week 17: exterior paint prep

Vitaly and his crew from Aspen Painting, LLC arrived Saturday morning to begin the exterior paint prep. First, they power washed the house, garage and back deck. Then they spot scraped, sanded and primed for six days. They also primed all the screens and storms and the railings. To beat the heat, they started at dawn and sometimes worked until the end of the day. Thanks Vitaly, Pablo, Pancho and Juan!

It was interesting to see the different colors the house had been painted over the years. There seems to be 10-12 layers. Among the colors were khaki, a couple of whites and yellows, mint, rose, peach and even black (on the sashes).




Peter and Alex of Custom Side, Inc. reviewed the exterior siding and trim work that was required before painting. Alex started replacing the old, broken, misaligned siding and siding with holes. He replaced to bottom course and flashed it where necessary. With the siding scraped, sanded, primed and caulked, the exterior painting will start next week.

Nick and his team from Diamond Drywall returned to sand and mud a second time. They are making sure to get a smooth, Level 5 finish on the drywall. The interior will be primed next week, and Vitaly’s paint crew will begin the interior painting.



ecohaus verified flooring types, layouts and measurements for the install in three weeks. Jeremy of Classic Sash & Door finished installing the exterior door and window casing. Peter of Classic Sash & Door assessed the work needed on the old double hung and casement windows. Next week he'll swing by to fix all the old windows.

Tim and Adam of Stereotypes also helped us order all the AV equipment. Thanks guys!

Tune in next time for exterior AND interior painting, weather permitting!

week 16: sheetrock

We really appreciate Nick and his team from Diamond Drywall working overtime in order to finish hanging the sheetrock. I can’t stress how much more real the spaces feel with the drywall up. Wow!

Nick and his team returned the next day to start the taping and mudding process. Each step needs to dry. They are taking the proper time and care to make sure the final finish is smooth.

Tune in next time for the exterior paint prep!

week 15: wine cellar prep

With all the exterior doors and windows installed, the security company wired all the doors and windows. Jeff did an excellent job in making our home secure.

Erik our contractor of Ostmo Construction installed the vapor barrier himself for the wine cellar. As he had to snake it in and out of the joists (all four walls and the ceiling), it was a pretty big task. Such personalized service!









The sheetrock arrived one morning, and installation began soon after (check back next week for all the excitement). Note to self: need to keep in mind the sizes of door and window openings, stair well configurations and hand and guardrail locations (and remove-ability) as well as the timing and scheduling of deliveries. With a little pre-planning, bringing in larger items like sheetrock, cabinetry, and ultimately furniture, can be made a little easier. The Knez delivery team were almost unable to get the 12’-0” drywall into the basement. Whew! I’m glad they were able to work some magic!

The stainless steel cabinets for the wet bar arrived as well. We cannot wait to see them fully installed and operational! For now, they are nicely shrink-wrapped and tucked to the side like Christmas presents.

Tune in next time for sheetrock installation!

weeks 13 & 14: pre-sheetrock inspection & insulation

This week the different trades were still gearing up for the presheet-rock inspection. Everything had to be done and in order so that the inspector would approve the project for insulation. He will also need to approve the insulation once it’s installed.

Minh and Ron of Anctil Heating and Cooling were here late to make sure all the ceiling and wall fans and dryer duct were properly vented. To economize space, we used one inline fan unit to vent both the bath and laundry and hid the exhaust under the deck. Usually, this type of fan is used in an attic, but it worked perfectly for our situation.

We also wanted to vent the AV Room to prevent heat build-up by the electronic equipment. Unfortunately, we could not determine where to place the exhaust because of the tight configuration. Originally we hoped to vent this fan through the utility chimney, but there was not enough space to fit another sleeve (the water heater vents here as well). Minh solved the problem by running the vent the opposite direction and exhausting the AV Room fan under the front porch. Thanks Minh. You rock!



Chad from Crestwood Inc. came by to fine-tune the cabinetry design. He looked at the style of the existing built-ins and determined what details would look nice for the new cabinetry. Chad had the shop drawings prepped the following week. We can’t wait for the real thing!

Daniel and Bob of Premier Plus Construction Inc. blocked out the bath and laundry sinks, the water turn offs and medicine cabinet, removed more dirt, cut out the old stray piping, framed in the kitchen drain and cleaned the entire job site. They had everything looking pretty tidy for the inspector. And a happy inspector is what we all want!




The pre-sheetrock inspection went smoothly. The inspector pointed out some missing fireblocking and a slightly drippy faucet, and had us secure some loose gas piping (so that it would not get damaged during construction). The plumbing and water service had already passed inspection, and were not a concern this round. The framing, electrical and HVAC easily passed as did the stairs, which had been a concern of mine from the beginning. Daniil of Anctil Plumbing took care of the faucet right away. Daniel and Bob of Premier Plus Construction Inc. installed the fireblocking. Erik our contractor of Ostmo Construction cleaned up the ceiling and foamed the holes in the ceiling joists. Now we were ready to insulate.

