Sunday on 62nd Street

After a week's vacation in Hawaii (our first vacation in 7 years), we are back to working on the houses on 62nd Street.  We're feeling refreshed and reinvigorated, and the houses are definitely coming along.

At the Delaney House, the gravel for the slab was put in place while we were out of town.  The guys also stripped the walls in the bedrooms that need to be shear walls, and reframed the back wall of the house (which was completely rotted).  They also have beam up to hold the floor joists for when they cut them to start building the stairs from the second floor down to the first floor.

Afternoon in the Delaney House

Now that the house has a relatively level floor (even if just gravel) and the walls are attached to the upstairs, it feels like a house.  The raw spaces are becoming rooms, and having the windows framed shows what the light will be like inside.

The new Delaney Living Room

The satsuma plum tree that we moved over is also doing great, and has lots of new branches.  It seems quite content in its new setting, and should help give us some screening and some plums in the not too distant future.

The Plum Tree, surrounded by building materials

We spent today working on the front steps of the Cheney Cottage, fine tuning them so we are now ready to have the walkway poured, along with the two concrete steps at the street.  I also contacted Eric to ask him what's up with the driveway - we want to get that in as well, along with the walkway to the Delaney House.  Of course, the rains finally seem to have stopped, but we want to have the walkways in place so, when it does rain again, we don't have to deal with the mud.

Next weekend, the plumbing begins in earnest in the Cheney Cottage.  The scraping is almost done, so we've asked Tom Pedemonte to give us a quote for finishing all the woodwork.  We're also getting quotes for having the floors redone and for kitchen counters.  We have a stove and a refrigerator for the kitchen, but we're still looking for an 18" wide dishwasher.  And of course: plaster, heating system and lots and lots of painting.  We're not done, but we're getting there.