Under Construction

Done

2012-02-07T14:08:00.000-08:00

Finally we are done with our attic build out project. It only took three years (said with a wink and a smile). The only thing left from the initial project plan is to install air conditioning. Since it is February, we are not really thinking about that, but come July, I am sure we will wish we had. Hopefully we'll get that in before summer hits.

The last detail to be installed was the stairway railing for both front and back stairways. We are incredibly happy with them. They were done by MILK Design, one of the only places in Chicago that we could find who worked with a clean contemporary stair railing. We had a specific idea in mind, stainless steel rails, either something very clean and simple or something very cool and design-y. We found both options with MILK. We found that every person we encountered—from the beginning design consultation, the drawing stages, the office dealings, through to the final sanding and finishing details of the installation—was friendly and competent and easy to work with, even when we were nitpicking small details (they would always answer, "we're not doing our job unless you are 100% happy," and they really stand by this). We loved everything about this experience and would recommend them to anyone.

The other big installation was to put in the shower doors. We had waited on this as well, as these were "finish" items that were not really critical, things we wanted to wait on (both because we wanted to think about how we wanted them to be aesthetically, and to see where we were in regards to the budget). We used Bose Glass Solutions for these, and we are really happy with these results as well.

Other finishing details were really fun. We furnished the attic in the last year, mostly from IKEA, CB2 and Room & Board. We used the Container Store for closet help (our closets are really to small to hold our belongings, not tall enough even for Martin's shirts, but we managed something that is workable, even if it is not ideal. Again, a very good experience there, even when things needed to be re-worked and required a second installation (which they did free of charge, because the initial measurements did not maximize the space as well as they could have).

We did some shifting around of rooms in the downstairs portion of our apartment, so I include footage of all of those as well (former bedroom is now dining room, former dining room is now living room, former playroom/boys room is now office, former office is now Lego room). The space seems to flow so much better now. We are very happy with it. And really happy to be done with the "construction phase" of our lives. At least for now...

Rental Unit, Mostly Complete

2010-07-09T07:33:00.000-07:00

Well, we are still not finished with our attic construction project. Little details have been completed, and Martin has spent several weekends installing all the lighting fixtures himself, since our electrician is MIA. The painter did finally return, so it is looking so close to finished. I need to take some more photos and perhaps a walkthrough video, but we have been crazy busy these last few months, and I haven't managed to do it.

But we did manage to complete one project: the downstairs rental apartment. We have lovely new tenants who have been living there now since May. I realized I never posted the finished product here, so, in lieu of attic photos, here's a video walkthrough of the rental unit.

Rental Unit Rehab Video

2010-03-06T23:00:00.000-08:00

We are also rehabbing our downstairs rental unit, and I have meant to make a separate post with photos of that project, but since I haven't gotten my act together, I'm posting a video of that apartment and its current state of half-done. We were not originally planning to do this apartment at this point, but our tenants moved out in the midst of our construction, and the space really needed an update. Plus, our contractor was really eager to get the job, and he gave us a good deal on the additional work. It seemed like the perfect time to do it, while we already had a crew in the house (and did not think the space would be all that appealing to new tenants, given the amount of construction that would be happening overhead). So even though we have questioned our decision many times (what were we thinking?! we have run out of money for the upstairs, and we started another project?!), I think we will ultimately be happy we did it. And truly, the kitchen down there will be beautiful. I am already thinking we should have done a similar layout to our kitchen...but that's for another time.

Video Update 3.06.10

2010-03-06T22:25:00.000-08:00

Here's what it looks like as of March 6...still more to do, but ever closer to the finish line.

We've Got Color

2009-12-10T15:02:00.001-08:00

The front stairway is finished, and the bamboo floor is in. Now comes the paint. The colors are pretty hard to capture in pictures, but here's a peek at the first coat.

This is coming up the new staircase (now wrapped in bamboo) on the way to the attic.

Looking back down the staircase to see the orange.

When you come into the bedroom upstairs, there's another orange wall (the far exterior wall. It seems like a lot of orange when looking at it like this, but it doesn't seem like so much when you're in the space.

