It’s been two weeks since we started construction in the loft above our garage and our future mudroom! You can read up on our plans for each of these spaces in this post and today I’m going to post the first of many renovation updates. We’ve had a good amount of rain in Connecticut recently so that’s held us back a bit, but it’s still crazy how different things look after so little time. I posted a video update on my Instagram story yesterday and saved it to my renovation highlight if you want to take a peek!

garage roofline at the end of day one

framed closets in the loft at the end of day one

loft above the garage at the end of day one

The first thing that happened was framing the loft above the garage to create support for the roof before it could be dormered in the back. It only took a couple days to put up framing where the bathroom and closets will be which is so helpful in visualizing how this space will look once it’s built out. We had to install a huge beam that runs the length of the loft in order to support the new roofline and the new ceiling will be sheetrocked just beneath the beam to maintain the loft feel. We initially thought about keeping the beam exposed and keeping the ceiling apex, but the ceiling will still be 9’ high with it covered so that’s the plan!

wall between existing playroom and future mudroom at the end of day two

first bit of framing in the loft bathroom at the end of day two

digging the future mudroom on day three

Next they removed the siding from the exterior wall of the sunroom where the future mudroom will connect the house and the garage. This wall was weirdly cinderblock so it will involve some extra work to turn the first set of windows into a cased opening between the playroom and the mudroom. (Our house was built in 1850 and the original construction is in incredible shape, but there were a series of additions including the current kitchen and the overhang above the future mudroom that are a little funky and not as well done, so I’m excited to get those looking more like the rest of the house!) They’ve been digging in anticipation of pouring the foundation for the mudroom and I’m really excited to see that part poured and framed over the next week or so. This space has been the hardest for me to envision so I’m really excited for that to take shape in the coming days!

new ceiling beam on day three

more framing and roof support on day four

8:28 a.m. on day eight (lost a few days due to rain)

9:17 a.m. on day eight

11:58 a.m. on day eight

12:51 p.m. on day eight

3:28 p.m. on day eight

shed dormer interior at the end of day eight

Last week they dormered the roof above the garage which instantly transformed the loft space where my parents will be moving in! The new roofline more than doubles the amount of living space up there because the ceiling is now between 7’ and 9’ where it previously sloped all the way to the floor. (It’s worth watching the video tour if this doesn’t make sense in writing/photos!)

shed dormer on day eleven

ready for these windows to become a doorway!

loft framing on day eleven

shed dormer interior at the end of day eleven

This week they’re planning to cut through the exterior playroom wall to create the cased opening between the playroom and the future mudroom where we currently have two windows (which will be recycled along the back wall of our family room when we start construction in there at the beginning of next month). I imagine it will get a little noisy while they seal off the playroom and create the doorway to the mudroom, but (knock on wood) it’s been pretty manageable so far! Now we just need a few days of good weather so they can make more progress on the mudroom. Stay tuned! 🙂