Different perspectives

Even though I’ve posted photos of the house from many different angles in the past, most of them were take directly on our site or from across the street. With the weather being so nice today, I thought it might be nice to look at the house from a different perspective for a change – especially since the roofline is now almost complete and the overall shape of the house is already clearly discernible.

This photo has been taken from Beach Bluff Ave in Swampscott as you are driving East towards Atlantic Ave:

And here is another view taken from Atlantic Ave in Swampscott as you drive towards Marblehead:

Obviously the scaffolding around the 2nd floor impacts the actual shape of the house somewhat at this time, but the overall shape and roof line is nonetheless already very pretty in these photos.

Rooftop discussions

Today’s construction site meeting took place on the scaffolding at the roof level, where we looked at the recent progress on the main roof and also discussed how to integrated the small copper roof above the lounge on the 2nd floor into the main roof.

The framing of the cone above the tower has also begun already and is making great progress. Here you can see our architect, Thad Siemasko, observing the roof progress as well as the ocean views:

Last, but not least, the dormers on the main roof are getting constructed. These dormers are in the approximate size and position where the original dormers were – to the best of our knowledge – and are based on photographs from 1905 and later.

Being up on the roof level scaffolding and looking down on the ocean below is definitely nothing for the faint of heart. Especially on a windy day like today – as you can see by looking at the surf in the background:

Looks like a house

Now that the roof is taking shape, we’ve been getting several comments that it “looks like a house again”. And indeed, the roof has been missing since the early 60s so it is nice to see the original roof line back up, which gives the whole house much nicer proportions.

The next step will be the framing of the dormers on the main roof, and then – once the plywood is on the roof we’ll have a roofer put up an Ice&Water shield barrier.

Meanwhile excavation for the site walls and other landscaping work will also begin later this week.

Tower room

The round header for the tower room is completed and preparation for the cone-shaped roof framing is underway. Here are some photos of the work happening this week:

 

Up The Ladder To The Roof

We are finally done with all the 3rd floor work, where we encountered some difficulties due to the previous fire damage and some cracked joists, and had to get some extra-long LVLs to cover the span of the ceiling above the ballroom. This is the new roof framing on the main house that is being built this week:

Also, the roof framing of the carriage house is completed by now.

Presently you need to climb a few ladders to get up to the main roof. Coincidentally, “Up The Ladder To The Roof” is one of my favorite a-capella songs performed by the Nylons…

Carriage house roof

We are making great progress on the framing of the carriage house roof, as can be seen in this picture taken from the top of the main building.

We also put up some scaffolding around the upper floor of the main house and are almost done with the 3rd floor, so work on the main roof will begin later this week.

Carriage house

The new carriage house is finally taking shape. I previously wrote about the old carriage house and the pouring of the new foundation, but the walls only went up in the past week or so. On the ground floor the carriage house will have a 3 car garage and on the right side there will be a shed for gardening tools, as well as beach toys, kayaks, and stand-up paddle boards.

On the floor above the garage will be a guest suite with a bedroom, living room, and a small kitchen. This is the future bedroom of the guest suite:

The door to the right leads to a small private balcony over the shed.The steel support is for aluminum hurricane shutters mounted in front of the glass doors that face the ocean.