Tuesday, January 30, 2018

Progress Update: Vintage Colonial

I can't get over how quickly this house is moving forward!!  So much has happened in the last couple of weeks, it seems like a good time to give an update.

When I walked outside the other night, this view stopped me in my tracks.  The light is on in the kitchen - and it lights up the dining room, foyer and the living room.  Before we removed the walls, that would have just been a skinny little glow through one window from the back of the house!

How did we get to this point?  Well, with demo complete, Waterhouse Builders got to work and put in all the structural beams, allowing us to take out the old walls.

And now that the walls are gone, wow, what a difference.  This house now feels so much bigger, more open and somehow 'friendlier'.  No more feeling isolated in the kitchen, because now you can see into each room and feel more connected.
Gutted Kitchen looking into Dining Room and Living Room (the french door leads to the office)
Dining Room - Before
The dining room feels so spacious now that we've opened it to the foyer and kitchen.  I can't wait until we're ready to outfit the kitchen with new cabinets and appliances!
Dining Room - Now

Foyer to Dining Room Before (curtain included!!)
Foyer to Dining Room Now 

Living Room Before
What a great floorplan for entertaining!  It will be the perfect party house J
Living Room After
And there were a lot of changes upstairs as well.  The master suite is taking shape - the two new closets have been framed up (I'm thinking about making a window seat in between them, although the radiator is a bit tall)
and the bathroom is getting changed to become the master bath, with a brand new doorway and we've started moving the fixtures.

The short wall that created a closet (that has a door to the attic) in the front bedroom was removed.  It's amazing how much more sunlight comes in the room with an additional window.  And we've added a real closet (still not sure how the doorway to the attic worked as a closet in the past - maybe just hooks on that board along the wall?).
And the new hall bathroom is getting framed up.  
Hard to tell - but this will be a new hall bath soon!

Next, we had to get the asbestos out of the basement.  And we had a lot of asbestos.

All of the steam pipes were covered with it it. the boiler chambers were full of it and the 9 inch square floor tiles were asbestos as well.  This is a huge project and I'm grateful to New Meadows Abatement for taking care of it.

Following EPA protocols (which includes giving them notice of the project, in case they want to come do an inspection), they vacuumed the entire space with a HEPA vacuum (goodbye spider webs!!!) and then sealed everything in plastic.
Gift wrapping the oil tank
They set up a negative air system with a HEPA filter, to make sure that the air gets 'scrubbed' and then exhausted outside, throughout the process.

Next, they set up a changing room and shower.  You see, they have to change into white, disposable suits while removing the asbestos.  They also wear masks that filter out any particulates.

When they come out of the basement, they have to shower (to ensure there isn't any asbestos on them or brought into the rest of the house) and then get dressed again.
A changing room and shower was built in front of the basement staircase

Once all the prep was done (which took an entire day), they started carefully removing the asbestos.
Signs and warning tape were posted around the project
When that was complete, they had an independent testing agency come in and do an air sampling test - to ensure there weren't any asbestos fibers lingering in the house.  And once those results were available and satisfactory,  we could finally re-enter the house.  It's so nice to have that project behind us!
Asbestos Free!!
Look at that shiny new boiler (and so tiny!!)
Of course, with no boiler, we've been keeping the house warm with a serious electric heater - not easy with the single digit temperatures we've had (not to mention the whirring noise coming from our electric meter).  Thankfully we had the chimney lined the day after they finished and then Dominic was able to  start setting up the new boiler.  Suddenly, we have nice, energy efficient heat throughout the whole house!  And it's so tiny compared to the old boiler - it's looks like a baby!

What's next?  Well the electrical needs to be finished and then the plumbing starts.  After rough-in inspections, we'll be ready for insulation.  And then we get WALLS!! Lots of exciting stuff around here!

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  1. Great progress shots! I'm surprised you're leaving the radiators after doing so much work to modernize the floorplan.

    1. I LOVE steam heat, so I never rip out the radiators unless I have to. We will custom build covers for them and they will look great!!

    2. It’s so nice to live in a home without forced-air heating, and unfortunately it’s been years since I’ve had the pleasure of such a luxury, but here’s another vote for radiator and baseboard and in-floor heating.

  2. This is so cool! I love boilers too. SO quiet. I don't know why people rip them out.

  3. did I see an oil tank as the heating fuel? what's your position on the challenges of oil fuel given increased regulation?

    1. We do have oil......and if I remember right, so do 85% of homes in Maine. Sometimes we can switch to gas, but that wasn't available here.

    2. That's an interesting statistic. In my part of the country it's pretty common for oil tanks to be buried (natural gas has been quite common since 1960s), so there's a high risk for soil contamination. Many are 20 - 30 years old, so insurance can be problematic.

    3. Underground tanks are very unusual here - maybe because the ground is frozen so much of the year!!!

  4. Beautiful progress!
    I looked back at previous posts and didn't see any mention of the garage. I guess you don't plan to expand it to two car?

    1. With the city required setbacks, there is no room to expand to a 2 car garage. But even 1 car is a nice plus!

  5. Amazing progress. I am glad to see the progress of the house.


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