The first week of February was a bustle of activity at Plum Street North.

Installation of exterior trim and entry canopies began. With them, the scale of the house is becoming more humane. The siding will help in this regard also.

Many items came to the jobsite pre-assembled and pre-painted. This helps control quality, minimize jobsite waste, and contend with cold weather. It also quickly transforms the exterior of the project into a house!

The hardwood floors were installed and the painter started his work, priming all the new rooms and getting color on the kids’ bedrooms and baths. This morning we braved the sub-zero weather and checked out the floors. Caesar has a fresh coat of finish on them; it was great to see the depth of the wood shining in the sun!

Finished interior trim was delivered yesterday and awaits installation in a pile on the porch floor.

I noticed that the house is much tighter already than it was before. The new windows, the air infiltration barrier, and the icynene insulation make the house warm and quiet. The old furnace in the basement has no trouble keeping the house at 60 degrees, even though it is no longer connected to any ductwork. The cracked heat exchanger may be releasing combustion fumes into the interior air, which is a concern, except that we’ve seen open windows and attic hatches for fresh air. Once the drywall and floors are all sanded, we can switch to the new heating system and the energy recovery ventilator.