Saturday, January 10, 2015

Meanwhile, Back at the Shack

I'll bet you are wondering what I've been up to and why I have neglected the blog the way I have.  Been spending time elsewhere ... namely, the real, hard-core construction on The Shack has begun!

This is my Before picture.


We will eventually rework this entire building, doing so one wall at a time.  The object of our attention now is the north wall ... the wall that's getting huge new windows that will overlook the winery next door.

First step was to remove and save all the siding on this wall.

Whoever built this little building put the siding on totally wrong ... lining the courses up along a single stud instead of spacing the joints around.


My husband was the lead guy for siding removal, while I was in the basement workshop repairing/priming/painting the windows for this wall.


We had already done some reworking of the framing ahead of time, before we opened up the wall.


Next step was to finish the framing for the new windows.

New framing going in to support a picture window.


Test fitting a picture window, to get a feeling for how it will look once it's installed.


With framing finished, it was time to sheath the wall with 1/2-inch OSB.  This building never had sheathing originally, and it will be a lot sturdier now. 

Here I am, using a circular saw to cut out one of the window openings.


It's unusual to have pictures of me working.  I'm almost always the one behind the camera.


One opening cut ... one more to go.


My husband cut the second opening.


Two window openings cut ... more sheathing still to go.


Next, we propped one of the arched windows into place ... so we could add framing to hold it and to scribe the curve onto the sheathing.

You can sort of get an idea of what this wall will look like with the new windows.


I couldn't imagine how much longer it would have taken to do this if we were hammering nails instead of shooting them with a nailer.


Just a little bit more to go!


This is what this wall looks like right now:

Sheathing is finished, but no windows yet.


It's too cold for us to work outside right now, and things will stay this way till we get a warmer day.  This is the north side of the building, remember ... so there's no sunshine to help warm us up while we work.

The windows themselves are all finished and they're safely stored in my basement workshop.  (this is another post for later.)  I can't wait to get out there and install them!

11 comments:

  1. I admire you and your husband for doing the work on this huge project. You are right to do it one wall at a time, that is not so daunting. It will be gorgeous, and a view of a winery, wow.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Anxious to see more! Wish we had the energy and "know how" you two have.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Looking great Connie! Brrr.... stay warm! Hugs! deb

    ReplyDelete
  4. My goodness that building is quite a project. I am used to 'do-it-yourself'projects, my husband likes it too, but no I'm not a carpenter like you. Great to see you working with a circular saw, I should not dare to.
    Wish you lots of success, it will be beautiful with these arched windows.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Omigosh it's going to be so fabulous!! Can't wait to see the final look.

    xo

    ReplyDelete
  6. exciting times, it's going to be beautiful...and useful!

    ReplyDelete
  7. This post puts a huge smile on my face, and makes me want to not be afraid to learn to use the circular saw. My BIL just gave me a nailer and I look forward to using that, even though I've never used one before.

    You inspire me Connie.

    You and your dear husband are doing a fantastic job. I love reading about you working together and seeing photos of what you are doing. The pics make me love my husband more and appreciate all of the projects we did together around here.

    I hope you get some warm days soon so that you can continue working on this neat project.

    FlowerLady

    ReplyDelete
  8. You know, I do love A Room With A View, Connie. A room with a view of a winery, even better! Well done, both of you.

    ReplyDelete
  9. renovated 1945 garage at our guest cottage.

    last roof had been placed over old roof with sticks & leaves left on.

    cannot imagine the soul doing that.

    reading martha stewart's garden book, when it was new, realized there are zero pics of me working in my garden.

    garden & be well, xot

    ReplyDelete
  10. Looks like a job well done (NOW!)
    Wish I was there to lend a hand--how I love construction--
    Catherine

    ReplyDelete
  11. This is going to be NICE! You will love it.

    ReplyDelete

Thanks for stopping by and reading what I share. Comments are welcome and very much appreciated. Spam and trolls are not!

Related Posts with Thumbnails