Articles by Jenia

Construction Day 9 – Phase I done

we are done! phase I is complete. phase I 1/2 this weekend. phase II starts Monday.

The exterior trim is up. I just have to paint it, next time I have a free minute. ahem.

Now, a little bit about the door, which has become the central driving point of this whole project. I really, really wanted the doors to look stately and distinguished. with cremone bolts and all. we briefly considered salvaged doors,but the thin wood and thin glass were a concern not only for insulation reasons, but also safety.… Read the rest

Construction Day 8 – D-Day

It’s in! Workers were here yesterday to finish up. Here it is:

It looks good – just not quite done. Cause it’s not. I have no idea what that board piece is, its actually gone now, i assume it was holding in bricks during instalation?

Anyway, we had a walk through today, and Sergey was not having any of it. The door didn’t seem securely in place, plus some of the bricks were still missing even though the masons have packed up the job site.… Read the rest

State of the VIB

While we wait for Construction Day 8 – D-day, otherwise known as door install day (promised tomorrow), I thought I would do another post on our living situation here. I already posted about our kitchen set up, which works just as well as day 1, though we are probably getting additional exercise going up and down stairs to the second floor bathroom any time we need water for cooking or washing produce/dishes.… Read the rest

Construction Day 7

Just one photo for you today. The guys didn’t take pictures and I wasn’t there. I don’t think it was a very long day for them, as really they just had finishing touches and some clean up to do (extra bricks, mortar, etc). Its a beauty (don’t mind the crooked bar at the top its not attached). The opening is finished, and we have a ledge.

You can definitely tell that the brick around the door opening is not an original but I am hoping the it will fade and blend in.… Read the rest

Construction Day 5

Still under construction. still boarded up.a bit sturdier now, since it will be a few more days until the door goes in, because apparently the brick mortar needs time to dry. so it looks like we are behind schedule a few days. oh well.

but we are making progress:

the house ‘eyebrows’ are still there, you see VIB is winking at you/us. But only for another day or so, these are on their way out…

… Read the rest

Construction Day 4

The door has arrived. Or rather Sergey and our builder picked it up and delivered it home, since the warehouse wasn’t ready for delivery for several more days.

But before we can get to the good part, it must get a little uglier. And so we are all boarded up.

It took just about an hour to remove our door and window in the kitchen,

Along won’t our security bars. These things always made me feel safer – we are in the city after all- but the look would not be becoming on a beautiful French door.… Read the rest

Updated Renovation Plans

So as last week all of the construction has happened in 3 days, but we are still scheduled to finish be the end of this week with phase 1, or structural work + major electric upgrade.

I suppose this is as good a time as any to update everyone on our evolving plans – that’s a nice word, evolving. Also could say expanding, second-floor consuming, ever more expensive plans. After we took down the ceiling in the kitchen and it became clear that we need to fix the mess of second floor joists, and then when we thought about the fact that we are moving all of the plumbing (except for the stack) and vents for first and second floor, due to new framing for the powder bath (all of those pipes are located inside the walls of the powder bath), we said to hell with it.… Read the rest

Changes in Washington DC

I was already excited about the forthcoming transformation of the Florida Avenue historic Union Market, which is about a 15 minute walk from our house. But this just blows any.previous.expectations.out.of.the.water. This is going to be amazing.

map source: Washingtonian

A butcher shop you say? an outdoor dining that stretches over an entire block?! amish goods, french specialties, ethiopian cuisine and a flower market? i am literary dizzy with excitement. this is probably not a healthy reaction.… Read the rest