We have a roof that actually keeps water out!

Thr first picture is of the roofing that will, one day, be under the deck.



The second picture is of the new roof, including a new skylight over the 4th floor bath!


Although the new roof is wonderful, the project is not without a few snags. The top 3 feet of brick on the wall with the windows (1st picture) is crumbling and will likely fall down if we push it! While we're still deciding between repairing or simply removing the 3 feet of loose brick (removing them would allow for better city views but may not be the desired action by the historic conservation board), we know we'll need to brick in those 2 windows for additional stability.

The irony of seeing the deck come together in the last post is the 3 inches of rainfall we had last night, only one day after the roof was peeled back to allow for the new roofline's construction. The first picture shows the water causing the massive bulge in the roof tarp. Reid and I arrived at the property after work yesterday to discover a waterfall running down the central staircase! It was a disaster! We quickly pulled out the green tarp pictured to catch the water streaming through the roof tarp.

The only thing that seemed like it could stop the water was to install the drain for the roof deck. Fortunately, we had already purchased the supplies, we just hadn't thought we'd have to install the drain in the dark & pouring rain.

Reid drilled a hole through the brick on the side of the building and then drilled a hole through the newly laid plywood. This allowed us to connect the PVC pipe to drain the roof deck to the outside.




Hopefully, the weather will clear soon and the sun will help to dry out the new mess. Although I'm certain the building took on more water than this before we purchased it, I'm a little bit concerned that we'll be replacing more rotten floorboards than originally anticipated.

The carpenters and roofers really got a lot of noticable work done today! The old roof was peeled back. The new roofline was built and it's really looking like a deck and like a place we could live in!!!!

The carpenter started today! We have the start of walls and a plywood floor for the roofers to roof over. Today was like a real construction project at 1700 Vine: the mason was fixing the brickwork, the roofers were working away and the carpenters were building walls!

This evening, Reid and I ran over to Vine Street to install four electrical boxes and wiring for future ceiling lights. We had to get it done before the roof is laid over the back room since it will be so much more difficult to access the area once the roof is completed. Thanks again Sam, for the anniversary gift of 50' of electrical wire! We used a lot of it today!

The roofer reinforced the roof beams in the front building. Some unknown number of years ago, there was a significant fire on the 3rd floor front of the building and the fire department had sawn through a large section of the roof. Over time, those weakened beams sunk and had to be pushed back up and sistered with new lumber.

As you can see, the roof has shingles and gutters! and is nearly completed on the back building.

The structural beams were rotten and failing under the old roof, so salvaged lumber from the demolition was used to reinforce and strengthen those beams.

We found the perfect-sized window for the dormer at Building Reuse Center on Gilbert Ave. The carpenter will install it next week! THen we'll be weather tight and ready for winter.

The roofers have really done an awesome job laying the framework for the roof on the back building. When they first climbed up on the roof, they noticed it was not as sturdy as it should be due to several rotted support beams. In order to maintain the historic character of the inside space, the roofers replaced all of the rotted beams with the salvaged wood we saved from the demolition. (they're awesome!)
They also rebuilt the original roofline that was ripped off during demolition.
Soon there will be a beautiful, new, gray shingle roof that will actually keep water out. Then the roofers can start on the front building.

Reid, my dad, and I started the construction of what will become the new roof - under the roofdeck. It's a complicated job, but after 2 carpenters cheesed out on us, we decided to move forward and attempt the job ourselves. Thank goodness my dad has so much experience as it's very important we get the pitch right to prevent puddling under the new deck.

And now for the Roof

This might be the most exciting thing we've done so far to 1700 Vine Street...
we're getting a roof!!!
A reputable roofer has returned our calls and given us an estimate for the work (we've found this kind of response to be a rarity). Hinson roofing will rebuild the historic cornice work across the Vine Street facade, replace the rubber membrane roof on the front building, and re-shingle the roof on the back building!
And he started replacing rotten roof beams the day after we hired him! Prompt, quality work!!! It's very exciting.

The New Marvin!

This week Reid and I fit the salvaged double hung, wood Marvin window into its new home in the 3rd floor bedroom. This window was originally intended for a building in New Orleans, but something happened - maybe it wasn't the right size or the building specs changed (who knows!) - and it ended up in the Convington Reuse Center.

Perfect timing since it rained the day after we put it in place.
We still have to secure it properly and insulate with spray foam, but it's keeping the water out for now!

Let there be light

Yesterday, Reid and I ripped the plywood off of the 6' x 4'6" skylight that is the most amazing feature of the property. This skylight is original to the construction of the house, a true old-fashioned way of daylighting a structure built prior to electricity. It's interesting that now, as society is shifting toward greener energy, the 1870's design of this skylight is exactly what we're looking for: a way to light a home without having to turn on the lights. Brilliant.

Unfortunately, the glass has been long since broken out of the frame and the frame itself it rotted. Having it open to the sun for 10 minutes yesterday was so exciting though. It gave us a glimpse of the grandness of the 2-story tall entry & hallway, lit by the skylight.

Demolition is complete!

The debris was cleared a couple of weeks ago. Now we have to install windows to keep the weather out of the new openings created by the demolition of the 3-story addition.

North Wall Elevation Blueprint

This is what the final product will look like. The vacant lot will eventually become home to a garage, greenspace and outdoor seating for the storefront. The structure we just tore down (yes, the rest of it came down today!) will be rebuilt to one-story high with a deck on top of it. We have a long way to go...

Two Floors Down, One To Go

Thanks so much for all of your help today! Together, we were able to fill 5 palettes of bricks and salvage all of the old wooden beams! The bricks will be used to re-face the new structures so that they remain historic in appearance.
Bringing the middle section of the property down to only one floor is especially exciting since the property is starting to look like what it will one day become. The final plans include a one-story tall structure connecting the front & back building. On top of this one-story structure will be a deck, which - from the inside - will connect to the kitchen.

DIY

As Reid and I were stacking bricks on palettes for hours this evening, I kept reminding myself of how much $$ we're saving by doing it ourselves...
We filled a second palette of bricks (approx 250 bricks on a palette) despite me having stepped on a rusty nail and splitting open the rear of my pants!

Thanks Eileen and Jonathon for helping us with the first skid on Sunday!

New Electrical Wires

Reid feels especially proud that the old electrical wires are gone! You can see in the first picture that the wires previously attached to the building through the storefront - not a very attractive option. Now, they attach to the side of the building and Reid removed the old connections to the storefront for a much cleaner look...

Sweet Deal

Since the demolition brought down the 3rd story of the addition, we had to turn an old doorway into a window. Reid bricked up the old doorway and recently found 2 brand new, double hung, Marvin windows at the Covington reuse store that will fit perfectly into both the existing window and the new window opening!!! And, at $100 each, we've just saved ourselves approx $1800 in windows.


I love a bargain and I love supporting my neighborhood building reuse stores!
We'll install the new windows after the demolition is complete.

The View from the New Window

The mason cut out a new window on the 4th floor of the building. The new window adds so much extra light and will really make the attic space feel like a bedroom when it's complete.

The new window cutout is on the right on the interior picture.

The building under construction in the far right picture was historically part of the Kauffman Brewery. It was built to house brewery workers in the late 1800s. In recent years, it has suffered from fires and was condemned and slated for demolition. Fortunately, community activists and city council collaborated to save the structure. It is definitely a large and important contribution to Vine Street's facade and history.

one floor down, two to go

Demolition has begun

We showed up at the site today to find that demolition has started and most of the top floor of the addition has been removed. Now we have to sort through the rubble, stack bricks on skids and find reusable lumber.

The mason has started work. As they were attempting to tuckpoint/rebuild a chimney on the back building, the whole thing fell down - along with about 8 feet of the north wall. As we expected, there is a lot of rebuilding to do. I'm so glad we've finally started the work.