It's Starting to Look Like a House - With a Surprise

Once the walls were up and the roof was on, it really started to look like a house.  But we were a bit surprised when we pulled up one day and discovered the roofline was flat at the top.  What?  That wasn't in the plan!

Our builder Joe calmly told us that he was measuring the height and when he got to 30 feet, he stopped.  And capped the roof there.  The building code is 30 feet and he figured that's where it should stop.  

Did he think about giving us a call?  Or chatting with the city (they had already approved the plans!)?  Because the determining the height is a bit complicated, since you need to account for the elevation at various  spots on the property.  Not just the one spot where he measured.  His answer - No.  And at this point it was already roofed, so it would be a lot of work to change.  So....... we ultimately decided it adds character, in an odd sort of way.   Even though it wasn't part of the original design.

Once framing was completed, we needed to install the windows.  One of our guidelines from the start, was to try and use as many local materials as we could.  And a key element were the windows.  We decided to go with a local window manufacturer - Paradigm.  We visited their offices and they helped us come up with a design that gave us the vintage look we wanted - with all the high efficiency elements we need in our harsh Maine climate.  One of my favorite stories after the house was finished:  the first Halloween we were in the house, one of the craftsman that made our windows stopped by to trick or treat with her kids.  They live in the neighborhood!  How cool is that?

A trick to remember if you're focused on views - don't finalize some of the window placement, until the walls were up.  That lets you capitalize on the views and think through things like furniture placement.  For example, on the north side of the house, we never planned on a lot of windows.  But when we saw how nice the view in the guest room was, we moved it to a different spot, that still allowed a nice wall for the bed.

Rear Elevation - lots of windows for the water views!

And once they framed in the front porch, it really started to come together.

Our dog Daphne certainly approved!

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