Here are some pics of the foaming. Foam-tech came and went in 2 days. The whole feel of the house changed. It definitely got quieter and the fact that so much less air is being exchanged gave the house a noticeable stillness.

The perimeter of the ell got foamed after I put down a vapor barrier. There's still air infiltration through the fieldstones but it stays under the vapor barrier. In fact it rises up like a balloon when there's a lot of air pressure on the outside. In the summer I hope to dig around the outside of the ell and place some rigid insulation up against the foundation to help cut down on that.

The roof looks all soft and cushy here but it's actually hard and bumpy. I've got a lot of trimming work to do before I can add strapping to hang sheetrock. Part of my agreement with Foam-Tech was to do the trimming myself in order to help keep the cost down.

These are the ceiling joists in the ell. Bud pointed out that they were supported by very little and suggested doing something to strengthen them. He originally suggested running a beam underneath them and the plate that they're hanging on, but I really wanted to expose the big hand-hewn timber that's under the old clapboards and balked at covering the whole thing with a new beam. We came up with the solution of joist hangers nailed to the plate and lag screws drilled through the wall and into the upstairs framing members. That will hopefully keep the ell from separating from the main house for another 100 years. We'll see.

The kitchen peninsula wall took a couple of tries to get right. In the drawings I had to move the wall back and forth a few inches several times before settling on a spot for it. The room is going to serve as both a kitchen and dining room and to make both spaces work requires accounting for every inch.

The day Bud was to build the wall, I brought over the drawings and went over the exact placement with him. It was, however, a monday morning and somehow we got crossed up and he started building the wall 2 inches west of where it had to go. Luckily I caught the error before he got too far though he did have to move the bottom plate and the endpost which was reinforced under the floor. It all ended up in the right spot.

Squatters are a problem even here in the north country. This guy is keeping a critical eye on the project. He seems a little impatient. If he only knew how much I wish I could please him and have this project wrapped up.

© 2006 James Graham

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