Alrighty, if you have been checking out our project - then it is worth noting that we aren't just adding on to our home, apparently that would have been too easy. Instead, we are remodeling much of the existing structure. Friendly reminder that the remodel portion of this project includes:
(1) Installing several new beams so that we can remove the walls that currently partition the main living space.
(2) Removing the staircase which is split with a landing and replacing it with a straight up staircase so that we can reclaim wasted landing space.
(3) Expanding the foot print of our smallest bedroom with some of the reclaimed space from the newly re-configured staircase.
Simple goals, somewhat more complex to implement. I am given to understand that building new is often times faster going than putzing around with an existing structure.
The crew has taken up the new beams portion first. Today is 5/4/2022 and as of now, they have installed one (of 4) beams. They have also been prepping the interior to install the other beams. This involves cutting out existing ceiling and bagging/ clearing out all the insulation that has been falling down -- it is messy work.
At any rate, the pictures aren't going to be pretty - but this is the reality of what a reno midway through looks like.
The picture below is the existing house living/ dining space. I am in the back corner looking toward the front of the house and you can see the ceiling channels that have been cut for the beams.
For this next picture, I turned and am facing the kitchen from the same corner. The crew put up some plastic to try to keep the insulation and dust from encroaching. Once the new beams are in this wall is toast and we will have space to install a kitchen island (woot!)
From the vantage of the picture below you can see where our old fireplace used to be and the built in cabinet that is just to the left of it. By tearing out the massive 2 story fireplace, we make the room wider, making it more proportionate. Also, you can't see it, but behind the blue styrofoam is the hallway to the bedroom and bathrooms. The foam is here so we can try to keep the heat in the area of the house that we are living in.
This picture is the view of the new addition from the existing house. Super glamorous, I know. Ha!
The below set of pictures is from 5/5/2022. The beams are in! As a part of our project, the engineering was included. Between our engineer and our contractor, they were able to figure a way to clear span everything. Big ups to them!
This photo is from the corner of the L wall that separated the kitchen and living room. We see in the lower left how there are 3 sistered LVL beams bracketed on either side of a beam running parallel with the front of the house. We also see to the right all of the old ceiling joists hangered to the new beam.
Here is the long view where you can pretty much picture how this flush mounted beam is going to allow us to knock down a bunch of walls.
The next picture is from the back corner of the house. The existing home has a low roof pitch, I think the 3 1/2 written on the wall might refer to the roof pitch. This picture illustrates that the team had to trim the LVL to fit under the existing roof. At one point, our designer had warned us that we might not be able to clear span because of a concern that the LVL beams would stick up above the roof, but our engineer said it was ok to trim the beams like this instead.
Thus concludes this post. In a future post, I should be able to share photos from when the crew knocks down the walls. After the walls come down, the crew will move on to building the new stair case and expanding the smallest bedroom.
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