A little insulation goes a long way…
While the house gets set down on the new foundation and framing continues, we're already preparing to insulate and clad the home. One of the key objectives of Highland is to build a home that is significantly better insulated and [...]
Framing Starts
Now that the weather has moderated, our framing crew is going gangbusters. They started with the garage and then moved to the main house. Our steel beam provider stepped up to get accommodate our schedule – we’ve incorporated a lot [...]
Foundation – Finally!
Since Thanksgiving it has been a race to get the foundation in place before the worst of winter arrives. We got part-way there but then the early January cold snap settled in. Once the house was elevated on its cribbing [...]
A month of work – in 2 minutes!
The design team felt it would be educational – and fun! – to document the construction process in a variety of ways. Early in the demo process we placed two time-lapse cameras around the property and I’ll periodically post videos from each as interesting things happen. Images are 15 minutes apart. This video is about a months’ worth of daily activities, including house demo, lifting the house, and excavating the new basement and foundation. House lift occurs on 11/22 and watch carefully – the actual process takes just a second!
Construction starts – recycling demo waste
The first phase of the project – demo – is now complete and we’ve finished excavating for the new foundation. Footings are in and walls go up next week, weather permitting. In the meantime it’s a good time to summarize [...]
New Foundation: Lifting an Old House
In one of those occupational hazards of restoring an old house, we’ve discovered that the two 120-year old foundation walls we’d planned to retain are not structurally sound enough to keep, and so will have to be replaced [...]
Zoning Approval and Demo Begins!
Our next big milestone: Zoning Board of Appeals approval! Our special permit has been approved and we’re underway with serious demo. As part of Green Phoenix’s mission to be a good environmental steward, we’re working hard to [...]
Success! Historical Commission approval.
We have negotiated our first step of the renovation project: approval from the Historical Commission to renovate the house. The town justifiably is concerned about the loss of its historic architecture and character, so older homes need to go through [...]
