Kitchen Framing and Windows

The original exterior walls in the house are simply brick with plaster on the interior face. I'm sure this simple construction was cost-effective in the early 20th century, but it doesn't offer much room for insulation. This isn't a problem for those walls that border a neighboring rowhouse, but the kitchen is mostly surrounded by exterior walls. The new kitchen framing will provide a cavity for insulation and space for new plumbing and electrical behind the cabinets. The original wood-frame windows were mostly rotten, and have been replaced.

New kitchen window

Plumbing for the washer/dryer

Framing and window on back kitchen wall

More Plumbing

Now that the underground plumbing is complete, the city must  inspect the work before it can be buried and covered with concrete. The slab is still fairly rough and has some irregularities. We'll apply a thin leveling later under the finished floor surface.

Drain pipe for the basement kitchen

Drain pipe of the basement bath

Framing and HVAC

There was some good progress this week with framing in the main unit, and HVAC in the attic. The ductwork was run through the interior walls to avoid any soffits on the first floor. 

attic ductwork

ductwork in interior walls

HVAC mounted in attic

closet in master bedroom

ductwork in interior walls

framing for master bath

Underground Pumbing

The first phase of the plumbing work (underground) is complete. We discovered that the city water source was still the original lead line, so that had to be replaced. DC has a program to replace lead lines from the water main to the property line at the same time as construction.

Basement Excavation

The crawl space under the kitchen will have to be partially excavated to accommodate the water heaters and HVAC for the basement unit.

Further demolition of the upstairs bath.