House Addition: While You Were Out

We left for Europe in the midst of a major home addition/remodel.  This was not our original plan.  When we hired a contractor in January, we thought 7 months would be just enough time to finish this thing.  Permit hassles and the usual time delays brought us to a point where we were leaving home for 2 1/2 weeks without a secure back door, an incomplete roof, and we still had our old kitchen.  After the Solitude mtb race on July 10, Drew and I packed our bags and bikes, watered everything really well, and cleaned out the entire kitchen

so that we could catch a plane for Germany the next day. I was not sorry to say goodbye to the 1980s tile and Formica counter tops.

So while we were off traipsing around Europe, the guys were hard at work building us a home.  Here are some of the pictures Adam, our contractor took for us while we were away, and some I took upon our return.

Below is the start of work on the upper deck and the rafter tails and corbels to match the existing. 

Below is more detail of the roof line work.  This is looking up from the driveway at the existing dining room bay window and the new master bathroom up top.  The roof line we were so worried about looking way too tall and odd actually looks great. A nice fit with the rest of the house. That was one of our major concerns - to tie in well with the existing house.

Here is the back of the house sometime while we were gone.  All the windows are in, but no door yet.

And by the time we returned, the house wrap was going on and the columns on the back porch were built out.

Inside, they were working away too.  The fireplaces in the master bedroom, below, and in the main new room/office were installed, as was the mantel over the master fireplace.

Below is a close up of the mantel.  I found this at George's Architectural Salvage here in SLC.  It is a floor joist from the Oquirrh School, built in 1894 and located in downtown Salt Lake City.  A few years ago it underwent a major restoration and George salvaged some of the things that came out of it.  This floor joist was one piece of history that is now in our house!   It will give the room a rustic feel that will go well with the hickory floors we've chosen.

They built up the "plant shelf" in the master bedroom.  In the original architectural plans, there was a wall here where this half wall is now.  That would have given privacy from the room below, but also wasted space and blocked light from the windows.  Instead, we had them build a big wide shelf that we will use for display or plants or something.  We hope we don't regret taking out the wall and door.  Drew will just have to be quiet when he is downstairs cooking me breakfast.

Finally the doors came in so we were secure again.

Broom/coat closet on the left, laundry space in the middle, and the stairs going upstairs on the right.  The casement windows will be really nice for catching what little evening breezes we get in the summer.

This is the broom/coat closet and laundry space.

And the most exciting interior framing they did while we were gone was the arch between the dining room and living room, which mimic the arches between the foyer and living and living and dining rooms.

But in this picture you will also notice something is missing. That would be the kitchen! Gone. Completely gutted.  Now the fun living begins.