CHEZERBEY

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side yard roof

Here’s one thing we’ve learned in our 6+ years of remodeling: tackle the crappy jobs first. (Trust me, your future self will thank you.)

When we bought our house it was very much in a need of a new roof. Unglamorous but necessary, that became our first major project the following summer. At the time, we were young(er) and had lots of pent-up DIY energy, so tearing off a roof seemed like a moderately fun time.

Or not. For a few anxiety-ridden days we literally had no roof over our heads. (Our previous neighbor took this photo from her second story window, probably thinking “those crazy Zerbeys!” all the while.)

Our initial strategy was to shovel debris directly into the dumpster in the driveway. This worked fairly well for the north side, but not so much for the south (where we optimistically thought we could just toss shingles up over the ridge). Before we knew it, we were knee-deep in layers upon layers of old shingles, intertwined with rusty nails. By this point we were exhausted and hadn’t even started the actual installation yet.

Our poor little house. When we need perspective in life, Kyle and I look at these photos.

All this to say that when it came time to tackle another roof project, we were glad it was a substantially smaller one.

One of the things on our pre-winter to-do list was to build a small roof over the basement stairs. Although there is a drain at the bottom landing, it often gets clogged with leaves and needles so during heavy rains water ends up finding its way under the basement door.

So, we decided a new roof was in order. It seemed like a quick, knock-that-out-in-a-weekend-or-two project, but of course it never works out that way. Kyle started this project a month or so ago, but progress stalled as we switched our focus to Studio Zerbey. Fortunately, we had a break in the rainy weather earlier this week so Kyle spent an afternoon wrapping things up.

The design we came up with is fairly simple and reflects our goals to create something functional, aesthetically pleasing and affordable. The roof’s size and shape were dictated by the location of the dining room window sill and maintaining adequate head clearance going down the steps. Kyle used two cedar 4×4 posts that are attached to the existing concrete wall. To reduce the depth of the beams, we used two 2×8’s (bolted to the columns) and tapered the outboard edge to avoid a head-knocker situation. (We considered applying a finish to the cedar, but opted to let it gray out to match the fence and gates.)

For the sheathing and rafters, we matched the main roof using painted beadboard plywood and 2x’s.

At the house, the rafters are attached with Simpson clips to a 2×4 ledger board that is attached to the wall framing.

The tops of the beams were cut at an angle to account for the slope of the rafters (we decided this would be easier than bird-mouthing or notching each one).

In lieu of standard building paper, Kyle used Grace’s Ice & Water Shield to protect the plywood sheathing before installing the shingles. This is a more durable product and better suited for low-sloped roofs susceptible to wind-driven rain.

It’s a sticky-back product so installation can be a bit more time-consuming, but you also don’t have to fuss with staples.

With the underlayment on and fascias and flashing in place, Kyle installed the shingles (the easy part!). We used shingles leftover from the main roof project and because it was such a small area Kyle simply hand-nailed them in place.

It’s not so bad, right? This is definitely one of those projects where we could have done something fancier and more “architecty” but couldn’t justify the added costs or creating a focal point of what is essentially a service entry. Eventually (and before Avery is walking) we’ll add a guard rail that will match the design of the adjacent gate. It will be constructed as a removable panel in case we need to move things in/out of the basement at some point.

Where the roof hits the wall of the house, Kyle tucked a piece of flashing up under that row of siding and secured it with a series of nails. The flashing protects the joint between the two surfaces and helps direct water out and away. We still need to install a gutter and downspout, but Kyle picked those up today so y’know…maybe they’ll be up by Thanksgiving?

Obviously, this area still needs some landscaping and hardscaping magic as well.

Here’s a glimpse of how our front yard landscaping is fairing. Our neighbor’s Horse Chestnut is dropping all of its leaves in our yard (the nerve!) and our red-flowering currants pooped out on us, but other than that we’re pretty happy with how the plants are transitioning to winter.

The only plant remaining in the backyard portion of the side yard is the Winter Daphne. In fact, I think it is the only plant that has survived our six years of remodeling.