This view is standing in front of the orange wall and shooting the bedroom (see, now you can't see that other orange wall, hee hee). There are two dark gray walls here and a the rest is our "neutral" color, which I have finally conceded is not all that neutral. Everyone keeps laughing at me for calling it that. Roberto, our painter, says it's green. I think it looks pretty fabulous in combination with all the other colors. Martin is not quite sure about it, feeling that it is pretty green for being our "neutral" color. But I think as the rest of the colors come in (we had painted the Mojito color first), it is starting to come together and look really nice.

In the second bedroom, looking back through the whole attic (the hallway in between has the bathroom and laundry, then you can see the orange wall of the front bedroom).

And here you can see the other side of the bedroom (the sunroom is visible through the doorway, and we plan to paint that room the peacock blue).

Starting the Staircase

2009-11-18T06:48:00.000-08:00

It's meticulous work, this staircase building. The first day was entirely spent just measuring and figuring, lots of drawing on the wall, then erasing and drawing again. But Hector worked it out, and finally they started building. First, they built the platforms which would be the landings. And the next day, he did the first four steps.

The next day's work was an additional bit of steps.

From above, looking down the staircsase:

And then they added a few more stairs to get to the winding part of the stairway:

And finally, they made it all the way to the top:

From above:

From the upper landing:

Today, they are working on wrapping the bamboo around the plywood base, so it will be sturdy, safe, functional and...PRETTY!

New Water Main

2009-10-08T18:26:00.000-07:00

There's a big hole in front of our house.

The view from the basement of the future site of the new water meter.

Removing the Radiators

2009-10-03T18:15:00.000-07:00

They're big, they're heavy, they're awkward. Some of them had to be cut into pieces in order to be carried. But now, they're gone.

And we don't have any source for heat until the job is done...so let's hope for a warm October.

(HA! That's kind of a joke, because I'm back-dating this, it's now November, and it actually turned out to be one of the coldest Chicago Octobers on record. But truly, those were my thoughts when they took away our ugly but very warm radiators. I will kind of miss their steamy sounds.)

Three Days of Tile Work

2009-10-01T18:01:00.000-07:00

Day One: first wall tiled (well, almost).

Day Two: shower floor stones (and Dunkin Donuts bag).

We did decide to tile all four of the walls, using the large gray-black tiles on three of the walls and a small glass mosaic on the vanity wall. On the black walls, there are going to be four vertical stripes with the glass tiles (these are the same colors as the vanity wall, but a different size/layout), one tall one on each shower wall and two short ones on the short wall. We were a little unsure about these last two stripes, as we had originally wanted it to look a bit more asymmetrical, but I think when looking at all three striped walls together (and with the toilet and shower in place), it will look good.

Day Three: short wall with stripes.

Getting Ready for Tiling

2009-09-28T17:40:00.000-07:00

Shower floor.

Otto surveys the floor tile.

One Month Later

2009-09-27T17:24:00.000-07:00

These photos are from September 27, exactly one month after the last post.

The dry wall is in. Here's a tour, starting from the back staircase (already existing, but with added drywall, since it was formerly not insulated).

Halfway up.

The view of the back porch of the attic (which will be the boys' sunroom/playroom).

The view from the sunroom/playroom looking into the boys' room.

A bit closer, standing in the doorway of the boys' room.

Skylight.

Looking from the hallway into the master bedroom (on the right is a bit of the stairway).

Standing in the northwest corner of the master bedroom.

The dormer (and future home to the new staircase).

The beginnings of the shower.

8.27 (An Update)

2009-08-27T20:27:00.000-07:00

Well, it has been a busy summer, we've done a lot of traveling, and in between we have been home to see that our project is either making great leaps or is completely stalled. It seems to be always one or the other extreme. There have been delays for various reasons, and I lost a bit of enthusiasm when I would look at pictures from May to see that the basic structure is the same. But of course, there has been a LOT going on: the electric, the HVAC, the plumbing. We've passed all those inspections now (except that we need to add a new water line as well as increase our electric service, both of which will mean more time and money on the project, but both of which were pretty much expected).

