| Design-build addition to residence, Ithaca, NY
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Weeks 33-36: January 17, 2005 - February 13, 2005 |
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Susan seals the grout (left); I begin installing doors (right). Some of the closet doors are prehung; this one was salvaged from Cornell's Bailey Hall, so I need to build the frame and mortise the hinges. |
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We decide to leave the concrete slab-on-grade on the ground floor, and find a sealer based on a compound of sodium silicate (Eucosil, Euclid Chemical Co. - see left image) that gives off zero VOCs while leaving the surface pretty much as is (right). |
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I'm not yet ready to build the final wood stairs, since I need to recycle the scaffold lumber, still in use. I do make some small modifications, like the "winder" at the top of the stair to the studio. |
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We buy medium-density fiberboard (MDF) trim - casing for some of the doors, and baseboard. The trim is primed, but needs to be painted. The "Bailey Hall double doors appear in the background (left). Using left-over plywood subfloor material, and 1x2s rejected from the window frames, I build a shelving unit for the studio bathroom (right). |
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I build a long step at the base of the landing to what was once the outside kitchen door. Both the landing and step will eventually be finished with wood flooring (left). The two coat closets in the entry space get shelves and rods (right). |
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The baseboard looks best when it turns a corner. Shown here are two examples: the opening into stair #2 (from the studio to the mezzanine - left image), and the studio bathroom door (detailed without casing - right image). |
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We also buy some 3/4" x 3/4" wood trim for all 26 windows. For the windows in the "wood zones" (in the two stair halls), the trim is left unpainted (left); the other window trim is painted, nailed into place, and then sealed with a paintable silicone II sealant (right). |
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 The interior spaces are now virtually complete. |
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 Nothing has changed on the outside, except the weather. This view is taken from the east side, only visible from Treva Ave., the side street perpendicular to Water Street. |
