Intellectual Property - Floor Plans

In order to satisfy popular demand we finally present the Floor Plans:

FIRST FLOOR PLAN:

SECOND FLOOR PLAN

LOWER LEVEL FLOOR PLAN aka "THE BUNKER"

We will allow the drawings to speak for themselves. Please don't hesitate to ask questions or leave comments.  

Just in Time Roofing - Record Snowstorm

Over the weekend Philadelphia was pounded by the second largest snowstorm on record.  23.2 inches of snow!   This is photo of Kater Street during the storm.


The storm was well timed as we had just had our roof replaced less than 12 days before.

In previous posts, we showed our hatch and skylight being installed, and our chimneys being removed to prepare for our roof replacement.  Our roof had as much as 3" of old roofing layers that had accumulated over the lifespan of the house.

On a brisk December Sunday, the roofing crew from Citywide Roofing showed up with a 4 person crew and a mini European dump truck that they parked on our sidewalk in front of the house.  Together, we removed all these old layers down to the 1 1/4" pine roof sheathing and installed a new modified bitumen roof over a fiberglass base sheet.  The entire tear-off and replacement took less than 8 hours.

In addition to removing all the roofing, we also replaced all the old fascia/cornice trim, scupper, and downspout. We upsized the new scupper box and downspout from 3" to 4" to better conduct massive downpours and reduce ice build-up.

Additional carpentry was required at the rear of the house where standing water was ponding on the old roof.

We rebuilt a new roof cricket to properly divert the the water to the scupper box.

The fiberglass base was nailed w/ ring-shanked metal washer nails to the sheathing.

The roof membrane installation was torched-down /  Heat applied.

Our new roof is warranted for 15 years by City Roofing  It will likely last longer as the future roof deck will shade the roof from degrading UV rays.

Apparently, we were their first customers to actually get on the roof and put in a full-day's work helping the crew.  I am glad they let us participate - as I was able to inspect the roof as it was being installed.  No corners cut here!

Click here for more pictures

Rooftop Room with a View

Amazing views from our roof! 

Our Rowhouse is a 1600ft/5min walk to famous Rittenhouse Square.  From our rooftop you can see the clustered residential high-rises that surround the square and the Philadelphia iconic skyscrapers beyond.

To access these views we have designed a roof deck for our 2 story house and will access it with the roof hatch we installed.  The hatch is a commercial grade Bilco NB-50.  The hatch is mill-finish aluminum and the door is insulated to reduce interior condensation.

The hatch is 30"x54" and is just large enough to fit an alternating tread stair from the 2nd floor to the Roof Deck.

 Below are some installation pictures.

Chimneys Up in Smoke

We have been focusing on preparing for the roof replacement.  We plan to have the entire roofing "torn-off" and replaced.  Good time to inspect the chimneys!

Our rowhouse has 3 brick chimneys - two in the original house for fireplaces and a one in the rear addition that was likely used for a kitchen stove. Each of these chimneys penetrated the roof, 2 of which were woven into the party wall shared between our house and the neighbors house.  Upon further inspection, we found that all 3 brick chimneys were turning to dust from the inside out.  Below is an example of deteriorated brick from inside one of the chimneys.

Each of the 3 chimneys were failing right at the roof/attic line where the hot humid interior air would rise and meet the cold external temperature, then freeze, and spawl the brick.  In the original budget we accounted for the these chimneys to be simply sealed up and abandoned because the new heating system and fireplace would not utilize these chases.

Based on their condition, we have elected to remove the chimneys - creating a cleaner roof, with reduced flashing locations, to minimize potential leaks.

We should also note that all the chimneys along our party wall / fire separation will have to have the 8" brick wall rebuilt to the height of the existing parapet. This will ensure the proper fire separation between our house and the neighbors.

Below is a string of picts - Maura taking down the back chimney!

Click here for more pictures.

Let the Sunshine In!

And then there was LIGHT! Mild November weather allowed us to install the skylight at the top of the new stair hall on the second floor. 

Generally speaking, smart design in the mid-atlantic region avoids horizontal glazing (skylights) as they often contribute to uncontrollable heat gain.  We decided we would make an exception in our design due our rowhouse's limited perimeter access to light. This is the only skylight in the design and it will allow much needed natural light to penetrate into the center of the floor plans. We also upgraded the skylight to be operable and thus passively ventilating the house by exhausting hot air up the stairwell using the stack effect.

We selected and installed a Velux VCE 46x46 - the largest electric venting skylight by Velux.  It is constructed of a metal-clad wood frame w/ an insulated glass lite.  The skylight will open with a concealed electric motor controlled with a wired key pad.

