Day 30 - The Turret is Down

Approaching the house tonight, it looked a lot like a victim of hurricane Katrina, with a gaping hole in the roof and a pile of rubble in the yard.  But this is where we really get down to changing the look of the house on the outside.

When we checked on the house around noon, the turret and the gable on the right side were still in place, but there was a large opening in the roof where the new trusses would go.

We returned a while later to find the truss company's crane on site and took some video while they lifted plywood, trusses, and a large beam up to the second floor.

I took a few still shots during the process as well.

A hole was cut in the side of the house in order to get this large beam into the top floor.

On the first attempt at  placing the beam, the straps were spread too far apart and didn't allow the crane to get the beam in far enough.  This is the second attempt with the straps place closer together.

The right hand strap needs to be released now to allow the beam to be pushed in further.

One strap is released to allow the crane to swing the beam in further.

The beam can now be hauled inside and raised into place with jacks.

Still later in the evening, we returned to find "the turret" finally down, and lying in a heap in the front yard.  The framing for the master bedroom's front wall and windows was up, and we could start to see the vague outline of the house's new facade.

First look on arriving at the house tonight.  Shades of hurricane Katrina.

You can see the framing for the new bedroom windows in the center.

The front corners become closet space in the new design.

Standing amongst the wreckage. Anybody need a tub, or a toilet?

The master bedroom view.

Camille and Fiona wave from the street.

View of the destruction from above.

A bundle of new trusses waiting to be put into place.

We're looking forward to seeing the front of the house really start to take shape over the next several days. A lot of the work for the past couple of weeks has been necessary preparation, but visually, less dramatic. Now we're into the major part of the face lift that everyone's been waiting for.