We have stairs now to the studio and a roof! The contractor thought it wasn't a good idea for me to be climbing the ladder to get to the studio! I have to admit I prefer the stairs.











"Stairway to Heaven!"











You have now entered the inner sanctum!

East window looking out to our back yard.

North dormer window. There will be two skylights above this window.
If anyone in the Plymouth or Boston area is looking for a good architect and/or contractor I'd be happy to share their names. We can highly recommend them!

Day 20

The front gable went up today along with the North dormer wall. Wow! It's starting to look
AWESOME!


The neighbors are noticing! Something is different in the "hood"!

My first visit to my studio space. I'm waving from what will be my office. Yes I did climb the ladder to get there.

Day 19

No one answered the question from yesterday. What are LVL's? They are weight bearing beams that are made of laminated wood from many thin strips and are glued together by a pressurized treatment. They are extremely strong and heavy. It is a very tiring job lifting these into place. I think all the guys must have slept well last night.

Today's work produced the back gable in the studio and the walls for the entryway. The front gable is ready to go up. It looks like a barn raising when the walls go up. Everyone works together in order to stand the wall up. The gable walls are big!

View from the back yard.







View from the side yard.







I'm standing in the connector/entryway looking towards the back door and the back studio wall







I'm standing in my dye/utility room looking out to the front door.

It's beginning to take shape and look really big!!!!! Stay tuned!!

Day 18

OK, I have a quiz for you today. What are LVL's? Anyone know? That is what those "bare chested men" are doing in this picture. (The sun was very hot today!) Mike, if you are on the blog, I know that you know what LVL's are. I'll reveal the answer tomorrow so remember the picture.

We now have a ceiling in place for the garage and floor joists for the studio. We also have a subfloor for the entryway.


I can actually stand in what will be my dye/utility room. I can also figure out where my office will go and the rest of my weaving equipment.
This is looking inside the garage to the North wall.









This is looking from inside the garage to the openings for the stairs and the entry way. There will be 6 steps down to the garage and 8 steps up to the studio.
I hope you can use your imagination to get an idea of how this is all going to look.
Maybe tomorrow we will have a second floor.

Day 17

We have Walls!!!!!! Or at least the beginning of walls! The garage walls are up. The sun decided to shine and wow, can those guys work fast! It is so wonderful to see it all take shape.

OK, so you have a reprieve from pictures of my work. But, I'm told you don't have to wait too long for the weather to change in New England. Let's hope it stays nice long enough to get the framing and outside work done.

Day 14, 15, & 16

Not much has happened over the last three days. The dirt around the foundation has been smoothed out and the stone for the crawl space under the entryway has been put into place. There was threat of rain yesterday and today so the framing was not started. However, the wood is here! It's ready to go! The forecast for next week is not promising. Let's hope the weather people are wrong!

If the weather gets bad I may bore you with pictures of my lastest work!

Day 12 & 13

The foundation is approved! Yeah! We are good to go into phase two.

We no longer have piles of dirt sitting around. They came and back filled around the foundation wall. It should be finished tomorrow. The framing comes next. Unfortunately the weather gurus are calling for rain the end of this week which will delay things again. OK, all you rain chasers, do your thing!!

Day 11

Yesterday, Friday, was actually Day 11. I was getting ready to do an art show today, Saturday, and as usual had a million things to do to get ready including finishing some scarves. I did not have a chance to update the blog.

The foundation is done. Things are beginning to take shape. Now we wait for the town of Plymouth to inspect the work so far. By the middle of next week if the rains do not come again we should have some framing going up. Due to rain we are only 1 day behind in the construction schedule. Considering how much rain we had that is pretty good!

By the way, the show was OK. Today was the hottest day we have had so far. Not great weather for selling chenille scarves but I did start a great mailing list for this area! Many people were seriously interested in my work. I got my name out there and attracted some interest.

Day 10

We woke up to rain again this morning so I did not think any work would get done but the "form crew" arrived and then the cement truck. They poured the cement for the foundation walls. As I watched I realized what a coordinated dance this is. The chute must be aligned properly. The pouring and flow of the cement has its own coordination to the stop and start call of the head worker. The forms are filled and the cement is pushed down in order to eliminate air bubbles and make sure it reaches the bottom and then it is smoothed out. It takes a coordinated effort between cement driver and workers on the ground.