Additional Specs:
Energy Star Rated
U-factor: 0.60
Solar Heat Gain Coefficient: 0.29
Visible Transmittance: 0.48
Tempered over Laminated Low-E 2 Argon-gas filled Glazing

Once it is wired and powered up we will show the unit in action.

Here are some picts of the installation . . . enjoy!

Cut existing roof membrane . . .

. . . peel off 3 inches of roof layers

+/-100years of roofing technology

. . . cut the hole . . .

. . . build the curb . . .

. . . cut the flashing . . . Jeff Harper in action!

. . . Maura installs the flashing . . .

. . . ready, set . . .

. . . GO!

Flashback - 'D' day

Give Thanks! This post is a flashback to the end of the summer and the beginning of our renovation project. Back in August of '09, with some help of some special friends we successfully gutted the first and second floor of our Philadelphia rowhouse.

We removed all of the interior walls and ceilings plus the mechanical, electrical, and plumbing systems.  Collectively, we ripped and hauled the plaster, lath, studs, cabinets, bathroom, kitchen, and crap out of the house.

Large trucks cannot fit down our small Philadelphia alley street, therefore the trash company Tri-State/Horizon Waste truck had to drop the dumpster at the closest intersecting street.  We removed nearly 8 tons of material . . . . 120 feet to a 30 yard dumpster parked around the corner.   I figured we each averaged 2000lbs a piece.

It was a magnificent day - the weather cooperated - and our crew was outstanding.

Please follow this slide show for more pictures of our demolition event.

Thank you Katherine, Dan, Peter, Alesa, Joe, George, Rob, and Jeff for all of your hard work and tremendous effort.  Thanks Cosmo & Will for your refreshing beverage support.  Happy Turkey Day!

Hocus Pocus - Now you see it . . . now you don't!

And the wall came crumbling down . . .   Today we removed the brick wall that was the original rear facade of the house.  The wall was so badly decaying that it bowed 4" horizontally and vertically. This once 2 story exterior wall had been captured by a subsequent rear addition and was particularly divisive to the floor plan.  It separated the kitchen in the rear from the dining and living room in the front.  By removing it we will open new sight lines thru the first floor - contributing the the open concept floor plan.  Initially we had believed that this wall was not load bearing as all joists on the first and second floor span from party wall to party wall. This is typical of most rowhouses - The main structural members span the short dimension - side to side.

On 'Demo Day' (subject of next post) we discovered after removing the many layers of ceilings and our famed squirrel's nest that the roof of the rear 11'x13' addition had its roof rafters landing on this brick wall and it was in fact load bearing.

In order to remove the wall, each 3x6 rafter was sistered with a pair of 2x10's that extend to connect the roof rafters to a new beam installed parallel and along side the brick wall.  These modified rafters were then connected to the new beam with Simpson hangers.  We also temporarily shored the rafters with vertical 2x4s under each member.

Once the roof was secure, we slowly removed the top few courses of the wall brick by brick from underneath the rafters.  Interestingly enough, two of the rafters were not even applying load on the wall.  The sheathing above was transferring the load over to the main roof, adjacent rafters, and exterior brick walls.  This wall was in such bad condition it was actually buckling over from its own weight. The mortar was so badly deteriorated it made it easy to disassemble.  Brick by brick we tore the wall down and dropped them out the back window and now we have a huge pile of bricks in the yard. HAVE BRICK - NEED FILL?

Bunker Finishes & Fixtures

We are currently moving full speed on the main house and have a lot blogging to catch up on.

Listed below are the finishes and fixtures we selected and installed in the bunker. We have kept the pallete simple, within a modest budget, and sensitivity towards sustainable design.

Kohler "Persuade"

The Persuade toilet is a dual flush toilet and saves as much as 6,000 gallons of water annually over a traditional 1.6-gallon toilet.

Kohler Villager Bath: Cast Iron Tub

American Standard:  Shower head and tub filler

Shower Curtain Wire: Deka w/o clips.

Sink Basin: Hollvikan

Sink Faucet: Dalskar

Shower wall tile and sink backsplash

Floor Tile: 6"x20" Porcelain

Vanity Top: Marble

Cabinet doors:

(3) 18x30 used above washer/dryer

1) 15x39 Cabinet door used to create sink vanity

Lighting: Wall Sconces.

All of the lighting is set on dimmable switches.

Lighting: laundry alcove

Side cabinets: flank either side of the sink alcove.

To minimize their profile, they were recessed into the wall.

Washer/Dryer: