Slow but Steady

The view of the front is more complete.  The front edge of the roof is in place between the old roof on the left and the new porch roof on the right.  We had expected the roofers to have finished their work yesterday when this picture was taken.  But no.  Just before writing this, we got a text from our neighbor that old shingles are being removed.  So, hopefully, it will get done today. I am tired of finding water in the basement.

This is the new portico for the side entrance into my office.  It is using the same rough cut cedar as the front porch with similar trusses supporting it.  There will be simple brackets on the sides rather than columns. With a light beside the door, this will be a much more welcoming entrance when people come for spiritual direction in the evening.

In preparation for the roofers, the crew has been removing the fascia and trim boards on the edges It makes things look very raw.  They also began striping off the old vinyl siding. We are learning things about our house that we didn't know - things covered over by the siding.  I am taking pictures so we have a record for future reference. 

Work done in the inside is giving a better sense of how the layout is changing. Here you can see the half-wall that is the outer edge of the kitchen.  It will be 48" high so it can hide any clutter.  The sink will be in the center of that wall.  Standing there you can see the Chesapeake Bay and the entire living and dining room areas. 

This is how it looks from the opposite direction.  It surprised us how far the kitchen projects into the room.  On the plans it did not seem as big.  Yet, it does put the kitchen into the center of the house and all activity in the house.  While we are not doing the renovation just to sell the house, the layout will be very attractive to many buyers.

These are the live edge planks that have been planed, sanded and sealed with polyurethane to preserve the color of the cedar as much as possible.  The long plank in the middle will be on the top of the half-wall in front of the basement steps.  One of the other two will become the fireplace mantle.  We haven't made final decision about where to use the other one. One option is to do a shelf above the mantel, or somewhere else.  We will see what ideas we get.