Didn't
mean not to post any photos of the construction in September, but it appears I didn't. So here's a compressed record of the past month's progress on our two-car garage and The Nest (office/guest room).
Before the roofing material went on, the first color was applied with the spraying of the underside of the overhang. Blue, just like on The Roost. As you'll see, we planned to have the exterior of this new building closely match our existing house. So the trim is red and the doors will be yellow or blue.
All in one day the roof went on, a nice reddish composite shingle. Soren and Jeff admire it from our deck.
The siding is Hardipanel, which also sheathes the lower floor of our house. The eaves are shingled.
Our windows had been back-ordered, but eventually they arrived. Our contractor figured out a way to start siding before they were here.
Don't the shingles match nicely? Well, they should. We had one pallet of these lovely reddish cedar shingles left over from the construction of The Roost, and for six years now it's been taking up floor space in our tool shed. Finally the pallet is out of there! And there are just enough shingles left over to adorn a future playhouse for Soren (!). Our contractor has been saving bits of other construction materials for this project, too.
The driveway pour has yet to happen, but we are eagerly awaiting it, because we've been living with dust for so long. Our street has quite a slope to it, and our contractor determined that the driveway apron we were required to pour for the main house was also too sloped for him to work with. So eight feet of existing asphalt got torn up by this excavator, and the grade has been further leveled.
Then, alas, the same excavator (well, its operator, really) hit a water line. In this photo, the water is spraying high in the air because the excavator bucket is positioned in the shooting water stream.
I was in the bathroom at the time, as Soren had just pooped on the rug during a brief period of diaperlessness (ah, joy) and I was wetting a cloth for clean-up. Suddenly the water pressure dropped, and I knew just what had happened. Our water was only shut off for the afternoon while the pipe was repaired, and Soren napped most of that time, so it wasn't too much of an inconvenience.
The electrician and plumber have been busy in The Nest, and this photo (with my dad in the frame) was shot just before the insulation went in. Dad is leaning on the corner of the framed-in bathroom. The floor-to-ceiling black pipe to the left of him is where the kitchenette sink will go.
We're still waiting on drywall and that driveway pour. When they happen, you'll read about it here!
No, of course it's the other way around! As of this week, the concrete is poured and the garage door is up at The Nest. The interior walls also went from yellow (insulation) to white (drywall, taped and mudded, yet to be textured).
Soren missed the excitement of the cement truck because we were in Colorado, but I must say it was nice to return from that trip and find the driveway and pathways all finished. Above, a view of the dirt we've been dealing with for two months now.
Here's the tinted concrete being poured. We matched the color to the existing patio and the garage floor. That's Duke, our contractor, at right, supervising every move.
Viola! New pavement AND a garage door. The door turned out to be a color that matches the window frames, so for now we're not going to paint it.
A test opening by the guys who installed the door.
And here are two photos shot today. The top one shows all the new concrete, connecting our existing under-deck patio to the road. Soren already loves to run around and bounce balls on it. We will replace the fence and gate as soon as we're ready for another project!
