March 1st, 2009
Welcome to our new home on the vast internet. We are physically located in Plainfield, Vermont. Please enjoy looking over our projects below. For more information about who we are and what we do navigate this website by clicking on the links below.
We design, build, and renovate throughout central Vermont – staying close to home for most projects and traveling a bit for others. We’ll be building our site as our work grows – so please check back and be sure to contact us to start planning for your green construction, renovation, or timber frame project. Check out the categories to the right for more information on our work – and we’ll be updating the posts below with snapshots and information from our most recent adventures in green building.
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July 25th, 2010
The past week has been spent on small jobs while getting ready to start the next major project next week. We put in a well insulated and air-sealed entry door in a stairwell to replace a cold and drafty old hollow core door. The door trim is obviously in progress. Also wanted to throw in a photo of this great little heater unit made by a company called Envi that we installed in a small (6×7) mudroom. It has a built in thermostat and works as a convection unit, drawing cool air from below and sending it up to create a circular air flow and maintain a consistent room temperature.
small heat, small space, small budget...a good match
therma-tru replacement door
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July 11th, 2010
This addition was on a pre-civil war cape. The inspector dated it by the rafters, which were 4×4 timber that was sawn on a vertical blade mill instead of a circular saw mill. The old rafters were 3′ on center. Andy reclaimed the rafters to make a bunk bed for his kid. We framed the new roof up with a structural ridge. The eave wall rests on the old 8×8 timber plate. The original bedroom had a small footprint and was built in a kneewall space so it had very tight headroom which required the owners to get out of bed at the end. In addition they had a 5′ tall closet that was about 2 feet square. Now they have an additional 80 square feet with 6 feet of headroom. The two new closets are 82″ tall, 24″ deep and 44″ wide.
exterior of dormer addition after
interior of bedroom before addition
interior of bedroom after addition...a little messy at move in time. two pictures put together for this image.
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May 8th, 2010
This 600 ft2 house was originally built as a camp and then added onto. Major demo work, moving and removing walls, removing carpet, repairing subfloor.Old chimney was torn out. New plumbing. Upgraded insulation in walls and air sealing on many walls. Added a bath fan for ventilation/moisture. Blocking up doors and windows. Laid a solid wood floor and tile for the bath floor and shower surround. Still waiting on counters.
looking in from front door before
looking in from front door after
bedroom before
bedroom after
kitchen/bath area before
kitchen area after...waiting on countertops. bath is through door to right of fridge
bath area after
compact laundry and shower
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March 18th, 2010
We have been working on several projects through the winter. Pictures coming soon. First…
It seemed like it was never going to snow and then…tire chains are required to pull the trailer out! For the homeowner in the winter it may be “some hiking required”. Have been working on framing, capping and finishing a walk-out basement on an existing foundation. It was originally to be a whole house but the bank said no to the borrower. Luckily she was able to get financing through a special program for low-income borrowers. She will do much of the finish work. Radiant heat in the slab and a beautiful view of the hills through five 25×74 fixed glass low-E units should create a cozy home. They did. The owner is in and enjoying the view.
Currently two jobs are nearing completion. One is a small mudroom/bathroom addition inside the garage. The other is a reconfiguration of a 600 ft2 mother in-law cottage. More details and pictures soon.
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January 3rd, 2010
The second floor of this house was torn down to framing and reinsulated with closed cell spray foam. New LED light fixtures and some new wiring. Local spruce boards on the slopes and ceiling. Built-in shelving.
in progress
bed and built-ins
slope with local shiplap spruce
slope/skylight
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January 2nd, 2010
It seemed like it was never going to snow and then…tire chains are required to pull the trailer out! For the homeowner in the winter it may be “some hiking required”. Have been working on framing, capping and finishing a walk-out basement on an existing foundation. It was originally to be a whole house but the bank said no to the borrower. Luckily she was able to get financing through a special program for low-income borrowers. She will do much of the finish work. Radiant heat in the slab and a beautiful view of the hills through five 25×74 fixed glass low-E units should create a cozy home.
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October 13th, 2009
This past month has been spent in the midst of replacement windows and some renovation work on an apartment in Waterbury. Nothing that is really visually exciting enough to be photo worthy. The lack of aesthetic excitement has turned the mind toward some of the basic issues behind the work.
When refinishing a floor it was clear that our sanding was to be the last one in the life of this 100 year old floor. SO…how best to preserve this floor? What is the greenest option? I am generally a fan of the Vermont Coatings floor finish but personally do not believe that it is anywhere near as durable as an oil based poly. So the choice was made to go with the oil knowing that when this floor needs help again it will have to be torn up. That way the wood will have a much longer useful life and that seems more important than saving the VOC and petroleum action from occuring in this case.
In the same apartment there was a tub surround that had failed due to tile on drywall accompanied by failing caulk. The question in this case was should we re-tile or replace the old set up with an acrylic unit. About the same cost either way. We decided to go for rebuilding the wall and insulating it properly followed by tile with epoxy grout. That way we eliminated the dumping of the old tub and the use of a lot of extra plastic.
These are the kinds of things that go on in the background of every job.
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August 5th, 2009
Second floor of an old house converted into an office building in Montpelier. Dividing space, designing and building new access, reinsulating and general renovation. After demolition it turned out that the old rafters were grossly undersized and had about 6-8″ of deflection in them. Mike Beganyi helped with drawings and ideas for shoring up the structure. We have built all of the interior partitions and completed the stairwell. All of the interior walls are soundproofed. The space has been reinsulated to modern standards with dense pack cellulose. Windows were replaced with new Marvins.
hallway access after demo
hallway after renovation
hallway after renovation
sketch for reinforcing roof system
photo of roof truss to bulk up old roof
model of new office space walls
psychiatrist office
massage space
old painted floor before refinishing
newly sanded and refinished 130 year old spruce floor
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July 15th, 2009
This project was begun in the summer of 2008. We chose to keep the old roof intact. The old porch was falling down due to heaving piers, wasp infestation and general deterioration. We salvaged the old pressure treated lumber and some of the other lumber and cedar siding for use elsewhere on the property. The ceiling is insulated with the idea that one day the porch may be fully enclosed. Originally we were going to do the timber frame with reclaimed spruce but that option fell through in November. The frame is now eastern tamarack which was milled about 30 miles from the site. The frame has been treated with UV blocking oil and and oil/wax finish. The tile is 18″ slate. The railings are fir reclaimed from a old granite shed and re-sawn by the neighbor across the road. All that is left now is to put up the screen door and screens.
front view tile stairs
front view of porch
view from inside porch
demolition
timber
porch design
scarf joint being fitted
post and brace joinery
hand raising with come-alongs
wedged scarf joint
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June 16th, 2009
These stairs were constructed using two 9 quarter by 20 inch live edge white pine stringers. The white pine was milled up in central Vermont. Stained with a warm golden stain. Treads and risers were slotted into routed grooves. To be trimmed with hickory treads sometime in the future for final finish.
live edge stringers
channels routed in for tread/riser
treads and risers tapped into place
stairs installed
stair detail
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March 5th, 2009
More posts of past work. This frame was hand cut from white pine.
frame raising
frame detail
frame detail
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March 3rd, 2009
5 sided porch
5 sided porch
5 sided porch
bathroom
bathroom
200 year old timber sees the light
kitchen before
kitchen after
bath sink
shower tile
Here are a few pictures from past projects.
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