There has also been discussion about preserving part of this side yard for a future hot tub. (For hydrotherapy purposes of course.) Hmm, maybe that was a purchase that should have been made before six years of manual labor?

studio loft: completion

Last Friday was a gorgeous evening. Even though it wasn’t particularly warm, it was sunny…the kind of March day where people flock to outdoor bars and empty the contents of their purse looking for a pair of sunglasses. For us, it was a perfect evening for desktop hoisting! (Ok, it also distracted me from fantasizing about basking in the sun with a glass of wine in hand.) 

First, Kyle prepped the stairwell. (Seriously, I came home on Friday to this sight and Kyle napping in the bedroom.) The plan was to hoist the slab up and into the loft between the wall and edge of the loft ladder. (It was far too long to go up the loft ladder and have enough room to rotate into position.)

It would be a tight fit, but we measured everything beforehand to make sure we had enough clearance. (Or so we thought, keep reading…) 

Our neighbor Blair came over to help. (He was incredibly gracious and patient and we owe him big time!) As they brought the slab in from the garage, Kyle took the lead and walked it up the ladder…

…while Blair and his brute strength took the heavy end.

I don’t know how much this thing weighs, but moving it was no easy feat. One rung at a time.

I mean, it’s a big piece of wood. [Obligatory inappropriate photo-op.] 

All was going well until we ran into one minor snafu…the loft ceiling. The low-end of the slab hadn’t quite cleared the ceiling below so it was literally stuck. Swearing ensued. (We blame the curvature of the tape measure during our earlier measuring.)

But we put our heads together and decided the only alternative was to remove the ceiling fan blades and the loft ladder and then slide it up on its side.

When we installed the loft ladder, I’m pretty sure we mumbled something like, “at least we don’t ever have to move this thing again!”.

Ha. If there was a bright side, it was that we didn’t have to completely remove it, just lower it enough so the slab could clear the top of the guardrail. The ladder is attached to the floor below and joist above with hefty lag screws. So Kyle removed those and then we used a scrap 2×4 as a kicker to keep it from sliding further. 

It was an unintended extra step, but it worked. Turned horizontally, Kyle and Blair had no problem getting the slab into the space and then turning it 90 degrees.

With one final heave, the three of us hoisted the wood up and onto the steel angles. The final step was to attach the slab using stainless steel 1/4″x2″ screws and 1/4″x1″ fender washers at pre-drilled holes at each of the four angle supports. 

At this point, it was in place and we called it a night.

But it didn’t take long for me set up shop the next day.

I had thought about moving the painted IKEA stool down to the nursery, but it’s actually a great height for the sewing machine and can easily tuck under the desk when not in use.

For now, I’m using a small IKEA table lamp for task lighting (the only other light we have in the space is the sconce over the ladder). It’s ok, but eventually it will move to the nursery and be replaced with a flexible and brighter work light. (Just need to find one first!)

In lieu of gifts last Christmas, Kyle and I bought each other a Macbook Pro. I’m in love and not just because it’s so pretty. After using a PC my whole life, it’s just so much more intuitive and well…smarter. I still use a PC at work and my brain has gotten better about switching back and forth between the two.  We also have a printer/scanner/copier that now has a nice little home in the spot between the last Stolmen unit and the wall. Due to space limitations, we used to keep the printer in the basement so it’s great to finally have everything consolidated in one space. Even better, Kyle has set up everything wirelessly so the printer talks to the laptops and the laptops talk to the Airport Express which talks to the stereo system which talks to our iPhones. Our house is small enough that sometimes the microwave gets bitchy and interrupts, but we deal.

There is still a lot of accessorizing that needs to happen, but I’m totally thrilled with how it turned out and more importantly how the space feels. With the pleasant weather this weekend, I’ve had the roof window open and the soft north light makes the room feel bright and airy. Best of all, I no longer have the visual distractions that come with working at the dining room table or kitchen island.

The walls aren’t perfectly straight and plumb (this is the attic of 102-year-old house after all), so we intentionally created a gap between the edge of the wood and wall. Not only does it look good, but it also provides a space for cords to snake through.

I’m still debating if the sewing machine stays out or instead lives in its case under the desk. Let’s be real, I still haven’t used the thing yet.

