Reconstruction Day 24

Thursday MCC continued work on installing interior wall panels in the house and began installing the interior wall panels in the garage.  Preparations began for the installation of the garage door, which will be mounted on a track attached to the garage ceiling.

Some of the interior walls and cabinets installed

The first interior wall panel installed in the garage

The garage door awaiting installation

The tracks for the garage door waiting to be put in place

Reconstruction Day 23

Wednesday MCC erected the trellis outside the front door and garage door.  The entire trellis apart from the roofing was finished.  They also began installing the fire place, most of which was in place by the end of the day.  Most of the interior panels and insulation are in place, but work continues on installing the remaining wall panels.

Work will continue for the rest of the week until MCC returns to Philadelphia.

Reconstruction Day 20-22

Last week MCC continued to install insulation and interior wall panels, most of which are now in place.  They have also added most of the panels that form the walls between the rooms along with the cabinets for each room.

The portion of the foundation that was dug up for the plumbing fixes in the bathroom has been re-poured with all the pipes installed.

The cabinets and walls installed in one of the rooms

The second bedroom with some of the walls and cabinets intsalled

The replaced portion of the bathroom floor

The main room with yellow cabinets and some walls installed

Reconstruction Day 19

Today MCC continued work inside the house.  They installed more interior panels and wall insulation in the main room.  They also began adding the interior panels that will form the dividing wall between the two smaller rooms (previously the two bedroom, now office spaces).  MCC will continue working on the house's interior throughout the week.

The newly-installed interior panels in the main room

Two interior wall panels, and one with the insulation showing

Interior panels in the garage awaiting installation

The fireplace and wall insulation

Installing wall panels

Reconstruction Day 18

Monday MCC returned to campus to continue work on the interior of the Steel House.  They began installing insulation inside the walls, as well as putting some of the interior panels in place.  Several of the yellow interior panels that form the walls of the house's main room have been installed.

P&H also poured the concrete in front of the garage.  The original step by the front door is still in place, and the new concrete slopes up to match the edge of the original garage floor.  They also poured footings for the trellis, which MCC will install over the front door and garage opening.

The newly poured concrete

one of the concrete footings for the trellis

Concrete footings outside the front door

The new sewage line recently installed and the trench filled in

Reconstruction Day 17

Friday MCC installed the rest of the roof insulation, along with the remaining wood sleepers, which had not all been put in place the first time to leave space for the insulation.

The sewer line has been fully installed and the trench filled in.  Once the bathroom appliances are installed the house will have a functioning toilet.  This is an important landmark for getting the house open at the end of construction.

The electrical rough-in was finished, which included additional wiring in the ceiling, the bracing for three ceiling fans, and wiring for two ceiling lights.

MCC will return on Monday to continue work on the house.

Reconstruction Day 16

Thursday MCC began installing the insulation for the roofing.  They also put up a few interior panels around the back door in what will be the living room/dining room/kitchen area.

The trench for the new sewer line was also dug and part of the line was put in.  The line will go around the front of the house, coming out of the bathroom on the side and meeting up with the main sewage line.

Work also continued on the concrete in front of the garage, P&H measured the area in preparation for replacing the area of concrete removed and installing piers for the footing of the trellis.

The interior panels installed so far

The sewer line that will connect the house to the city's sewage system

Bags of insulation on the roof

MCC installing the insulation

Remnants of the old sewer pipe that have been removed

The trench dug for the sewer line with the part of the pipe put in so far

Measuring for the new concrete that will be poured by the front door and garage

Reconstruction Day 15

Today MCC continued work on the inside of the house.  They installed the wooden nailer around the base of the interior and continued to paint the ceilings.

The concrete outside the garage was also removed today by P&H.  In addition, they removed the part of the foundation necessary for installing a new sewer line.  Tomorrow they will begin digging a trench for the new sewer pipe and preparing to pour the concrete in front of the garage.

Concrete removed from in front of the garage

The edge of the garage where the concrete has been cut

Whole drilled through the foundation for the sewer line

Photo by Josh Stoffel

Portion of the foundation removed for installation of the new sewer line

Photo by Josh Stoffel

Reconstruction Day 14

MCC returned to campus Tuesday to continue work on the house.  they painted the ceilings, and did work on the trellis to prepare it for installation.  In preparation for installing the interior panels, they have also begun to install a wooden nailer along the bottom of the panels that have been put up so far.  The nailer is a thin strip of wood that will fill the gap between the base of the interior and exterior panels.

Preparations are also being made for the concrete at the entrance to the garage to be re-poured.  The concrete outside the front door and in the ramp up to the garage is cracked and will have to be removed and re-poured.

Reconstruction Day 13

MCC left to return to Philadelphia after a half day or work today, but before they finished for the week, they installed the back doors and covered the entire house with protective tarps to keep rain off the unfinished roof.  Next week MCC will remain in Philadelphia to continue work on the interior panels, which still need to be painted.  They will return to campus the week of October 8th.  In the mean time, the roofing will be installed and other work will continue on the restoration.

The back double doors, installed this morning

All the windows and doors in place

The inside of the front door

The future site of the bathroom, with some of the wiring and interior panels installed

The back doors from the outside, and the house covered by the protective tarps for the weekend until the roofing is watertight 

Insulation for the roof awaiting installation

Reconstruction Day 12

Today the last of the windows was installed.  The front door was also put in place, and the door jamb for the back double doors was fitted.  The back doors are not installed yet, but will be tomorrow.  The electrician also continued work on the wiring, including the data cables, which is almost complete.

Fitting one of the final windows

Installing the doorjamb for the rear double doors

The front door, installed by MCC today

Reconstruction Day 11

The electrician returned and put in most of the wiring today.  MCC continued to install windows, most of which are in place.  They also put up a few of the interior wall panels and some of the cabinets in the smaller bedroom.  With some of the interior walls in place you can really start to see where the rooms will be and imagine what it will be like when it's finished!

Two interior wall panels installed and some cabinets

The electrical wires installed so far

Windows put in place so far

Reconstruction Day 10

Today the electrician for the project began the wiring.  He will be coming back hopefully to complete it tomorrow.  Once the electrical wiring is done MCC can finish the roofing.  In the mean time, the MCC crew is installing windows.  They have put in several of the windows already and will continue working on them tomorrow.

The completed shell with some of the windows installed

The interior of the garage

Looking through where the front door will soon be

Installing some of the windows

One window installed, one awaiting installation

The beginning of the wiring installed by the electrician today

Reconstruction Day 9

On Friday MCC installed the wood blocking and sleepers for the garage roof.  They also finished the roof sheathing and covered it with a protective tarp for the the weekend.  the next step is installing the inner-wall wiring, which will be followed by roof insulation, fascia panels and roofing.

Installing the garage roof wood blocking and sleepers

Garage roof sheathing finished

Tarps covering the unfinished roof awaiting wiring, insulation, and roofing material