It’s Construction Time!

Along with the arrival of football and cooler temperatures, September also marks what’s become more and more of a family tradition since I moved to Maine: home renovation time. Over the past seven years, we’ve put in a staircase, insulated the basement, repaired the foundation, added a woodshed, redone the roof, repaired and repainted the garage . . . the projects add up over the years. Last year was all about getting the area above our garage to a point where it might one day be livable space. This year?

We’re hoping to bring some light to that area.

When we redid the outside of the garage, we framed in the one window that was on the second floor. Who wants to live in a room with no windows? Not I, said the Bryce. So the plan this year is to put in three dormers: two small ones that will give light to the bedroom and the bathroom that will one day spring into being, and one large one for the rest of the living space.

Now, since this will entail working on a roof high up above the ground, I’ve decided to do the sensible thing and do it all myself. Because that’s never gone wrong. Ever.

No.

Actually, this is one instance where I’m just going to hire it out. Bryces don’t like falling from heights. So we’ve got the construction crew that took care of our roofing project over the winter to come and do this. Not sure exactly when it will start, but we hope to have it finished by October.

Very exciting.

At the same time, it’s also more than a little daunting. The more we work on this garage space, the more I realize just what needs to happen before we’re anywhere close to being finished. Like right now, I’m looking at what should come after these dormers, and it’s seeming more and more like the right thing to do is to insulate the exterior walls and ceiling . . .

And I’m not sure what the best way to do that is. I know it’s supposed to be ventilated, but there’s no existing ventilation, and the roof is a pyramidal hip roof. I think the right way to go would be to put in a cupola, but that’s yet another expense . . .

Slow and steady wins the race, right? (Any of you out there construction experts when it comes to roof ventilation? I could use some advice . . .)