Cold Spaghetti

Not quite. We messed up and only ordered one of the standard windows (we need 2 of them) to complete the collection of 4 windows in the back. Super bummer since the door is probably arriving tomorrow, which means we could have feasibly had the back room sealed to the elements (with heroic effort) by the end of the weekend (when it’s possibly suppose to rain.)

Paul bought the roofing. And came back with some bad news: the estimate for hardiplank (the siding we’re talking about using) is $6200. Big ouch (we were thinking $4000ish — and considering this a major splurge at that level.) We need to price out vinyl and see the difference. The bummer is that we ordered windows without the channeling needed with vinyl (it’s not necessary with hardi). So we’d have to add it back — wouldn’t be quite as slick, I guess, but I’m told that it would not necessarily diminish the integrity of the seals between the door/windows. Paul is definitely leaning towards the hardi (I think) but I’m big time questioning it. Mostly because the biggest reason for using it (that he can give me) is aesthetic and I see absolutely no reason why the exterior needs to be at all nice to look at — because no one will ever, ever, ever, ever, never see or notice it. This is just for the back sides and back end of the house — which is only visible when you’re walking the 3-foot wide space between the houses. Even when in the backyard, what will be noticed is landscaping, not whether or not the siding is hardiplank or vinyl. There is no great energy issue. Paul says that vinyl is more susceptible to winds and not as durable, but if the difference in cost is, say, $6200 versus $1000 — I’m willing to forgo any increase in durability. The rest of the house is aluminum siding, and it’s no great eye-sore, so I don’t see the big deal.

Paul’s argument that makes me take pause: the cheapest builder we know (guy who built the house next door and a few on the street), who cut every corner imaginable (no hurricane tie-downs, cheapest fixtures available, unfathomably sloppy finish work, brick stairs done so poorly that they were pulling away from the house less than a month after installation, etc., etc.) — that guy uses hardiplank. So if the cheapest, sloppiest builder we know uses hardiplank, which is seriously expensive, then there must be a really good reason for it. This is the kind of argument that makes a lot of sense to me.

Next step: more estimates from another supplier.

Anyone out there with experience or thoughts? Suggestions appreciated!

I was too chicken to climb on the roof, wondering why they weren’t using the extension ladder and feeling incredibly impressed that Paul and David were climbing to the top of the A-frame and hoisting themselves up on this end of the roof. So I took these of underneath.

Then I realized that they had a hole in the main section for climbing in and out. Silly me. It’s there on the lower left. The holes at the top section (over the existing bathroom) are for the skylights. Wonder of wonder, miracle of miracles: the distance between the ceiling joists in the existing section was 22 1/2″ — exactly what it needs to be for the skylights. So it dictated the placement of the skylights to some degree, but darn, what luck!

The boards out from the roof peak are where the A/C compressors will go (once platform is built.) The hole on the right is the skylight for the laundry area.
See the drywall ceiling below? That was it on the old roof — just the drywall, and the corrugated metal above it. No insulation whatsoever. (When the drywall goes up, Paul will slide insulation in. The silver panels you can see in the photos above — in the ones taken from below — is a radiant heat barrier. One of our “green” considerations in this renovation/addition.)
Thanks, David!
The old roof. Yikes!
Shots that make the roof look REALLY big. The grade came out well, nice and smooth. (Seriously good job!) In the pics below, the skylights are framed out.