In which we gain full height throughout.

When we first started this project and designed the lower level.  We were expecting to have a finished, useable space of 800-900 square feet.  The abandonment of the elevator shaft and staircase added an extra 225 square feet to that total and our tenacious hard work along with that of the jack hammer master, Dan Waldron, yielded another 350 or so square feet of usable space.   What I am trying to say is that we have achieved 1475 square feet of useable, full height space in the lower level of the building!  Congratulations to us!  I thought I was done showing you piles of rocks, but here is the latest....this is about half of the rock that Mr. Waldron jacked out of the ground.  After I get back from Boston tomorrow, I plan to spend three days getting the rest of the rubble out.

It was a hard won fight, but I believe that in the end it will be worth it.  The space is light filled and completely different from what it used to look like!

Before

Now.  I think replacing the cross beams and recessing them was a great idea.

                                                                                                                  

Though hard to tell, we gained about the height of the two rows of blocks you see in the right hand photo below.  We still have the floor to pour, but right now we have 8 feet 3 inches of head room.

                      Before                                                                                                 After

A view out to the addition which is now framed out on the lower level and ready to enclose.  Once they get a floor on above and enclose the space, we can begin to think about heating the space up to finish the floor.  We need to heat the space for a while to make sure the frost is out of the ground.  

Looking East...a lot of good light coming in here.  A fireplace in the corner to the left would be great if we rented out to a cafe or something. 

Still all this rubble to haul out....sigh.  

A nice shot of the beginnings of the addition with the added window that matches the ones on the Federal Street side.  If need be, this 225 square foot space could be walled off to make it separate from the larger space.  We are all about adaptability.