#13 - The Look

Deep breath.  I'm brave enough (and finally set aside enough time!) to share pictures now.  After my initial reaction--which left me with a knot in my gut...I really couldn't get over how big it looked and I breathed a sigh of relief when night fell because then people would stop pointing and laughing, and I could plot and scheme about how to make this thing 15 feet shorter over the next 12 hours of darkness--I am feeling 100% thrilled with how this is looking.

I am not normally a person who cares about what other people think, I really don't! So, my reaction surprised even me.  We are very "what you see is what you get," and I know there are people who think we're big fat nerds and people that think we're alright and I'm normally ok with people thinking whatever they want to. 

Except I was surprisingly NOT ok with the thought that people were driving by saying, "WHAT ARE THOSE LOONEY TUNES DOING?!" Matt was laughing at me.  He thought it was AMAZING immediately.  He was instantly over the moon--borderline giddy about how it looks.

I was ready to park my car in the backyard so no one could see that I live in this monstrosity.

"Jess, I come from PA.  In PA all the roofs are pointy!  These flat roofs here are depressing!  We need this pointy roof! 

"But don't you think it's too tall?!"

"NO!  I wish it was even taller!!!"

"Oh my gosh, you are crazy!  You also like wood paneling!  And you love black and gold furniture!  You love stuff from the 70s!  I don't trust your taste!!  It's SO TALL."

"I would love it even more if it were taller!"

"You're a crazy person!"

But, it didn't take me long to get used to it and for it to grow on me.  It really is fine.  We knew that it would look large/odd from the side angles. We knew it would look not 100% perfect because it's an addition, and additions typically aren't seamless. But from the front it looks really nice, especially when they added the dormer the other day.  It adds a nice dimension to the roofline and once it has shingles and siding and windows, it's going to look really cool!  It feels very substantial!  Ideally, I would love to bring that peak all the way to the very front of the house, but it would be a LOT more money for aesthetics only.  And that's not where we want to spend our money.

Not to say there aren't people saying,
"I didn't see it til we pulled in the driveway. Looks like they're building a church in your backyard!" (you know who you are!)

"It's the Citadel." (you know who YOU are!)

and I can see why Jess is freaking out.  It is HUGE." (and YOU know who YOU are!)

And I keep wanting to sing, "A Mighty Fortress is our God house."

But all, in all.  We're thrilled!

Also, my last blog post...poor Matt.  I said, "I have never seen anyone work so fast in my life!" and I've been watching him work on our house for years and years!  His response was something along the lines of "What am I, chopped liver?!"   Ha ha.  He's just not a flurry of activity like this framing crew is.  He's slow & steady and ponders every move carefully.. which has its time and place too.

We started with all the materials in the yard (and windows in the living room thanks to the skunk):

This was after the first day, when they came to "Lay things out"














This is after the second day, when only the owner of the framing company and his son were here - interior walls are added:

 This is after the third day, when the roof almost sent me through the roof, but it didn't take me long to calm down and realize that it's going to be alright.  I did send a text to a friend apologizing for blocking out the sun on her street:

You can see the gap in the rafters.  That's where the dormer in the guest room will go.

The view from the front.  The gable to the new roof will transition and tie into the existing angle of the current roof.  It's hard to explain, but there will be a connection between the two, not just the new sitting behind the old.

This is what it looks like as you drive down our street toward our house.

Here's another view from the street

And finally, after a partial day on Friday, due to rain and the fact that it was the weekend, here's where we stand!  They'll be back tomorrow (they didn't mind working on Labor Day, so we're going to have a cook-out lunch with them just for the fun of it!).  Can't wait to see what they accomplish this week.

The dormer.  This picture is taken from inside the house, through the patio door in the dining room.

 

The family room.  That window will be at the bottom of the staircase that goes up to the guest bedroom/bathroom.

looking up into the opening for the staircase.

The Inspectors.  One of the guys on the crew gave Ezra a tape measure. 
It is his current FAVORITE possession!  He's been wearing jeans and carrying his tape measure around for the past 3-4 days.  He was VERY inspired while watching the framing crew.

I might have some of these pictures mixed up, but you get the general idea!