Here’s a little rewind: pictures from my phone. On 21 December, this was the state of things. Gary and Matt started installing the second floor windows. The rough framing inside was done, but plumbing and electrical would wait for the windows.

By the end of the day, the second floor windows and the mudroom and sunporch windows were installed. These were exciting times, since the windows meant enclosure.

While this was going on, work was also happening in the shop. While we haven’t seen them on site, front and back entry canopies are being fabricated and the window trim is being assembled and painted.

Yesterday I stopped by to see the framing underway at Fremont Circle. It all looked just fine.

This is a project designed over 12 years ago by local architect Bill Broderson, who has retired. Since this design was drawn, several other projects were done on the house. Our role was to work with those additions and the original design intent to bring the project up to current code, window sizes, and client desires.

Stay tuned for more as construction progresses.

Here, our 3D modeling capabilities helped the client understand what the addition would look like. It is not a standard approach to adding space to a house, and our models helped them decide that they liked the finished look, both inside and out. Last week, we met with a stained glass artist. Together, we studied the glass design in 3D, modifying it together to achieve the desired result.

Our goal is to help our clients make informed decisions about design before construction, to ensure maximum satisfaction.

Late in November, the Owners moved into their new house on Second Street in Northfield. Here are some shots taken during the finishing touches. Above, the dining room is defined by a custom soffit above, the stair banisters, and the kitchen.

Morning sunshine penetrates the space nicely, but makes for challenging photography.

The front entry, viewed from the stairs.

Northfield Construction and Nerstrand Custom Cabinets finished up the cabinet and finish carpentry very nicely. Here you see the soffit in the foreground; it is designed to serve three purposes: define the dining room, look great, and absorb sound. The Owners agree that it accomplishes all three!

Some painting touch up remains, but the project is basically complete. In the spring, the exterior will be painted and landscaped.

Although my tenure as Cubmaster for Cub Scout Pack 300 has ended, I remain involved as a Committee Member and a scout parent.

Late in November, local peace officers visited the Bear Den. Topics of conversation included safety, what to do in an emergency, what information a witness might provide the Police, the role of the Police in the community, and all the gadgets on their belts (my personal favorite.)

This is one way in which Scouting grooms our boys to be good citizens, understanding the role of government around them and learning how they can help.

As a parent, it is interesting to learn more about my boys (and the other dads’ sons) through these activities. Attraction to tazers seems to be a universal boy thing, at least in the Bear Den. Some boys are very verbal, describing in detail which characteristics of a car or person would make a good description. Others are more hands-on, acting out how they think a baton might be used. One of the activities we did as part of the meeting was to cast a plaster footprint, like a detective might do upon finding a print in the sand at a crime scene.

For more on Pack 300, see www.cubs300.org. The Pinewood Derby, a perennial favorite, is coming up next week!

On New Year’s Day, here is an update of our project.

The soffits, frieze and fascia are mostly in place. The windows are all in on the second floor, and the contractor’s got a start on the first floor.

The duct work is roughed-in, now, almost ready for the equipment, which will wait until after drywall is in place. The neighbors have been asking what’s in that roof?!? Well, here it is: mechanical and storage space. Why, you might ask, use such space for that? Here’s why.

Stacking new stairs to the attic would have meant either significant point loads on the existing foundations or switching the span of the structure to the long axis of the house, both of which were structurally infeasible. Also, the south roof was designed for solar water heat panels; it didn’t make much sense to me to warm the water on the roof, pipe it to the basement, then pipe it back to the second or third floor for use. Too inefficient. Our budget is stretched already, so adding more finished space to the project just didn’t work. As it is now, we’ll be able to easily and efficiently add the solar water system when the funding becomes available. What we end up with is a workable second floor of four bedrooms and two baths, a striking roofline, and storage where we need it.

Confession: we may one day add a dormer on the north side…

This week we hope to see the plumber and the electrician working on their rough-ins. The insulator is slated for next week.

Mary picked up floor and wall tile for the bathrooms yesterday, which is exciting as we are already ready to move in!

We opted for a high-velocity air handler to heat and cool the house, both for efficiency and ease of routing the smaller diameter ducts. The diffusers are discretely inserted into our existing first floor ceiling. We’ll abandon the old, unsealed, poorly routed, uninsulated ducts.

I came across and old shot of the previous facade; it’s fun to see the change already!

With a smallish back yard and limited privacy, the owner of this home envisioned a new hot tub on the flat roof over the second floor three season porch. The project involved a master plan for converting the attic to a new master suite, bringing the porch up to four-season use, and remodeling an existing bedroom into a new bathroom on the second floor.

This was no mean task! The hot tub’s weight, including people and water, is about the same as the curb weight of a 2007 Volkswagen Beetle. Routing plumbing for the new restrooms without disturbing the existing first floor finishes also proved to be a challenge (that we were up to!) Add to that working out a feasible master suite layout in the attic with no knee walls and you’ve got a fine architectural adventure.

Working closely with the Owner, we found a way to make it all happen. More shots later of work in progress, but I just can’t pass up the insulation now.

The insulation shown here is a foamed-in-place cement product called AirKrete. It carries a relatively high R-Value, does not shrink after installation, and has great smoke and fire resistance. It will not burn, gives off no smoke or hazardous gasses in a fire, is insect and rodent resistant, and will not offgas. There is no petroleum in this foam, only cement, a foaming agent, and minerals found in seawater.

I’m currently checking with my insurance agent to find out if there will be any savings when we install it in my house. Whatever happens there, we will benefit from high performance insulation, safety and air quality from this product, just as the owners of this house will.

Well, the house couldn’t be ready for Mary’s fortieth birthday.

So, we decided to create a scale model for the party.

It worked out that a 9×13 cake plan is a close approximation to the proportion of our floorplan at a 1′=3′0″ scale and that chocolate covered graham crackers were a close-enough match to our window sizes. So, my brother Bill and I conspired to create the edible model. My mother baked three 9×13’s in Wausau, Wisconsin where the party was to be. I crafted the roof out of foamcore boards (had planned peanut brittle for the roof, but ran out of time for the casting.) Then in a matter of hours, we transformed the cake in to the model. I think we’re a little short vertically (cake is a difficult material to be exact with!) but the overall impact was successful.

Mok, my sister-in-law, created an impromptu figure of Mary and our dog, Promise, for added realism. She whipped up the clay using bread, glue and (yes) hand-lotion!

Happy Birthday, Mary! And, thanks, Bill and Mok, for your expert help!