1221 12th St NW- Closer Every Day

This project is really entering the final stages. We're at the point in the project where everyone comes back to finish. Today, there were several plumbers, electricians, the HVAC company and our carpenters working in the house. We're looking forward to next week, when we'll start refinishing the floors and installing the new hardwood floors in the basement.

This picture of the second floor unit will give you a pretty good idea of the current condition of the building. The paint color looks perfect (thanks to Jaye at Red House Staging) and all of the trimwork is complete. The lights are all in, and the furnaces are set, ready to be turned on when the gas meters are installed on Friday.

All of the cabinet frames are installed, although now we need to go back and install the inset doors. The cabinet frames were covered in plastic to protect them during the construction.

This picture shows the new tile, paint and wall-hung sinks in the hall bathrooms. The colors really work together well.

Here is the master bathroom on the first floor. The Kohler dual-flush toilets are in, as well as all of the marble and ceramic tile. We had the marble vanity tops measured yesterday and they will be installed next week.

The drywall guys finally got to work on the plaster section of the bayfront windows. We kept the trim entirely intact on the front to preserve the historic character, so it will now take a lot of work to patch and skim the plaster.

Here is the hallway in the back bedroom unit. The brick is all cleaned and ready to be sealed.

2106 10th St- The Thompson Flats

The new building we are working on at 10th and V St NW has finally been named- The Thompson Flats. The name is a reference to the old Thompson's Dairy, which used to take up much of this and the adjacent blocks. The dairy was the biggest in DC and was an important part of the early development of the neighborhood.

Here was the project yesterday. This was the first day of framing, and much of the day was spent leveling the top of the blocks to install the sill plate for framing. The block wasn't 100% level- which is very common- and was off by about 1/4 inch in various places. After leveling the top with metal shims and non-shrink grout, the new i-joists were installed.

This was the status at about 11 AM this morning. All of the joists and subfloor had been installed on the first floor. You can see the rear wall with the door and two windows is resting on the ground, ready to be tilted up into place. I'm excited to see on Monday what the first floor looks like with the walls up.

1221 12th St NW- Light

We finally got the lights installed in the top two units this morning. Until this point, only the basement unit had power because the breakers weren't in the panels in the top three units. It's amazing how nice everything looks when the lights are turned on.

Here is the top unit. It's funny how small the electrician looks with the towering ceilings.

The cabinets are being installed in every floor. Here is the progress on the second floor.

Out back, today we removed the old concrete pad. It was in bad shape and didn't cover the whole parking area.

The fence on the side of the property is almost complete. If you look in the left corner you can see the lattice, which is going on top.

2106 10th St- Close to Framing

The new development at 2106 10th St is coming along well. We have the foundation mostly complete and we are ready to start framing tomorrow. Today. the masons were working on putting in the front and back openings for the doors and windows. In addition, other workers were finishing the backfilling.

It took a few tries but we finally got the sizing correct for the back windows and doors. Here a mason is filling the new wall with concrete. The concrete lentils for above the doors ended up being a little too short so we ordered longer ones to be delivered tomorrow morning.

Here is the new dirt along the right foundation wall. We backfilled the majority of the wall with gravel, although we used this fill dirt on the top because the clay was difficult to work with. Also we were concerned that no grass would grow in the other dirt.

2106 10th St-Foundation Walls Up

Despite the torrential rain last weekend, we were able to finish the basement foundation walls this week. Now, the crew is working on backfilling the outside of the walls with gravel and filling the top of the concrete blocks with concrete. All of our framing wood is ordered for Weds. and we hope to have at least the first floor done by the end of the week.

The rendering came back from the graphic designer and it looks incredible. We made a few final changes (mostly to the window pattern on the side, which is incorrect below) but mostly this is exactly what the building will look like once complete.

Here was the scene at the project earlier this week. It always is amazing how many people it takes to lay just one block- two people to lower it into the hole, two guys to mix the mortar, one to measure with the string, and finally someone to place it. Then another guy comes and fills it up with concrete. Seven guys!

This is what the site looked like when we finished today. We put more bracing up on the far wall in order to help support all the weight from backfilling because the concrete is not 100% dry. This is done mostly just as a formality, but it's always a good idea.