Phil and his team from Knez Insulation Company LLC insulated the basement in half a day. Besides insulating the exterior walls and wine cellar, we insulated the laundry, bath, furnace room and basement ceiling for sound. That way any noise from the main floor will not travel between floors or from the laundry and bathroom.




Aaron of Portland Metro Electric stopped by to make a couple of adjustments.

Dana, the finish craftsman from Guillory Construction, installed the exterior doors. Little did he know that he would also need to frame in one of the doors on the hottest day of the year. Thanks Dana!




The inspector came by and approved the insulation. Now we can rock! Sheetrock, that is.

Tune in next time for the wine cellar prep!

week 12: the windows are in!

The windows are in! Shiloh along with Jeremy, Derek and Brenden of Classic Sash and Door Company spent three days installing our new windows, screens and storms. What can I say? They look fabulous! Besides being more energy efficient and having a tighter seal than our drafty single panes, the Marvin wood windows allow less sound transmittal, making it much quieter inside. Ahhh, peace at last.

The other trades were busy making sure that everything was done and in order before sheetrocking takes place next week.

Nick of Premier Plus Construction Inc. redid some framing as we were concerned about the stair width not meeting code. He also framed in the ventilation fans and the shower.

Aaron of Portland Metro Electric put the final touches on the electrical.

Andy of Anctil Plumbing, Inc. tweaked the height of the shower drain and minimized the kitchen drain.

We executed the pre-sheetrock walk through to make sure all the mechanical, plumbing, electrical, low-voltage and security wiring were correct. It’s easier and less costly now to make any changes as the walls and ceiling are still unsheathed. Next week will be a different story.

Tune in next time for the pre-sheetrock inspection! The project will be flying from here on out.

weeks 9 - 11: framing, electrical & low-voltage

Progress had been a bit slow but steady the last three weeks as we waited for the windows to arrive.

Aaron of Portland Metro Electric continued to place all the outlets, lights and switches, and should have everything done by the end of week 12.

Aaron moved the electrical panel over a couple feet. Why just a couple feet you ask? Well, when the panel was first upgraded by the previous homeowner, the mast was placed on the other side of some existing upper cabinets in the basement. In order to preserve those cabinets, the homeowner decided to turn the mast 90 degrees and run it two feet more along the exterior of the house. He then threaded the mast into the house right above a basement window. He boarded up the window on the inside and the placed the panel right on top of it. As we removed the upper cabinets that were in conflict, we decided to move the panel where it was intended to go—on the wall—and regain the window. Aaron also installed a new grounding rod.

Aaron replaced all the knob and tube. We had been on the fence for a long time about removing it. Although deemed "safe" by several electricians, this would be the only opportunity to replace it as the access would be sealed up when the basement project was complete. And even though the wiring had lasted almost a hundred years (and a couple of remodels), it was not certain that it would survive one hundred more. By replacing the knob and tube, we now have peace of mind. Thanks Aaron!

After interviewing several low-voltage companies, it was clear that Integrated Technologies was a great match for us. Seth worked with us to design an AV and communications system that suited our every need. Although were initially only interested in outfitting the TV with a 5.1 speaker system, Seth had a vision that the entire home could be "smartly" wired; the phone, internet, cable and AV equipment could all be wired from a centralized location and would act as a command post or "brain." Each service enters the house, goes to the homerun panel, then is distributed to the different areas in the home. If ever a changes needs to be made, it can occur at the homerun panel. In a couple days, Seth and Matt installed the homerun panel, the low-voltage items for the basement and also rewired the existing low-voltage receptacles on the main floor. We are very happy that we will have music in the kitchen and living room upstairs. Wow, you guys rock!

We took out some of the previous and extraneous low-voltage wiring ourselves and made another donation of windows to the Rebuilding Center. We love that place!

We also had the home security company come by and reassess our needs for the basement. Jeff and Doug installed new sensors and updated and rewired the old system. They did a great job. Thanks guys!

Marc and Dawn of ecohaus, Yuri the tile setter of Art Touch Construction, and Chad the cabinet maker of Crestwood Inc. also stopped by for their respective initial walkthroughs of the project.

In anticipation of the arrival of the new windows, Daniel and Nick of Premier Plus Construction Inc. removed the old sashes, trim and concrete. They framed out the windows, upper stairwell and a last bit of wall. They soffited some piping and vents, placed siding on the new foundation and even removed all the excavated dirt from the site.

Last, but certainly not least, our friend who helped us salvage the fir v-groove boards, completed his remodel project using our wood. He remilled the material into corbels, rails, stiles and trim for the plate rail and wainscot in his dining room. He even fashioned a sassy bench for the mudroom out of a crawl space door. Norm Abram, eat your heart out!

Tune in next time for the installation of the new windows!