Mid-Century Modern Build and Remodel Project

[LoveTheSmellofDiesel]

A picture of the scaffolding...
Followed by an outside picture of the windows and the exterior prior to its stucco/cement being applied. Unfortunately there was no pictures taken of the windows going in.. As the story goes my Dad and Uncle put these in themselves (20 of them) at around 600-650lbs a piece according to the guys that removed some of them during the remodel. All went fine until one of the windows severed a artery in my Uncle's forearm (heard the story at nearly every holiday) as he was rushed to the hospital calmly so as to not have the women of the family lose control.

 

[LoveTheSmellofDiesel]

Flash forward to right before the oil crisis in 73, dad being the engineer wanted to have a retention pond to send water through solar heating panels to be off grid for hot water. In these pictures you see a gentleman excavating the 50'Lx40'Wx9'D hole with a CAT and then the cement work to make it permanent.. We affectionately called it "The Pit". Unfortunately prices of solar panels back then sky rocketed and he was never able to finish that project. The thing was great for skate boarding, bike riding banking off the rounded berms, swimming, then motored toys like mini bikes, motorcross bikes and go carts.... Unfortunately it eventually cracked and became an eyesore and a hazard to interested kids so as our first task of the remodel we filled it in.. (and now we are looking at a DIY solar panel project to throw up on the flat roof as another phase of our projects)...

Oddly enough I can recall being up as a passenger and scared absolutely out of my wits... probably where I gained the affection for the smell of burning diesel however.......

Also of note when applying for the permits to add the addition, the County looked at old satellite imagery where "The Pit" was plain as day and then a current pass where it was gone, after explanation, they sent someone out to ensure it was actually filled in, versus covered over to be used as an underground addition, or bomb shelter (looking for permit revenue), we can laugh about it now, wasn't so funny then.

 

[LoveTheSmellofDiesel]

The finished product....

Not many interior pictures. The stairs on going down from the upstairs to patio level were initially wood and replaced at some point from cement stairs with a mosaic of what looked like black shale or some type of stone. They were a beautiful DIY project and lasted up until about 2-2.5 years ago where they started to systematically fail and break apart. The guys who did the excavation on the remodel were planning on using the spiral steel staircase structure somewhere for themselves, and were battling over who would get it.

The last picture is in respect to the Endeavor crew...here they took a picture of the moon landing - several years after the finish of the house, I thought it was a cool pic to add.

 

[teg]

Those stairs are really cool... thanks for the update, following along...

 

[LoveTheSmellofDiesel]

Thanks Teg.. I've got two of the old stair treads I am now using as ballast on the back of the tractor, they are heavy and still have something to remember the old stairs by...

As a side note, just got the final inspection on the addition and it passed.. Amazing how the nerves got going as they checked everything in their lord like manner.

 

[LoveTheSmellofDiesel]

Plant Species,

If anyone knows the name of the big leafed plant in this picture, would love to know what it is:

 

[LoveTheSmellofDiesel]

Here is a line drawing my dad created at some point in the project, assuming before they got started.

 

[LoveTheSmellofDiesel]

Prior to delving into the remodel/addition, I'll post some pictures of prior to when we began the work on the house, namely some trees we had to take care of and "The Pit" fill in project. As for the house, while the core structure was solid as a concrete/steel... the internals, mechanics and exterior needed a lot of attention. The first disappointment was in April of 2009 when there was a significant failure of the existing roof causing water damage in the kitchen, guest bathroom and master bedroom ceilings, a new rubber roof was put on, but we knew we had to resolve the damage done so mom would have a respectable, clean, warm, and cozy living space as part of the project.

 

[LoveTheSmellofDiesel]

We had decided as a first step that we needed to fill in "The Pit" and then tackle some dangerous trees... We figured it cheaper to get our own tractor for the fill in work, and also knew we'd need something for maintenance of the property that was better than the 16 horsepower lawn tractor that was up in years. Enter the B7610, here is the happy day we took delivery. Got it used from Value Implement up in Menomonie, WI.. As luck turned out, Jim's daughter went to school down by me and he had family in the area, so he offered to trailer it down when he came thru and ended up eating the travel costs which was very nice.

Here's the offloading, some quick instructions, and my first attempts with the FEL trying to level berms pushed up by the winter ice on the shoreline... Realized then I needed a tooth bar.

 

[LoveTheSmellofDiesel]

Here's a few of mom in a kayak - first time she'd been in a boat in years, much less a kayak.. Now mind you I fumble in and out of the things half the time getting soaked in the process. She jumped in and out with no issue at all and had not issue paddling around - great fun.

The next shots are from the first project with the Kubota - I just tapped on the trunk of the black walnut that was leaning over. During wind storms that tree would rub on the other one and make the most amazing harmonic sounds... It was more dangerous than thought as in the one picture you'll see the rot at the base. I thought for sure I'd be taking the chainsaw too it, and was eerily surprised when just the partial weight of the FEL knocked it down.