Work has begun inside, and not much looks different outside, yet we have some new photos of the house from the owner.
There is some house wrap missing on this side, so still some catching up to do before the cladding goes on. The finish will be stucco. Click through for a photo browser of the new pictures.
Its official, the roof is on, the windows are in, the interior work will now commence in earnest.
Seems like just yesterday we were trying to imagine what the house would look like when the roof was framed, and here is all shingled up, all those wall holes filled with windows, and looking all very housey.
Well we have some treats for you today, because if you follow the link below not only will you find the usual selection of further images of the progress of the construction, but also two wonderful videos that the owner has made of a short walk-thru of the house. Its still all just framing inside, but there is no better way to finally understand the collection of rooms and spaces shown on a floor plan than to take a little stroll through them. So click on dear reader..
The framing of the shell of the house is now done. There is a little bit more of partition framing going on inside, but soon the Electricians, Plumbers, and HVAC men will be on the job installing the guts of the house. Finish work to follow.
I'm very pleased with the how the house is coming out. The progress photos line up very nicely with the design sketches which is very gratifying. And best of all its shaping up to be one very cool house!
And after the link we have a photo browser with more pictures - enjoy!
As the rafters begin to go in you can start to get a sense of the massing of the house.
If you take a look at the project page at our web site you'll see more illustrations of how the house will finally appear. This may help you make sense out of what the rafters are doing here.
The second floor partitions, and the roof in as much as it is tied together with the partitions, have begun to be framed up. Very soon the overall massing of the house will take shape. Already you can start to get a sense of the second floor spaces.
So click through to see the most recent photos from the second floor.
If looking at the floor plans of this design will help you understand what you are looking at in the photos then follow this link over to the project page at our web site. Remember, this house design shares its MoTrad DNA with our house plan the XHouse3.
Not big news, but what this means is that since the second floor platform is in place you can now get a good sense of what the rooms on the ground floor feel like. Some new interior shots and a comparison to the design sketches.
So click through to see more of the main spaces from the ground floor shot from different angles. And I'm going to try to post a short video clip of the ground floor that the owner posted.
If you want to see more drawings of this design including floor plans to orient yourself to the photos then skip over to the project page at our web site. Remember, this house design shares its MoTrad DNA with our house plan the XHouse3.
Snow over the weekend, and more coming today, has not slowed the pace of framing at the MoTrad House. The main level of the second floor platform is on and decked, and I suppose we can expect the master bedroom level to follow shortly.
I expected this project to move along more slowly than usual as the owner is doing GC duty himself. But I've been wrong at the framer is moving at a good clip, and the excavation and foundation work was well coordinated and happened quickly as well.
More photos if you click through to read the rest.
A quick transition to framing, and the walls are now rising quickly.
The height of the walls here gives us a little clue about the relative ceiling heights. The rear portion of the house at the kitchen and living room enjoy an extra hight ceiling due to the master suite being a few steps up from the rest of the second floor. Stay tuned for more as the carpenters always seem to make short work of the framing. You'll find a photo-browser with more images after the link.
Everything that needs to happen below the ground floor is finishing up this week while we all enjoy the holidays. Posts and beams to support the existing ground floor, and what will come above are now in place, and they are preparing to waterproof the foundation so the earth can be backfilled.
There are a bunch of new photos of the nuts and bolts of this work in the extended post below. If such things interest you then by all means click on through.
Just thought you would want to know - foundations and basement walls racing along. Next the new beams and posts in the basement, new first floor deck at the addition. Then the fun really begins!
Things are moving right along with the MoTrad House project, that is if moving right along means leveling the existing house down to the ground floor, then yes, its moving right along in spades.
I know the idea here is to rebuild the house anew. And I know that this is what the owner wants, and I've actually helped him do that. Yup, but all the same there is something a undeniably disconcerting about seeing an existing house come down. Its like the 5 second rule when you drop a cookie on the floor. If you pick it right up - hey, that's still a good cookie. Right. Too late here. That cookie is gone.
Lots more pictures on the Flickr set. Demolition of the basement garage walls has happened, and prep for new foundations at the new bearing points is underway. You can see photos of that work as well as more of the demolition.
The first step is taking apart the old house, so the foundation can be expanded and the new house built on top of the new and old. The owner has been posting a non-stop stream of photos on their project blog, and we've loaded them in a photo browser for you here.
I don't often share projects from my local clients, unless they are modern or they have some connection to our Modern House Plans. In this case the project is a local build in Pennsylvania just outside Philadelphia. Its technically a renovation, but in truth is starting at the ground floor and rebuilding from there up, and adding to the back of the house. The new design shares a lot of DNA with the XHouse3 house plan, which is why we are going to watch the construction here.
Above and below is the existing house. A masonry one story houses, with a cape cod like proportion. One and a half story you would call it, as there are a couple of bedrooms under the rafters on the second floor. It has a companion detached garage to the rear, and its on a corner lot. Most of the house's neighbors are taller, with greater stature, so part of the brief was to give the house more presence. Owner also wanted the house to be compatible with the neighbors at the front, but modern in the back. Sounds like a job for a MoTrad Stealth house!
And this is what the house will be transformed into. In front the house respects the geometry of the existing historic homes, the Cape Cod roots of the house even more evident now. Yet the house and its dog-house shaped dormers will have a stark minimalism to their detailing.
In plan the house has much in common with the XHouse3, although the scale is slightly larger here. A centrally located stair takes you up to the bedroom level, and another short stair takes you up to the Master Bedroom level. Another couple of feet above the second floor, it affords the main living spaces a high ceiling.
The owner spent a lot of time getting to this point. Several other architects were engaged and ejected before we set to work on the design. He traveled to modern home tours in California and Atlanta all to collect ideas and take pictures of modern home inspirations. We worked through the schematic design, and advised as he applied his engineering background to preparing the construction drawings himself.
Here you see a section through the core of the house where an atrium extends up to the attic level above. This chimney ventilation will aid in venting warm air in the summer.
More images of the house design can be seen on our web site. The owner is self contracting, so we expect the pace to be slower than a full time gig, but follow along. It should be fun to watch this come together.
