Chapter 5: Breaking Through

This past 6 weeks has flown by, and we are quickly adjusting to the look and feel of an addition that is now fully joined with our old house. At the bottom of this post are video tours of all three floors and spoiler alert: it is looking GORGEOUS!

Before jumping into the video, I want to fill you in on all the happenings since March. Importantly, we have been away from the house at the request of our contractor. Immediately following the completion of rough-in inspections and insulation, crews got to work demolishing what was the exterior wall separating our existing house and the new addition, and drywall, mud, tape and painting started as well. With that activity, we lost access to the kitchen and our bedroom, so, needless to say, it was better that we've stayed away.

Even being away from the house, however, we've had plenty of activities to keep us connected to the project.

In early April, we had a scare when our cabinet maker called to tell us they wouldn't be able to build our cabinets until Spring....of 2022! I called not one, but six other cabinet makers to see if we could quickly secure a place in their queue. After drawing blanks finding someone else to build our cabinets, I went back for a heart-to-heart with our original cabinet maker. Somehow, he was able to find us a spot at the end of July. While this means a 3-month delay on cabinets, which impacts the overall schedule, we sure are glad it worked out.

In mid-April we replaced the hideous Japanese maple in our front yard. There's a story to be told, and dare I say removing this tree was one of the hardest decisions we've had to make so far.

When we bought our place back in 2013, the tree blocked the view of the front elevation almost entirely, and due to years of neglect had developed into a gnarly bush that was not only unsightly, but out of scale with the rest of the front yard. We tried to save it, we really did. Brian spent years pruning it back to roughly 30% of its size and working to coax it into the shape of a tree, rather than a bush. Unfortunately, we were not successful. The a-ha moment was when I was recently taking pictures of the new roof, and I realized that the porta-potty in my shots looked better than the tree! So, we cut it down. And, we burned the stump. We are not vindictive people, but we needed to be sure it was really dead.

Below left: Our house in 2013. If you can't see the big bush/tree, well, you might not be able to see ;)
Below right: Our house just about the moment I realized the tree would need to go.

I threw a couple renderings together with options for a new ornamental tree as well as a couple additional shade trees that could be added to continue the tree-lined composition of the street which stopped at our house. We decided on two American elm trees because they have amazing shape and foliage, and are native to the area. The species has seen a real resurgence and the new varieties supposedly fair much better against disease. We also ordered a flowering dogwood to replace the Japanese maple. Now we have a tree that will grow and flower in a way that accents the front yard, and we couldn't be happier.

Below: The house with our new tree (in the bag). It's just a little guy, but as it grows it will be beautiful!

In addition to tree planting and cabinet logistics, we've been receiving deliveries including our hardwood floors, ceramic tile, specialty lighting and the Electric Mirror for the 2nd floor bathroom. We've also coordinated additional excavation and stone work in anticipation of the wrap-around deck and veranda that will be built this summer. But more to come on that whole side project in an upcoming post....

And without further adieu, take a look at how things are coming along inside!

Before the existing 1st floor wall came down...