Since we’re nearing completion of our Old Lyme project, it seems appropriate to publish a construction update to highlight some of the recent accomplishments and put some text to the details of our work.

Exterior:

To start, in the past few months we’ve reached completion on the exterior facade.  This includes the build of the second and third dormer on the front of the house, completion of the front entry surround, finish trim, and finish installation of the clapboard and vertical siding.  The dormers were completed with the highest attention to detail, see our previous blog entry about achieving the historic dormer.  All of the exterior trim, including the dormers, was completed with Azek brand PVC trim board.  We particularly like the 5/4″ pre-made corner boards because of the seamless, clean look they provide.  All windows received Azek over sized “historic” windowsills and square casing.

With regards to the siding, we chose James Hardie “Hardieplank” clapboard siding.  A lot of their available pre-finished colors have a classic look to them.  If you also opt to have the factory applied color, James Hardie provides a 15 year warranty on the finish.  That warranty, combined with the fact that it’s a cement based product and guaranteed not to rot, made this a no contest choice.  In contrast, we used rough sawn, shiplap, 10″ vertical pine siding on the garage for a change in texture and look. As soon as the weather allows, this will get painted.

The front door surround was job built out of Azek with 12″ columns and a 6″ crown pediment.  When you’re up close to the house, you’ll really feel how the front entry detail grounds the house and pulls the entire front elevation together.

Interior:

The inside of the house is almost finished.  The existing house had red oak flooring, which we patched and continued through most of the new construction except for some tile, carpet, and brickwork. The front office floor was finished with 5″ Hickory for a little flair and the rear mudroom received a signature brick floor (still to be urethaned).

I like using “Lemieux” doors for interior doors.  They’re clean, classic, solid, wood, and heavy… and they come primed. We then used an “AB” casing and 7 1/4″ baseboards to really dress the rooms up.  In addition, the front entry, formal living room, and dining room received crown molding.

There are two walk-in food pantries to add to the plethora of storage in the pictured kitchen cabinet photos.

We’re still in the process of finishing the bookcase / built-in cabinets in the television room.  There’s actually three big highlights here.  We refurbished the original fireplace mantle and re-installed it right outside the television room and we also re-purposed the original window sash for glass cabinet doors (pictured below). 1800’s rough sawn framing, which we salvaged from a previous job, was milled, planed, and sanded to make the wood top for these built-ins (still to be finished).

The interior stair set may appear simple at first glance, but don’t be deceived. We build all our stairs ourselves and this one took a fair amount of work.  We widened the staircase from 36″ to 50″, moved the header back towards the front of the house for more headroom and space, installed newel posts, mitered and returned oak treads, railing that reaches a post at the second floor and returns back to the upper bathroom wall, and then finished it with three balusters per step.

Miscellaneous interior items worth noting are the installation of 1/2″ sound board at critical spots through the house.  This combined with the abundant amounts of new insulation make not only for a quiet home, but a highly energy efficient one.  We’ve hard wired the house for a built-in audio system, security, and cat-5 ethernet throughout. I strongly believe in a home with “structured media” these days.

Other items, like the master walk-in shower, master bed roof deck, finished built-ins, and the finished kitchen will all probably warrant another entry in a few weeks when we’re at 100% completion.

Until then… these pictures should give a sense of where the project has progessed to; and be sure to read previous entries to see it from the begininng.
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