Archive for July, 2006
All 13 windows are in place. I really like the Andersen windows — they all installed easily and appear to be well made. Even the window screens were a snap to put in. Unfortunately, Andersen patio doors are another story. I bought two patio doors for the house; they open onto the porches. I thought that Andersen’s sliding patio doors would come preassembled and go in easy. No such luck.
Andersen patio doors arrive in multiple boxes and many many parts. That’s okay; I’m a big boy and can put things together. What’s not okay is that the instructions are extremely poorly written and the illustrations stink. The parts don’t fit together well, and you have to drill a lot of the holes yourself. It really annoys me that these expensive units are so low quality. Read my full Andersen patio doors review.
On a happier note, some of the shingles are actually on the roof. Being tough guys, we were waiting for the hottest days of the year to put them up there. Ignore all the rigging on the scaffold; I have no idea what all that was about.
July 28th, 2006
We’re busily working our way around the house — finishing sheathing, nailing on tarpaper, installing windows, and putting on the top trim and drip edge. To do the front of the house (with the high gable end) we needed scaffolding stacked 5-high. Moving that around and building it up isn’t fun, but it’s the only way to move ahead.
Yesterday and today we stopped work at 1 pm due to the high temperatures. Hopefully this heat wave will pass soon, but if it doesn’t we’ll just continue to work in the cooler part of the day. Next week a sub-contractor will hang the siding while we shingle the roof.
I’ve got 5 Andersen double-hung windows on the front of the house. They were a little more finicky to install than the awning windows, but stilll not difficult considering their large size (they’re practically floor-to-ceiling windows).
It looks more like a house every day. Click to enlarge:
July 19th, 2006
We took last week off (even homebuilders enjoy a holiday now and then), but we’re hard at it this week. Sheathing is going onto walls and the bathroom roof, and tarpaper is covering everything. Yes, we’re still working on the roof and will be for a few more days.
Marshall’s not impressed with the durability or usefulness of Tyvek, and that stuff is more expensive than felt, so we’re going with the old standby — tarpaper. We’re also using stick-on ice-dam protection at the eaves, in the valley where the roof changes pitch over the porches, and where the bathroom roof meets the house. It’s incredibly sticky and we ruined the first strip by getting it all stuck together. The trick is to peel the backing off only one-half at a time … but no instructions come with the product to tell you that.
As we finish tarpapering a wall, we also install the windows. The first two windows (kitchen and bathroom) are in. I went with Andersen windows throughout the house — that’s the brand our local building supply carries and they have a good reputation. These first two units went in easily and seem to be well made.
The windows on the front of the house will be double-hungs, but everywhere else I chose awning windows. I like the idea that awning windows can be left open even when there’s rain. A problem with standard Andersen awning windows is that they don’t open very wide. I’ll be putting on their “extension pack” so the windows will open wider, but I wonder why Anderson doesn’t just make all their awnings open wider? Obviously it’s a concern with customers or they wouldn’t offer the optional extenders.
Notes about the photo: No, the house doesn’t tilt like that. The back-door will be under the bathroom window on the back of the house; the hole is just covered by tarpaper right now. Tarpaper is really ugly.
July 13th, 2006
