Progress on the Addition

The framing of the addition is well under way, but before the framing could start, Rob had to set a series of piers in place on the crawl space slab,

And the back screened porch area was back-filled with stone.

Once the prep work was done, the floor joists were carefully laid.

One of the trickiest parts of adding new living space to an old structure is ensuring that the floors will be completely level from the existing structure to the new structure.  If the new construction is done correctly, there will not be an obvious transition from the old to new (step down or step up).  This was really important to us, and as you can see the joists passed the "level" test with flying colors:

After that, the first floor of the addition went up quickly:

The beam above the back future screened porch was large and unweildy:

But careful measuring and planning ensured that it fitted directly into place..the first time!

 

Here's a few shots from inside looking out.

 

Here's a shot of the framed-in bay window opening in the kitchen, looking out over the water.

 

And the bay window that will be set in place on a future date:

 

All in all, great weather for December in Virginia, and that allowed for lots of progress.

Happy Holidays, Merry Christmas, or Happy Festivus-for-the-Restivus!

Despite the lack of blog posts, December has actually been a very productive month on the project.  The holiday spirit is also alive and well but, as is usually the case in December, time has simply been at a premium this month between the project, work, travel, and trying to prepare for holiday visits and vacation.  Although we won't win any holiday decorating contests, I have to share how Rob's holiday good cheer extended to the project - the lights on the temporary 2x4's holding up the porch roof made me smile:

Future posts will document our December progress, but we want to take a moment to wish everyone Happy Holidays and good health, peace, and much joy in the coming new year. Enjoy this time with your family and hold your loved ones close.