ETs Install the Final Window

With the catwalk in place, supported by a temporary post pending installation of a brace that will secure it from above, the framers were able to place the final upper window, and the door that will open on the upper deck.

That left the tall eastern window, the hardest to install because of its shape (the crew could all line up and raise the wider, shorter windows) and location in the middle of the wall.

Laura and I missed the installation, but Dave said it was . . . challenging.

"The ancient Egyptians built the pyramids," said the head framer, trying to rally the team. "We can install that window."

"I thought extraterrestrials built the pyramids," replied one of the crew.

Nervous laughter.

East window opening

East window installed

South wall

South wall from under the loft

Vestibule

North wall

Basement stairwell and single-story north wing

Jiangmei Wu, who is making a folded-paper chandelier for the dining room

Side door

Front door and vestibule

Red is a Neutral Color

"That's really red."

"Yes, yes it is. Bing Cherry Red, actually."
"Really red."
"As the legendary Aunt Alice Tear Mahaffey used to say, 'red is a neutral color.' She also used to say, 'you can never wear too much jewelry.' Think of the red window frames as the jewelry of the house. It's really quite modestly bejeweled."
"Re-e-e-e-d."

Kitchen windows

Catwalk

View from the loft

Rubber roof

O.G. Sam, Sam the electrician, and Dave consult the wiring plans.

Vestibule

Mulberry

In this same interlude it doth befall / That I, one Snout by name, present a wall.*

Happy 2015! We've spent so much time watching things get pulled apart that it's actually a little startling to remember that the goal here is to build something new!


And so, with great delight, we present a wall. Six, actually, that pretty clearly show the new shape of this structure. Give me your hands, if we be friends, and we'll walk around the house, shall we?

From the standard SW view. Those weird brackets sticking out from the side are where the very brave framers rest scaffolds to sit and stand on. This is why they are professionals and we are not: there's no way you'd see either of us up there.


What you see to the right is actually the new front of the house; the holes are for windows (not all of which are cut out yet).

From straight-on west. The dumpster, though so familiar that it now seems like part of our lot just like the trees or the driveway, is actually still temporary.

From the northwest. This one-story section is where the bedrooms are.

From the east. Those garage doors lead to the Basement of the Lambs (now reformed).

From the southeast: There will eventually be first- and second-floor porches where those big openings are.

Your friend,
Snout

* A Midsummer Night's Dream, V. 1. 1,998