Category: construction

New roof covering went on just before the recent snow storm. Substrate of tapped water resistant 3/4″ OSB covered in a synthetic overlay. I understand it was pretty hard work getting the 4×8′ sheets of OSB up to the roof as the lift couldn’t get close enough to the house so they had to be carried and those sheets aren’t light.

When it gets warmer we will have a layer of EDPM which is a synthetic rubber roofing membrane. The latex glue used with EDPM requires a minimum temperature of 50F/10C for a couple of days so it will be a few months before that happens. We will get the thickest membrane we can to help it last which is 60mil (1.5mm or 1/16″).

This new roof sheathing has stopped 90% of the leaks which is good news. The remaining 10% of leaks will be stopped when they fix up the sheathing in one last corner.

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… is all a kitchen table needs and who said romance was dead.

It’s still too cold to do much down the house, hence lack of posts. Last week it got down to -4F/-20C and there was a sheet of ice on our wooden floor! This week though is a lot warmer but the temperatures are still too low to epoxy or paint etc. so I try and do some work at home, plus it’s a lot nicer to work in our cosy apartment 🙂 At home I can fill all the dents and holes etc. with System Three epoxy as it looks like the door has had a couple of different style locks and taken a good lot of beating over the years with at least one good kicking and crowbar attack 🙁

Current project is to replace the old and broken mortise lock with a high quality mortise lock. There are plenty of options out there but we eventually went for a Baldwin mortise kit which comes with everything, the actual lock, strike plates, door knobs, etc. etc. Not cheap though.

My Stanley Sweetheart which my brother Ian brought me for Christmas was perfect for the job. The door already had a mortise in it, but the new lock required I widen it and extend it by a couple of inches. Next step is to rebate the side of the door so the lock plate is recessed, but I’ll use a router for that.

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Work has now started on the roof. It will still leak until it’s finished, but hopefully the weather will be good to us.

First part to get fixed was the section overhanging the rear balcony which was collapsing. The next part was to remove the old cupola, sorry, no time lapse but you can blame Matt for that 😉 They did however uncover some interesting details behind the many layers of cladding – three lovely arched windows. I’m not sure if they went all around but I think we will incorporate this type of detail in the new cupola windows. According to Matt and Thomas this detail was purely decorative, that is they didn’t open or provide any ventilation.

The old cupola was about 6′ square whilst the new one will be about 12′ x 16′ plus have a 10’x16′ deck outside. As you can see, in the winter time we are given views of the Rondout creek (where the ship is moored and incidentally I think it’s an old hospital ship) and about a 100′ behind that you have the Hudson Estuary (it becomes a river about 50 miles north).

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Over the Christmas period Thomas and Matt started work on the second floor*.

To the right there will be two bedrooms, front and back. The stairway up to the cupola which is currently between these two rooms will be removed and replaced by a wardrobe (see photo below). The main stair case will be extended to the new and enlarged cupola. The cupola should be large enough to have a sofa and maybe a few chairs, plus we will have a deck on the roof so it will be a great place to hangout in the summer, or the winter if we get a stove up there.

To the left will be office space and maybe another bedroom. Ahead will be the third bathroom. 

In case you’re wondering what all the upside down pyramids are doing on the roof, that’s our attempt to catch all the water coming through the roof. It’s a bit depressing seeing the house get so wet but the roof will be fixed over the next few months.

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* When I refer to the floors as ground, first, second etc., I am using the British usage.

In British English, the floor of a building which is level with the ground is called the ground floor. The floor above it is called the first floor, the floor above that is the second floor, and so on.

In American English, the floor which is level with the ground is called the first floor, the floor above it is the second floor, and so on.

See Storey Numbering for more info.

Now that we have “Ye Olde Work Permit”, work has started on the house and the first things that Thomas and Matt are doing is to replace some of the load bearing beams which had been hacked about badly. They are using Laminated Veneer Lumber (LVL) which is stronger than natural timber, in parts because it can exclude knots.

They first build a temporary frame to support the floor while they remove the old supports. They use bottle jacks to do the heavy lifting, that said the LVL must have been a struggle to get in place.

This new beams will help flatten the upper layer floors which are sagging quite a bit. There is only so much sag you can remove doing this, but hopefully it will be noticeable. You do see the ceiling rising as they jack up the beam which is pretty cool.

Earlier this week we had our building permit approved. Now Thomas and Matt can get started.

Pre-1945 when you received your building permit you would have to walk around the block ringing a bell announcing your building intentions. Seems like a pretty cool tradition, at least it would have been a good way to get to know your neighbours.

Talking of neighbours, I think Gill Street is pretty special, everyone is pretty close and very friendly. A lot of them were born on this street so have some good tales to tell and some were even born at Disaster Mansion.