steps is to sand and finish the exposed joists so we can prime, paint and install the 3/4″ MDO subfloor. This will allow us to get up into the space and evaluate its potential before we give the loft the final green light.
kitchen visualization
Now that the walls and ceiling are gone, it’s easier to visualize what the future space is going to be like. On demo day we joked that it was looking more and more like our Sketchup model, so I thought it would be fun to do a quick overlay to show how we’ll go from bare studs to a finished space.
Above is where we’re at now – we’ll be adding new ceiling framing to create the “mini vault” over the kitchen/dining area as seen in the composite image below…
We’ll also be adding those two skylights and window behind the table. Natural dayllight!
Above is a current rendering of the space. (The white piece jutting out at the lower left hand corner will be some type of shelf/guardrail that separates the basement stair from the rest of the space while providing additional storage.) The sliding doors on the left hand side are for the bedroom and bathroom.
We’ve got a ways to go but it’s certainly motivating to think about the finished product! Maybe I’ll do a similar post looking at the other side of the space next…
prepping for demo: the scope and the strategy
On past projects, prepping for demo meant moving everything out of the room and making sure we had plenty of contractor bags on hand. This time, it feels like we’re moving.
As a reminder, this is the current state of our main floor:
And the blue is the area we’re getting ready to take down to the studs.
Fortunately, we have a fairly empty basement and a strategy that will hopefully minimize the annoyance of living without a kitchen, dining or living room.
The first step in this operation is to purge and organize everything in the “affected” areas. For things we know we won’t need between now and demo (books, decorations, the ice cream maker, etc.) we’re starting to pack those items away in labeled plastic containers.
The next step is to sell or donate furniture that we’ve outgrown or that we know won’t work in the new space (which we’re finding, is basically everything).
As d-day gets closer, we’ll set up our “basement apartment” and move the remaining essential items to our new abode. We’ll then seal off the bedroom, bathroom and basement to ensure that construction dust and debris stays out.
This all happens in conjunction with finalizing and ordering materials, ironing out remaining details, finishing the porch, and working full-time. We’re still aiming for a March start date which will give us about 6 months to make it happen (with a birthday celebration in September as our completion goal). We’re excited about this major project, but also realize the value of being as prepared as possible before crossing that point of no return. Plus, it’s a good opportunity to go through our belongings and keep only the things that we really use or love.
