Progress

Things are humming at the Cheney Cottage, as the work on the house moves quickly along.

The connection of the second floor to the first is mostly done. Eric and his crew have opened the exterior walls around the building, and installed blocking and Simpson ties. Our inspection is on Tuesday, and we expect to pass and have the reconnection of the two floors approved. This should enable us to get the bond money released, which will then allow us to finish the restoration of the house.

Meanwhile, Tom and I are working on our projects. The most noticeable was the installation of the window over the stairs. All the windows in the Cheney Cottage remained in place during the last year, except for one - the large window over the stairs, that bridges between the first and second floor. The window is a key element of what is now the east facade of the building (it faced north when it was on College Avenue). For a year, the window and its frame has been sitting in the house, waiting to be reinstalled. As the two pieces of the house were lined up, the opening for the window was the most visible piece, showing how the house was coming together.

The opening for the window over the stairs

So now that the two floors are coming together, we reinstalled the window. It makes the house somewhat more weathertight (there are still lots of openings), but as one of the signature features of the house, it shows that the house is really coming back into its own.

The window reinstalled - note the siding removed for the new blocking

This weekend, we will mostly be doing clean up - taking trash to the dump, cleaning up inside. We've started replacing some of the trim on the second floor, and we might reinstall the stair railings. After the inspection on Tuesday, we will start replacing the siding and then the decorative trim. There is some final foundation work to do, and then the porches will be rebuilt. Then the outside of the house will be ready for paint, and the new roof will go on.