9 a.m. Monday morning to talk and walk the week ahead.

Above, an army of 10 painters is sanding down the walls and trim, and taping more protective paper over the stairs and floors, preparing the interior of the house for final painting.




9 a.m. Monday morning to talk and walk the week ahead.
Above, an army of 10 painters is sanding down the walls and trim, and taping more protective paper over the stairs and floors, preparing the interior of the house for final painting.
Above, Peter installs the casing around a passage that does not get a door — at the passage from the entry hall into the dining room/library. Beyond, in the entry, Shane installs window trim and baseboard.
Above, the plumbers are back to correct the fittings behind the vanities — so that we don’t have to carve the vanities into pieces with power tools.
48 hours since Steven last visited Emerald Hill, the electricians, painters, cabinetmakers, tilers and carpenters are transforming the house.
Let’s catch up.
Above, the electricians are starting to install light switches. Here’s a bank of switches in the master suite. Can’t. Wait. To. Turn. On. Lights!
Not photographed …
“We have reached that point in this renovation where we are moving stuff in, instead of taking stuff out,” said Ron Dahlke, talking with Steven today about what comes next.
Deliveries today from BMC West include the first interior doors and the baseboard, casing and other trim materials that the carpenters will soon install.
Above, about half the interior doors have arrived, stacked in the kitchen.
Above … Ron Dahlke guides Kevin Rehberg through how to properly toenail studs. Apprentice Kevin is building a new section of wall where Aaron Pratt needs structure for the cabinets he will design, build and install — and for the electric and plumbing lines that will weave through the new lumber. At the back door, Cris works out the door trim he will nail into place — brickmold PVC that will never rot, trimmed into flat stock on the table saw, flipped to put the cut side up against the flashing, leaving the finished side exposed for paint.
Notes from the day:
Ron Dahlke took the day off. He missed “Multitasking Day.” Patrick Welsome from Ranserve stepped in to provide “adult supervision” and keep Steven operating within the lines.
Above … electricians, plumbers, cabinet makers at work.
Ron Dahlke, site supervisor, Ranserve, is wranglng five framers at Emerald Hill. Steven is staying out of the way.
Brett Grinkmeyer, architect, called to research a question asked by Ron. How do you want to finish the passages — one between the entry and library, one between the library and family room, and one between the entry and family room?
The options are: 1. Drywall, or, 2. Trim material over drywall.
This gets complicated at the first passage between the entry and library. That wall is home to the plumbing stack. Ron is going to frame it wider to give the plumber more room to connect pipes. This also requires reframing the ceiling above the library to create chases in which to run the pipes — chases that do not compromise the structural integrity of the house by slicing through lumber the way previous remodels have done damage to the house. See “this is wrong” posts. Ron has to frame around the stack. If he covers the framing with drywall, this narrows the passageway to 32 inches, down from 36.
Brett and Steve test a different idea — replicate the trim around the doors — replace the drywall on the interior surfaces of the passageway with 3/4-inch trim, run the drywall on the walls behind the trim up to that trim, then cover that joint by running 2×2 poplar up the walls at the joint between the drywall and the 3/4-inch trim.
Here’s the detail drawing from the plans:
The ensures consistent trimwork throughout the house. The wood used for the trim will be less prone to damage than exposed drywall in high-traffic passageways. Labor and material costs should be a wash, Steven hopes.
Brett will discuss with Ron.
That took 20 minutes … but it’s an important leap into the future. Framing may be underway, but planning for everything after must proceed without pause.