Team AngelaIt's Like Extreme Home Makeover: Angela Edition!

I almost made it to the second floor today. In one of the pictures you can see my head peeking up through the opening for the stairwell- it’s right at floor level. I didn’t get any farther, as it turned out to be harder than I thought…

I had asked one of the framers (all of them about 19 years old) if I could go upstairs. He spoke only a little English, so he nodded, positioned a 6’ step-ladder in the stair opening (there’s no staircase yet) and swung his hand in an upward motion, suggesting I go on up. I gestured at the ladder and offered to let him go first. He scampered to the top of the ladder (“Danger – Not a Step”) and then launched himself the last four feet or so using only his arms, like he was climbing out of a swimming pool, and landed on his feet. To this minute I don’t know how he did it, but I’m deeply envious.

I climbed to the top of the ladder, which is where you see me in the picture, and took stock of my situation. The framers and my buddy John Breen were watching me, which caused me to suffer a brief bout of testosterone poisoning and to consider trying to climb up…. Recovering, I said to the oldest of them, “Hey, can you take a few pictures for me?” and held out my camera. He looked very relieved, did a fine job, and I remained uninjured (except for my 50 year old ego).

The second floor is really neat. It will have sloped ceilings and knee walls, and the little nooks and crannies you get with a second floor tucked under rafters (which we did to save the cost of building a full second floor). The kids’ bedrooms will be up there, as well as a storage room since we have no basement. The goal is to get rid of so much junk when we move that the storage room is almost unused. We’ll see. Angela still has a book report that she and Carol did in the 7^th grade. I can’t say I’m optimistic.

Tech note: we’re going to insulate the entire roof by shooting foam, then cellulose, between the roof rafters. By using this technique we’ll get a first rate air seal between the second floor and the outdoors; it will be like putting a giant hat on the building. It will also dramatically reduce the heating and cooling loads (and costs) for the second floor. Another top-notch suggestion from Kohta at Building Science Corp.

Now that the sub floor is installed upstairs, you can get a sense of how the first floor will feel, since it effectively has a ceiling. I hung around for a long while, standing in the sun coming in through the window openings, and realized that Henry, Dean, John, Natalie, Kohta, Angela and I are creating something profoundly special; a home that blurs the line between inside and out, with spaces that flow into each other so naturally it’s like they were carved out over time by wind and water. It’s palpable, astonishing, and I can’t wait to live there with the people I love.

We’re out of the ground! John and his crew are zipping along, and have the first floor deck on, and the first floor walls framed. Walking around in the newly-framed space is like wandering around in ideas that have come to life. The spaces feel great, with windows in good spots, and the rooms just the right scale. I was almost speechless, which should give you some idea how well it’s turning out.

While I was imagining eating breakfast in the dining room/kitchen (I had imaginary waffles), Angela’s sister Alexandra, her husband Bobby, and their kids walked up the street for a visit. Then one of our neighbors Steve (terrific guy) stopped by with his little girls, and pretty soon we had kids running all through the house and yard, and the adults chatting away. It didn’t take any imagination to see how friendly a place it’s going to be- our decision to move feels better every day

Speaking of which, it’s getting to be time to put our house in Newton on the market, so if you know someone that might be interested, have them drop us a line at bauer.c at comcast.net. We’re at 642 Centre St., in a well-loved home within walking distance to just about everything.

Yikes, I’m late posting this! John Corsi our builder is moving faster than the speed of blog. Attached you’ll find pictures of the foundation, which they poured a coupla weeks ago right before that biting cold front came through and frosted anything that stood still.

The foundation is designed to cope with a water table that’s only 2.7 feet below the surface of the lot. That’s the reason we built it as a crawl space instead of as a full basement, which would have been like digging a well under the house, and then trying to keep it dry.

The design is interesting (if you’re into that kind of thing); it’s set on crushed stone with serious drainage at the perimeter, and along its outer walls John used a material called “dimple mat” which is like wrapping your foundation in bubble wrap. Doing so creates a moisture barrier, plus a layer of air against the foundation walls (between the dimples). If any water gets in there, it can just flow down to the drainage area at the base of the foundation and be drained away. The slab floor of the crawl space sits on 2” of rigid foam insulation, with a plastic vapor barrier above the foam. That will keep the slab warm and dry, improving indoor air quality- a #1 goal since Angela’s lungs are compromised. Later, we’ll shoot 2” of closed-cell foam against the interior of the foundation walls, keeping the entire crawlspace warm and dry- no mold allowed!

These unusual but eminently practical waterproofing and insulation systems were brought to us by Building Science Corp, an outfit that consults on energy-efficient and sustainable design. Our man Kohta Ueno over there has been very helpful, and John has implemented his out-of-the-mainstream ideas without batting an eye- though John’s subcontractors think I’m crazy (which I kinda am when it comes to houses).

One more thing: if you look closely you can see there’s a lip on the inside of some of the foundation walls- that allows us to seat the floor joists on them, which brings their tops flush to the top of the concrete.

So what’s important about having the tops of your floor joists flush with the top of the concrete? It means the finished flooring is only a couple of inches above that, so it’s only one step down to the earth when Angela wants to go out into the yard with the poodles. Better yet, we’ll bring the Team Angela patio right up to the same level as the finished floor at the dining room’s exterior door, which means no steps down to get to the patio! If she’s in her wheelchair, she’ll be able to roll right out and into the sun.

It was our architect Henry Arnaudo who suggested that “reverse brick shelf” foundation to lower those joists. In short, the people who are helping us with this project “get it” and the house will be safe, healthy, and easy for Angela to live in as a result. I can’t thank them enough.

As I write this John has already flown by, and he’s got the first floor decking on, the first floor walls are up, and if I don’t get over there to take some pictures the next blog post will show me painting the trim at the end of the job!