Final Details

The final trim piece is installed by Rick and Mike, closing off the last nesting spot for the irrritated birds. We started on the walls on November 17, and now some 120 days later, the walls are finished.


Dryer vents are removed from the window and built into the wall. There's nothing quite like a dryer vent through the window to mark one as hmmmm something less than fully cultured.


Bathroom dampers are finally reinstalled for the 1st floor bathroom.


In a moment of unplanned excitement, Mike lost control of his coffee, spilling it down the wall. Mike is house broken though as can be seen in the photo.

The Great Buttoning Up

Final soffit and trim work.

Here's the final final front of the house....prior to the entranceway rebuild and gutter install. It is very nearly miraculous in its rebirth.


New Pella sliding windows get installed in the basement.

A Little Rework

Since we started on the roof before the walls, there were many educated guesses taken as to where the wall surface would be when finally building the soffits. You win some and you lose some.
Here we are adjusting the length of the roof to balance the left and right side. I'd been looking at the bloody roof line for 2 months and never noticed anything, but seems the contractors in Synergy had, and swore a blood oath to fix it. Three hours later and we were only more perfect. I really should be more demanding.
You have no idea what this is I'm sure. There is an icicle there in the photo at the bottom that grew between the Tyvek and the foam. Somewhere on the wall water is leaking into the wall behind the foam. The only place for the leak is the window. The flashing above the window will have to be corrected.

UPDATE: OK, there may be another reason. This is coincidentally the exact location where the exterior water spigot was located before it was temporarily sealed up and the siding went on.

Nearly Champagne Ready

February 23: A stupid little roofing project
The team re-roofs the tiny back deck so the shingles match.

Boring, but its gotta get done.
The more interesting story was the 8 year old roof it replaced. That roof was installed by an octogenarian, Gino, and Angelo, 72, who do handy projects to get out of the house.
Why would I send 2 nice old guys on the roof? Well....they used to be full time roofers, but more importantly, better them than I.
The morning they were up there was a beautiful day, September 11th, 2001, but otherwise the worst that I had ever lived through. I stuck my head out the window and reported the news as it unfolded, the events, the theories, the horror, and finally the cloud of dust. These guys never came in to look, didn't seem particularly shocked, and never missed a nail. When they finished up there they popped in for a quick peak at the tube, and then headed home.
Building runways across the South Pacific while under fire seems to really toughen you up some.

February 25


February 27: Finishing the Front

March on Washington (actually February)

Rayburn House Office Building, Washington DC

The Subcommittee on Energy & Environment held a hearing titled:
“Energy Efficiency: Complementary Polices for Climate Legislation”
9:30 a.m. on Tuesday, February 24, 2009 with Chairman Ed Markey

Excerpted Testimony of Philip Guidice
Commissioner of Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources
"Let me give you some examples of what is happening in Massachusetts as a result of this activity. A homeowner named Alex Cheimets is in the final stages of a major renovation. This started – as these things often do – with a small water leak, and ended with a bold project that is expected to reduce his energy use by half or more, through thorough air sealing of the building envelope and adding four to six inches of foam insulation to the sides and roof of his house, as well as installing an air to air heat exchanger and monitoring equipment. His is a typical Massachusetts home – an eighty-year-old two-family house which leaked badly but now will be a model of what is possible."

For Philip's Guidice full testimony.

Everybody's Testimony

Or download the audio.