Project News

Customers often find the drywall phase the most uncomfortable phase of any project. Drywall is dusty, and it gets everywhere. In the case of our Mt. Airy kitchen, the clients were smart to avoid this process by scheduling a short trip out of town. The upside? This is also an exciting period in any project. Once customers can see the walls, they can begin to picture the finished project in “real space.”

Our next tasks are to get the in-floor heating installed and the new level floor poured. After that, we are into paint, trim, counters, tile, and cabinets: the shiny bits!

Be sure to visit our facebook page for regular updates and photos on this project.

Revisit previous updates on this project:

Step 1: Planning

Step 2: Demolition

Step 3: Insulation and Framing

Step 4: Prepping for Inspection

Step 5: Pre-Closing

This week is all about framing, wiring, plumbing, and HVAC rough-ins. These items must be 100% complete before our Mt. Airy kitchen‘s scheduled mid-week inspections. after which we will seal the walls with insulation and drywall. It’s always an exciting time to see the design plans taking shape, but as you can imagine, this is also a very time-sensitive period of the job. If even one sub or work phase is late, it can bump other sections of the job and potentially affect the completion date. Because we are the general contractor on this project, our own crew members are working hard to ensure they are ready for each subcontractor as their turn in the schedule comes up.

Note that the panoramic view of this photo adds a curve to the appearance of the ceiling frame. In reality, it is perfectly straight!

Be sure to visit our facebook page for regular updates and photos on this project.

Revisit previous updates on this project:

Step 1: Planning

Step 2: Demolition

Step 3: Insulation and Framing

Step 4: Prepping for Inspection

P.S. We were excited to see this blog series mentioned in Remodeling Magazine’s daily newsletter last week!

This panoramic photo shows the action going on behind the walls in our Mt. Airy kitchen renovation. You can see how well the crew cleaned up after the demolition, and you can also view some of the framing materials that have arrived.

Take note of the horizontal wooden straps found in some of the walls. That’s the wood lath behind the plaster on the other side of the kitchen walls we demolished. You can also see old wiring and pipes, as well as the backside of the 16″ exterior stone walls.

What you can’t see is that much of this house contains balloon framing. That means the wall stud bays are continuous from the top of the basement to the bottom of the roof. In the case of a potential fire, the fire would shoot up these stud bays quickly, which is very dangerous. Therefore, we will install wooden fire blocking and fire-stopping foam in these stud bays at the floor and ceiling levels. Then, the exterior walls, rim joists, and new stud bay fire blocking will all get spray-in foam insulation to reduce drafts and improve energy efficiency.

Our carpenter, Bob, also has to “fur” the ceiling framing and wall studs to ensure that they are level and flat for drywall and soffit installation — especially important in an old home, where sagging in floors and ceilings is common!

Be sure to visit our facebook page for regular updates and photos on this project.

As you can see, we are now well into the demolition phase of our project house in Mt. Airy. This is when all of the “old stuff” in the room is removed, and we get prepped for construction.

These images show the plastic and plywood barriers our crew has installed to help protect the rest of the house from the inevitable dust and debris that results from demolition. Because the house was built in the 1920s, the EPAs RRP/Lead Safe Remodeling Rules apply here, as they do to any house built before 1978. The plastic is 4 mm+, and we use plenty of duct tape to seal all around the doorway and the floor. All of the other doorways and A/C outlets in the kitchen will also be taped up and covered with plastic, as well. This is because all the plaster and the trim on the walls and ceiling are coming down today, and the many layers of flooring will be lifted to reveal the pine subflooring underneath. Some of those vinyl floor tiles and the floor glue can contain hazards like asbestos, so it’s important to err on the side of safety in this way.

The plywood box with black tape in the bottom image is a temporary “duct” our crew built for the A/C intake vent in the floor there. The temporary ducting is now taking in air from the clean living room and directing it into the home’s forced-air A/C system. Air contaminated with demolition dust containing lead will be scrubbed from the air inside the isolated kitchen by an air-scrubbing unit the demolition pros use. (We will show what one looks like in next week’s newsletter.)

When the team is finished removing all of the demolition debris, it will be bagged and then taped shut before being put into a dumpster and taken to an approved dumping site. We’ll then vacuum all of the demolished kitchen surfaces — including the floor, walls, and ceiling stud bays — to ensure the dust is completely removed.

The demolition will take 2 days to complete. During this time, our clients out of town are enjoying some peace and quiet.

Be sure to visit our facebook page for regular updates and photos on this project.

Our Mt. Airy kitchen remodel is in full swing this week. We began with an on-site review to discuss the existing space and the planned changes. We were able to discuss special circumstances of the project, and the crew had a chance to meet the customers for the first time. We reminded the customers about the spaces we need for work and staging, and we carefully explained how we will protect their house throughout this process.

We then put together a detailed spreadsheet schedule that begins with site set up, including protections to the floors and dust control, as well as disconnects for the radiators. We then move on to RRP-certified demolition, electrical demolition, and rough framing. Once the framing is up, the electrical, HVAC, and plumbing systems can be roughed in and inspected. Finally, we tackle insulation, drywall, flooring, and finishes. Walking the client through this schedule allows them to anticipate exactly what will happen as their project unfolds.

Be sure to visit our facebook page for regular updates and photos on this project.