Wednesday, August 21, 2013

Introducing the Newest Room - The Master Bedroom

They say that kitchens and baths sell houses.....and we will have a beautiful kitchen and new baths when the house is finished.  But in this case, I think someone is going to fall in love with the new Master Bedroom and it will be a big part of the buying decision.

While not even close to finished yet, I thought it would be fun to give you a sneak preview.

Although part of the second floor, this room was never finished - it was just storage space.  And the reason is, there wasn't a good way to get to it.  The only option was to walk through the bathroom (not an elegant or practical approach!).  But now that we've rearranged the bathroom and created a new hallway, this room is a great addition to the second floor.

But it took a lot of work.  The floor joists were over spanned.  If someone jumped up and down, the entire floor bounced.....I guess that's what an earthquake feels like.  Scary!  So, it had to be beefed up with additional joists and blocking.  Then the guys glued and screwed heavy plywood over the joists to add additional rigidity.











And yes, that is a working toilet in the corner!  For those of you that have been reading this blog for awhile, you'll remember that we usually have a lone toilet exposed to the kitchen.  Well, this has a slight bit more privacy - ha ha.  Can't wait until we get some walls up!

For the roof rafters, we had a similar story regarding structural stability.  We added additional structure to provide strength, but also depth to allow extra insulation.  After all, it's cold up here in Maine!

And my favorite feature - we removed the old collar ties and replaced them with hand hewn beams.  They add structural integrity but also a really great look!  They will look fantastic once we get the vaulted ceiling finished!
We've also added a half bath to the master suite.  It was a bit of a challenge space-wise.  To meet building codes, we need an 'egress' window.  If there was ever a fire, a firefighters has to be able to get in the room with full gear on (it requires over 5.6 sq ft of a single window). With the sloped ceiling, that left little room for other essentials like closets and a bathroom.  So, while we'd love to have installed a full bathroom, a half bath will still be a nice addition.

This week, the new skylight was installed.  It's a Velux skylight, which opens to provide ventilation.  It floods the space with light and with its view of the tree tops, it makes you feel like you're in a treehouse!
Of course we have a lot more to do in here, but don't you think it will make a great space?

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2 comments:

  1. Love it so far! Mary in NY

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    Replies
    1. Thanks Mary - we're pretty excited at how nicely it's coming along. I can't wait to share more progress!!!

      Laurel

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