Bonus perk of owning a Mac, one minimal white cord.

In the desk progress post, Ron and Nate left some smart comments about better ways to fasten the wood to steel angles (to deal with differential movement) and we listened. Kyle made the holes in the steel slightly larger and used the fender washers in conjunction with the screws.

In addition to a new desk light, there are still several things left to tackle. We have a large IKEA file cabinet that is too big to fit in the loft so I’ve been in the process of purging and organizing all of our paperwork (as seen above). We still had files labeled “architecture school” and “high school” (eek!) so there was plenty of room to edit things down. The plan is to buy a used metal 2-drawer file cabinet that goes under the desk on the window side. I’ve been scheming about finding something ugly but in good shape and spray painting it a fun color (I thought this type of thing would be easy to find on Craigslist or at Goodwill, but no luck so far). Kyle is not on board with this idea. Yet.  =)

It’s not done-done, but it’s a good start. As we continue to use the space, I’m sure we’ll get a better idea of what works and what doesn’t. I like the idea of keeping it simple and minimal, but I could also see something going on the gable wall behind the desk and maybe a twin-sized daybed/chaise on the wall opposite of the Stolmen units.

I’m super excited to have this little space to call my own (or at least share with Felix, who is smitten with the new set-up). It feels like a treehouse of sorts and an escape from the constant to-do list downstairs. Up here, I feel more organized, more creative and a renewed itch to tackle projects. A set of curtains for the nursery? A new blog design? Let’s see where this goes…

To see past posts on the studio loft, click here.

zerbebe update: it’s a…

We had our big 2nd trimester ultrasound today and were beyond excited to see a healthy GIRL!

Most of our family and friends were predicting a girl (as did a few old wives tales) and we couldn’t be happier. With three boys in the house already (Kyle, Bailey and Felix), it was high time we leveled the playing field a bit. It’s been a big day and although it’s all still sinking in, I find myself thinking about things down the road – like taking her to see the Nutcracker for the first time or going shopping together. My sister just had an adorable little girl a few weeks ago (the first grandchild in the family!) so it’s exciting to think of the cousins being BFF’s. Kyle is equally thrilled and has already committed to future tea parties with a guy friend who is having a little girl in May.

Now that we know the gender, it’s time to start thinking a bit more about the nursery. On our design page, you’ll notice a certain lack of information on the current floor plan. We intentionally left the flex room blank because it’s secretly always been designed as a nursery. It all started two years ago, when we were getting ready to gut most of our main floor. At the time, neither of us had baby on the brain, but we still wanted to make sure we wouldn’t be making any major mistakes with the size or shape of the space. So we did some research and put together a rough layout that has lived on hidden layers in our AutoCAD file ever since.

For those of you that might be new to the blog, here’s a glimpse of what the room in question looked like when we closed on the house about 5 1/2 years ago:

Before moving in, we tore up the dark green carpet, got rid of the green couch, then proceeded to paint the walls green. Huh. 

In the spring of 2010, we tore it all apart:

There was a subtle framed opening separating the 1910 living room from the 1910 dining room, but because we wanted to make it more of a separate space, we added a framed wall with a smaller opening. We thought about just adding a standard door, but thought it would look awkward and the larger sliding doors gave us more flexibility as our needs change.  

The space has served mainly as a TV room since then, but we did transform it into a temporary bedroom when we had our house appraised last year. (The wardrobe was purchased intentionally for its ultimate use in the nursery.)

But back to the floor plan – since that quick layout we drew up a couple of years ago, we’ve made a few tweaks since and the current plan for the room looks something like this (click to enlarge):

The obvious starting point was to put the crib under the small “piano window”. Even though we’re not slaves to symmetry, it seemed to be the right solution, both functionally and compositionally. Next, we decided to dedicate the east wall for storage. It will help serve as acoustical barrier from our bedroom on the other side of the wall and is the only solid wall in the room. Our plan in to use a single IKEA Pax wardrobe (39″ wide) in lieu of a built-in closet. With the different interior fittings available, we can easily reconfigure the inside to adapt with our little girl. Next to the wardrobe, we’d like to find a nice dresser than can double as a changing table (and then just be a dresser down the road). We’d love to find something used that just needs a little TLC, but no luck yet.  Above the dresser we’d like to have a floating shelf for extra display space.

Although we have doors on the current wardrobe set-up, we’ll be storing those away and using a curtain system. Unlike our bedroom where we have a curtains hung on a suspended cable system, this time we’ll be looking into a ceiling-mounted track to prevent any sagging and provide a safer set-up for little hands.

We also plan on keeping the West Elm chevron rug that is currently in the space. Next to the larger window on the west side of the room, Kyle is going to build his daughter a low bench with storage cubbies underneath. The bench could act as a window seat of sorts and the cubbies could eventually hold books and toys.

In the corner we’ll put some type of rocker or glider and a place to rest our feet. We also already installed a ceiling fan/light combo that will stay.

As far as colors, fabric and all of those other decisions – we’re still mulling things over and doing a ton of research. More posts to come over the next 5 months!

Oh, one more thing. If you haven’t already, you still have two more days to vote for chezerbey over at Apartment Therapy. Only the top six nominees move on to next week’s final voting so we NEED YOUR SUPPORT. It only takes a couple of minutes, but it means so much to our competitive little souls. And when I say “our”, I mean this little girl too:

Look at those two little feet kicking around. Seriously, at one point during our ultrasound she had a foot in her hand, practicing her best Chuck Norris moves. It’s obvious that even the littlest Zerbey means business when it comes to competitions.

And that’s my last shameless plug for this week. We are so grateful for the support we’ve already received, but we know that there are still some slackers out there.  (Yes, you.)

the holidays

Last year I got all philosophical about Christmas decorations and I’m feeling the same way this year. But despite my lack of motivation (and more truthfully, a lack of time), I pulled out the plastic bin labeled “Christmas” and did my best.

For some reason I don’t take holiday decorations too seriously and I think that’s a good thing.

As per tradition, we got a small tree from the open air market near our house. For the last several years we’ve tried to get a least one new ornament each holiday season. I like to think of it as creating a timeline of our lives together and it’s a practice that will help ensure a magnificently eclectic tree down the road. 

For this year’s ornament, we picked up the above (left) jewel from the gift shop at Taliesin.

My mom also sent me some of the overflow ornaments from my childhood. When my mom was pregnant with my sister in the early 80’s, she made a bunch of soft fabric ornaments and even though they look a bit dated, I love them. The ornament on the right is some of my early handiwork. (Do you remember those DIY kits with the cheap plywood ornaments and paint?)

Speaking of holiday decor challenges, last week we hosted Kyle’s office holiday party at our house. It was the first time since the major remodel that we had a formal dinner for ten!

During the design phase we strategized about ways to fit more people around the table for events such as these and I’m happy to report that it was a success! (Nevermind the mismatched chairs that clash with the red and green decor…at least we had 10 chairs!)

So how did we convert our regular table into a table for 10? Here’s a hint:

A few years ago (back when the living room was the dining room), we were hosting Thanksgiving at our place and needed more space at the table. So Kyle built this topper out of plywood and 2x’s that fit on top of a card table that we already owned. For this event, we simple rotated the wood table, added the extension leaf and then the card table. The LCW flipped to the other side of the living room which allowed the sectional to be pushed closer to the wall, giving just enough space for the larger table configuration.

Once you throw a tablecloth over the whole thing it’s hard to tell what’s going on. (By the way, the red tablecloth is a $20 piece of linen that I picked up from the fabric store.)

The next day, we simply put away the card table and topper, removed the extension leaf and rotated the table back to its original home. If we’ve learned one thing from living in a small home, it’s that flexibility is your friend.

Oh, and happiest of holidays to everyone!

eames shell chairs

After writing about our mustard yellow fiberglass shells, the quest for dowel bases officially began. Our preference was maple and zinc, but we knew that might be tough to find.

Or maybe not.

Our shells post generated a lot of positive feedback for reproduction company Modern Conscience. Kyle contacted the company and was pleasantly surprised to learn that 1) they’re located in Seattle and 2) they had 6 maple and zinc wide-mount bases. Let’s call that fate.

So early last week we headed down to their studio, a rad work/live loft in South Seattle.

The owners, Amanda and Brian (both trained as architects), were super nice and helpful.  Amanda was even able to tell us that, based on the plastics factory stamp on the bottom of the shells, our chairs were likely reproduced in the early 60’s.

The legs are maple and have a tung oil finish that will likely darken a bit with time. They also have plastic protectors at the foot of each leg, which seem to work well with our cork floors.

Fortunately, the offset bracket at the top means that the bases can be used for our wide-mount configuration (the shells originally had a stacking base). [Not sure what the difference is? This handy graphic explains it well.] This was good news for us since we really didn’t want to mess with removing and remounting the shocks (which seem to be in pretty good condition).

Felix volunteered to QC the job.

To attach the bases, Kyle simply installed a screw through a washer and lock washer, paying careful attention not to drive the screw too far (which could cause the shock to pop off). The lock washer compresses between the bracket and the regular washer as you drive the screw in, creating a nice solid connection. The bases definitely “settled” the first time we sat in them, so we’re keeping a screwdriver handy to adjust them if needed after a week or so of use.

But in general – LOVE. The maple, zinc and yellow work well together and with the rest of our home.  The smaller size and more delicate proportions are a much better solution for the space. If anything, the table feels a bit too blond now, but we’ve got our own plans for that.  =)

Like some people mentioned, the seat height is a bit lower than a standard chair, but they still work fine. For the future dining room table, we’ll probably make it a smidge shorter. Although the chairs don’t necessarily look comfortable, they really are. The dining table is also our impromptu office, so I’ve spent a good many hours in them already.

Bailey didn’t seem to have an opinion…

…but Felix did. Our old upholstered chairs were a favorite napping spot for the kitten so he’s not too thrilled with the replacements. Good thing we don’t base design decisions around cats. [Although as a consolation prize of sorts, he did finally discover the loft ladder.]

Although it looks more saturated in the photo above (left), the color is more of a muted yellow in real life.

In addition to our chair acquisition we’ve also been tweaking our furniture layout. Although we were loving our flex room redo, we eventually grew tired of the Aerobed and decided to move our older couch back up from the basement. On a whim, we then decided to move the coffee table into the flex room…

…and you know what? It works so much better in there! This whole time we’ve known that something wasn’t quite right about the living area but chalked it up to its modest size. (We’ve even been toying with the idea of doing a future bump-out addition for that space.) But with the coffee table gone, the space feels more inviting and functional. In the flex room (aka TV room), we finally have a place to set drinks and store our half-dozen remote controls…which means I no longer have to hold my glass of wine through an entire episode of Dexter. A win-win for me and our wool carpet. 

The other radical thing we did was shorten and rotate the table 90 degrees. We originally designed the space so the table could work in a number of configurations depending on the event or our mood. When we first brought it back into the room last year it was right before my big 30th birthday party, so we must have decided to add the leaf back in, which meant orienting it parallel to the long direction of the house.  Over a year later, it finally dawned on us that we certainly didn’t need the larger configuration on a day-to-day basis and by shortening and rotating it, we could free up a bit more space for the living area.

[Also, we need an orchid whisperer. After one watering mishap, all of the flowers fell off but the plant itself still looks healthy. I’ve just continued to water it, hoping it will remedy itself, but I’m growing weary of that strategy. Orchid experts, advice?]

Anyway, scooting the couch a bit closer to the kitchen also gives us more room for chairs at the other end, which we’ve found is critical when we have people over. Although it was important for us to get six chairs, we’re keeping two in the living area for the time being.  The jumble of audio equipment behind is also on the to-do list for this fall/winter. Last year we came up with this design for a media cabinet. While we’re still envisioning a long, low-slung piece, we’re tweaking the design to work with the revised furniture layout (and our growing record collection!).

There are still several things on our to-do list for this space, but the chairs are a giant step in the right direction. And, they make us happy.

 

[P.S. – thank you for all of your thoughtful and encouraging comments last week! You guys are the best.]