So, here, without further delay, is an update, in video form, since I would not know where to start (or end) with photos. It's 8 minutes and 27 seconds in length, which seems pretty appropriate, given that it is August 27, and just to make it even more interesting, I will post this at 8:27, because who could resist that? (Wait, I see that it rounded it up to 8:28, and that messes up everything. Oh well, it just follows along with the project, so close, but just not quite exactly where you want it to be.)

Week Five

2009-05-23T19:54:00.000-07:00

This week, there was no one here on Monday through Wednesday, as they had planned to open up for the skylights and dormer, and the weather forecast included rain. Of course, it turned out to be a beautiful week. But the guys came in on Thursday and Friday and made up for lost time.

Skylight for boys' room.

Dormer framing.

Dormer from the inside (with lovely protective tarp).

Dormer from the outside.

Day Fourteen

2009-05-12T21:05:00.000-07:00

They removed the clapboard siding which was once the exterior house (before the porch was added). Martin was a bit disappointed to lose some of the "history" of the house, but I think having this nicely dry-walled will fit in much better to our new space.

Here's the pile of the old clapboard. Sigh.

This is the closet area of the boys' room. I am pretty sure they are going to have a great time crawling around in this space (it can be a cave or a tunnel or a secret hideaway or whatever wonderful thing they imagine it to be).

And here's some of the HVAC progress from today. This was actually incorrect, as we want the vents to be in the low walls, rather than in the ceiling (or in this case, where we are planning to put a skylight). Juan came by, and as usual, he put our minds to rest. "Not a problem. We'll make them lower." He agreed that it would look better aesthetically, even if he didn't think it would make much of a difference in the overall function of the heating and cooling efficiency.

Juan also suggested that we put a ceiling fan in each bedroom to help with the heating and cooling of the house. We agree this is a good idea. We are also considering getting some help figuring out our lighting design. I know the right light in a space can really make a difference, and it seems like a good idea to get expert advice on this matter.

Day Thirteen

2009-05-11T20:59:00.000-07:00

The HVAC guys came today, which meant there was also work going on in our apartment. They cut the vent holes in the ceiling, and there was construction dust everywhere, despite our best efforts to cover stuff up in the process.

And here's what it looked like from the attic.

Day Twelve

2009-05-09T20:56:00.000-07:00

This wasn't really a construction day, but Juan came by on Saturday to walk through the space with us and answer any questions. We all gathered in the back yard to look at our siding options in the daylight. We also talked through the space inside.

Day Eleven

2009-05-08T23:47:00.000-07:00

They cut the half-wall of the boys' room (it will make the sunroom feel more like it is part of their room).

Here it is from the other side.

Day Ten, Revisited

2009-05-07T23:59:00.000-07:00

In picture format.

Day Ten

2009-05-07T20:30:00.000-07:00

And now...we have rooms!

These guys do not dilly dally.

Day Nine

2009-05-06T23:04:00.000-07:00

We have walls. It is pretty exciting to see it taking more shape. They are working hard up there!

This photo is taken from the west, looking east. On the left (north) side, the new wall comes in about 3 1/2 feet from the outside wall (losing more space by they day, eeek!). This will be the final height of that wall. On the right (south) side is the very small new knee wall (which will be hidden by a closet wall anyway). The closet wall will end up being a similar height to the wall on the opposite side (something like 4 feet high).

Here is from the opposite side (east, looking west).

Just a couple of small details. Here is a can light from our downstairs kitchen, as seen from above.

And here they had to frame around an existing pipe.

Day Eight

2009-05-05T20:12:00.000-07:00

They got almost all the new rafters in (sistering them on the old ones). The space seems to be getting smaller every day, as we lose inches to the new floor and ceiling. But it's getting brighter also, with all the new lumber. Max was very excited to see how it is lightening up, and he ran around and said, "yeah, this is looking more and more like a playroom!"

Day Seven

2009-05-04T20:01:00.000-07:00

Here's how they have been getting all the lumber upstairs: they load from the street to our second floor porch. Then someone crawls through our office window onto our porch and hands the lumber up to the attic window. Here it is in progress.

The boys built themselves some chairs out of the leftover triangles.