1221 12th St NW- Three weeks left

At the 12th St project, we're working basically around the clock to finish in the next three weeks. For the majority of a renovation project, you are held back a bit in terms of speed because you're often relying on other people to finish their job before you can finish yours. For example, the sheetrock guys are waiting for the electrician, who comes after the HVAC, who comes after the plumber, who comes after the framers, and so on. However, after the sheetrock is up and sanded, there's really no one left in the way. The trim guys can work at the same time as the painters, exterior carpenters, concrete workers and tile men. Even the plumber and electrician can come back at any point. This is the point we've finally reached. We're working hard to finish before mid-April so buyers get a chance to take the $8,000.00 tax credit before the end of the month.

In the rear of the property, the spiral steps are finished and the decks are 90% done. The carpenters were working today to put in the final pickets on the railing and the final Trex decking on top of the joists.

The first floor is ready to paint and the coffered ceilings are in. This floor is actually the furthest from being completed- the other floors are almost entirely painted. We had so many materials sitting in the project and nowhere to put them that we decided to leave them all on one floor (this one) and finish the other three floors. Now the stuff has all been moved to the basement, which is painted. The ladder in this picture is 8 Ft tall and the ceiling is easily 2-3 feet taller- not bad!

Here is the tile in the front basement unit. We're really happy how the hex marble tile came out in the showers and we'll definitely do this again in another project.

2106 10th St- Making Progress

At the new condo project, the excavation is complete and today we formed and poured the new footers. At the end of the day, the concrete workers set the rebar to prepare for the masons, who are coming tomorrow to start the block foundation walls.

1221 12th st- Looking Great

We're heading into the final few weeks at The Twelve Twenty-One Condos. There's a lot going on right now- painting, trimwork, tiling and all of the exterior projects. We should be finished within the next month.

In the back, the welders are working on the spiral steps. The joists are all put in for the decking, and today the carpenters started laying the Trex decking. Also, two masons are working on the wall on the first floor. This picture gives you a good idea of how much work this task has been. The wall is actually three bricks thick, and we totally changed the location of the two windows and added a patio door. The brick has to be taken out in sections to prevent undermining the brick wall above.

Today, the carpenters finished the coffered ceilings on the second floor. They need to put the crown molding in the squares, but they already look awesome.

Two guys are tiling all eight bathrooms. They're making great progress and should start grouting tomorrow.

Lots of the trimwork is complete. You can see we matched the trim exactly from the original windows.

2106 10th St- New Project

We just settled on a new project yesterday and started construction today. It's ground-up construction on a vacant lot only a few blocks from the U St metro. We'll be building a four-unit condo building that has a very similar feel to the condos we built at 1133 6th St NW. Each unit is 2 BR, 2 BA and there are two parking spots. We're really excited for this project to start taking shape.

Here is the front elevation of the new building- it has lots of glass:

Here is a picture of the lot yesterday before we started any construction. The excavators dropped off this machine, but then changed their minds, because there was a much bigger one in its' place by the time I got there this morning.

We went out yesterday and marked out the lot. We had a surveyor do the lot boundaries, and then we came back and used those to mark out the new footprint.

Here is the excavator that was used all day. They took out almost 25 dump trucks full of dirt today.

This is the progress.

1221 12th St- Getting Closer

The 1221 Condos are really looking good. The weather has started to warm up and we've finally been able to work outside. We're working full speed ahead and should be finished during the second week of April.

The entire house is sheetrocked. Inside, we're still sanding down the sheetrock and we will prime the walls with paint next week.

The big project of the week is the rear decks. The bottom two decks are finished. The welder is coming back monday to extend the posts up to the third floor, and then that deck will go in on Tuesday. Once we pour the concrete, the welder will build the spiral steps.

1221 12th st NW- Sheetrock Up

The snow has finally melted and we're back to work. Over the last week, all of the walls got closed in with drywall and we started working on the rear decks. The next two weeks will see a flurry of activity- all the interior doors, trim, cabinets, paint and tile will all be installed. We're excited to see the building take shape.

They planted the sign in front today, and lots of people were stopping to read it.



Here's the ceilings in the top unit. They're easily 15 Ft high.



This is the second floor. The fireplace mantel is just resting there- that's actually the kitchen.



Here are the kitchen cabinets, ready to be assembled. These are very high-end custom cabinets- we're excited to see them installed.



In the back, the masons worked on cutting the brick for the patio doors and windows. The top two floors are done.



The floor guys finished patching the original pine floors. They ended up moving a lot of the old floor from areas that will be tile- like the bathrooms- to fix damaged spots in the living areas. When it's sanded and stains it will look good as new.