Day 9

No work was done today. However when I looked out the door this morning a beautiful butterfly flew across where the studio will be. Many of you know that the butterfly is a strong symbol for me. It is one of new life and great hope for the future. It is used in many cultures and especially important in the Christian religion. I was so pleased to see that butterfly enjoying it's flight over my work area. "It's a Good Thing!"

Jeff and I celebrate our 31st Wedding Anniversary today. Wow, I can't believe it's been that long. We celebrated by going into Boston and having lunch and then going to the Bromfield Art Gallery where Jeff's cousin is exhibiting her work. It was a Good Day!

Day 8

Anyone know what these wood crate looking things are? Here's a clue - the "forms guys" were back!

The truck that delivered the forms was interesting. The driver stood on the ground and used a remote to pick up the load of forms from the truck and lift them over the piles of dirt to the place where they would be used. All I could think of were the cars with remote controls that our boys used to play with. Play really does get us ready for the big jobs!

The forms are now in place for the cement truck to come back and pour the foundation wall. In case you are wondering the garage is on a lower level than the house. The entryway will have a split level stairway, down to the garage and up to the studio. The addition comes off of the house at an angle so it is crucial that the forms be placed correctly. Keep your fingers crossed that it all comes out in the right place!!

I've included a picture of the house showing where the addition will be for those of you who have not seen our home in Plymouth. The view from the street will be very different when the addition is done.

Day 7

It's a beautiful day! The rain has gone and the sun is shining. Thank you if you did the "Sun Dance" It worked!!!

Thank you everyone who has added comments. It's great to know that so many of you are following along in this journey. It's been fun keeping this journal. I'll try not to let it get boring.

Today the "form guys" came. I know that is not the technical construction name but I reserve the right to poetic license! They laid out the forms for the footers and smoothed out the cement as it came barreling down the chute. We have cement foundation forms now. Yeah! Needless to say I am not getting too much work done as I am so fascinated watching the progression of the construction. I'm sure this will wear off at some point. I mean, seriously, how many nails being hammered in can you watch!

Judy

Day 5 & 6

Day 5 brought more rain but not as much as Day 4. Day 4 we had 6 inches of rain and the beginnings of a moat! The rain delay continued into Day 5 (Thursday). To our amazement the excavator (the guy digging the maze) showed up this morning, Day 6, even though they were calling for more rain. The rain gods were good, however, as the rain held off until he was done digging the foundation! So we are only 2 days behind. They are calling for sun on Sunday and Monday. Everyone do the "Sun Dance"! I can't believe I am still wearing a sweatshirt and it is June 9. Does summer ever come to New England? It's cold enough to build a fire in the fireplace. I refuse to turn the heat on when it's June!!!

Day 4

The "Big Dig" has begun. Yesterday ended with more than half of the foundation hole being finished. Unfortunately the rest won't be finished today as it is raining or should I say pouring! So as they say in the baseball world, "we have a rain delay"! It has been raining "cats and dogs" since midnight. It looks like we have a swimming pool now in the yard. Pray that this wild New England weather will tame itself and bring sunnier days.

I've included some pictures from the end of yesterday - lots of dirt piled high! There goes the pristine lawn!

I've also included a picture taken today from inside the house looking through the rain drops on the window. Rain, rain, go away!

Judy

Here goes my attempt to do a blog! I thought this would be a good place to journal the construction of my studio addition. I will try to post pictures of the construction progress. Those of you who are interested can log in and follow the progress day by day with me.

Sunday, June 4 was my ceremonial ground breaking. What a coincidence that June 4th this year was Pentecost, a time of beginning in the early church with the arrival of the Holy Spirit. How appropriate!

As I broke ground I read a quote from Kahlil Gibran that a dear friend sent me. I include it here.

"When you work you are a flute through whose heart the whispering of the hours turns to music. To love life through labor is to be intimate with life's inmost secret. All work is empty save when there is love, for work is love made visible."

June 5th brought the arrival of the work crew. They arrived bright and early, I might add! The sun was shining and the first digs were made. This is really going to happen or we are going to have a really big hole in our yard with mounds of dirt around it! Wouldn't the neighbors love that!

Today, June 6, the backhoe is still digging the foundation hole. The piles of dirt get larger!