Day Six

2009-05-02T19:56:00.000-07:00

Saturday. They waited around all week for the plumber, but finally, after 4 days of waiting, Juan decided we'd go ahead and start putting in some plywood on the floor, around the outside edges, and that the plumber can work around him. They also decided to blow the insulation in, so that they can go ahead and lay the floor and add that later).

Here's Hector, our foreman. He was working all alone on Saturday.

We checked out his handiwork after he had left. It's so much easier to get around in there with some flooring!

Day Five

2009-04-27T23:04:00.000-07:00

Today was a bit anticlimactic. We were so excited about the progress we ourselves had made over the weekend, having cleared out the front entrance of all the books, shoes, bags and miscellaneous stuff that filled it up. We were also excited to see what would happen after a whole weekend off, anxious to see more and more progress each day. When the workers came this morning, they immediately filled up our newly available space with plywood sheets. I had visions of a floor being put down in the attic in the next few days.

But by about 11, it was pretty quiet, and it turns out, the crew left, and Juan came down to say that they were going to have to get a plumber out here to check the lines before they can go further.

I know that's just how things go, but I sort of miss all the noise and activity of last week!

Anyway, here are today's (anticlimactic) photos.

Here's the hole in the entry way ceiling/attic floor, this time looking from the attic down (you can see all the plywood sheets stacked there).

Um...I didn't even see that split beam before.

The bookstore that is now our apartment:

Upstairs front porch, used as a loading zone/staging area:

Day Four

2009-04-24T23:18:00.000-07:00

There's a hole in the ceiling. And lots of debris coming down, which landed in our shoes and books and all the stuff still on the entry way. We spent the weekend clearing all that out, and now our apartment has four additional bookshelves, and is more crowded than ever. But it's actually pretty fun to have a redecoration in the process. We discovered lots of books we had completely forgotten we had, including a whole bunch of Martin's old comic books and graphic novels.

It might not look like too much of a difference from previous day's photos, but they are steadily making their way across the floor, sistering the old joists with new ones. I assume next week, they'll lay down the plywood sheets, and we'll be able to walk across our new floor with ease. To check out Day 4's progress, we laid down a path of boards which didn't feel completely safe to me, as we are all prone to sudden bursts of klutziness. I can definitely imagine one of us going right through the insulation and cracking through the ceiling below. But on the other hand, it was a great adventure for the kids. They were so excited to run right up there as soon as we got home.

Day Three

2009-04-23T23:03:00.000-07:00

And, I thought I should include a photo of our living room light/fan. When we got home yesterday, it was dangling from the ceiling, wires exposed. The boys noticed immediately and said, "What HAPPENED to our fan?!"

We are also noticing other things, such as a ladder blocking the stairway, where there are several holes cut in the ceilng and lots of bits of ceiling all over the stairway. Lest we sound like we are complaining, I want to state that we are excited to see all this progress! Juan (our contractor) said yesterday that they are already framing the new stair in the attic, and making plans for the dormer, all of which is terribly exciting news!

Day Two

2009-04-22T15:01:00.000-07:00

Looks like they sistered about a third of the joists today. And they did some work with the electric wires, which we noticed because when we came home from grocery shopping, our fan was off and wires were hanging from the ceiling. We were warned we our gas would be off, so I intentionally did not buy anything we would need to prepare on the stovetop, but when I came home, it was still working. We missed Hector, our foreman, and the crew, so we won't really know what they did until we see him bright and early again tomorrow morning. (This morning they arrived at 7:15!).

Day One

2009-04-21T22:59:00.000-07:00

Before

2009-04-20T10:35:00.000-07:00

A last tour of the space today before they rip out the floor tomorrow morning. Yay!

Ready for Action

2009-04-19T05:25:00.000-07:00

The boys sat on Papa's old work bench and talked about what the attic will be like when it's a huge playroom. This is how they always refer to it, although it will actually be two bedrooms, a bathroom and a laundry room. I do think they will be slightly disappointed when this very big space becomes a bit smaller (coming in several feet so that the edges will contain HVAC stuff on one side and storage on the other). And then it's divided into separate spaces because of the bathroom/laundry in the middle of it. But hey, it's going to add about 500 more square feet of living space to our house, where we now only have 900, so it will be a huge addition in that sense.

I can't wait until we start it!