Rosslyn Redux

Tag: Framing

  • Framing Rosslyn

    Framing Rosslyn

    No, it’s not my birthday. Yes, I realize that the image accompanying this post might be confusing. Sorry. Framing Rosslyn recollects a previous post celebrating friend and artist Catherine Seidenberg while marking a rewarding step forward toward furnishing and decorating Rosslyn’s icehouse.

    Framing Rosslyn (Artwork: Catherine Seidenberg; Photo: Geo Davis)
    Framing Rosslyn (Artwork: Catherine Seidenberg; Photo: Geo Davis)

    As icehouse rehab winds toward the finish line, I’ve been able to begin shifting from construction mode to decorating mode, finally choosing some of the artwork and artifacts that will be joining me in the icehouse soon. Eith the help of my bride and Nico Sardet at Furchgott Sourdiffe Gallery in Shelburne I’ve started to finalize some new framing including this handsome birthday gift from Catherine back in 2016. This remarkable rendering will make its next appearance once framing is complete and it’s hanging in the soon-to-be completely rehabilitated icehouse. Mark. My. Words. (Especially “soon”!)

    Custom framing at Furchgott Sourdiffe Gallery means experienced service and attention to detail… [and] extensive design services combined with expert craftsmanship… Archival materials and techniques are used to guarantee preservation of your artwork. (Source: Furchgott Sourdiffe Gallery )

    The *Other* Framing

    Although the impetus for this post is gratitude for a gift from Catherine and gratitude to Susan and Nico for helping me consider the most suitable frames for the icehouse artwork, I’m also drawn the idea of framing a home. Not just a painting of a home, but the property itself.

    I’ve reflected elsewhere on the ways that windows and doors frame exterior views, and even the way that the porosity within a building can frame elements of the interior environment. Perhaps I’m a little obsessive with the ways that hearts become a hole. And the ways that we experience those parts and that whole…

    Some years ago when we developed our plans for an historically inspired fence and when we then presented the proposal to the Essex planning board, I tried to convey this notion of framing. The fence, running between the north and south property lines, parallel to the sidewalk and road, and parallel to Lake Champlain, helped define and delineate Rosslyn. Not as a home, but as a property. A collection of four buildings that are related to one another. A cohesive and integrated tableau writ large.

    The desire to explore the interrelatedness of these historic buildings through stonewalls and landscaping has been one of the most enjoyable endeavors over the last seventeen years. A slow motion sculpting of Rosslyn’s almost 70 acres into an aesthetically and functionally appealing program, discrete elements coalescing into a logical and well integrated experience. The relationships between the discreet parts — in some cases fixed in brick and mortar, in other cases evolving gradually with experimentation, maturation of flora, and the patina-ing and aging of the built environment — continue to meld with revision and the passage of time. Editing and reevaluating help distill the successful initiatives from this best abandoned. And little by little relationships develop, an affinity emerges. A wholeness, set apart from surroundings. Or so I conceive as, little by little, we strive to frame Rosslyn…

  • Framing Flashback

    Framing Flashback

    At the outset of Rosslyn’s icehouse rehab, I envisioned posting weekly summaries, highlighting the team’s accomplishments in 7-day installments. Noble vision. Ignoble follow through. Among the many overlooked episodes, one especially significant accomplishment stands out: building interior structure for the loft, bathroom, mechanical room, etc. So today, months after construction was completed, I offer you an icehouse framing flashback.

    Much belated but nevertheless heartfelt thanks to Pam, Hroth, Matt, and Justin for transforming Tiho’s interior plans into the skeleton around and upon which the reimagined icehouse will take shape. It’s slightly surreal to reflect back from the finish phase. Mere months ago the rudiments were still taking shape. The internal volumes and flow were being defined. The former utility building purpose built to preserve ice cut from Lake Champlain was beginning to resemble the newly relevant work+play space now coming into focus. Adaptive reuse was perhaps no more clearly articulated than this interstitial moment when a voluminous interior was being reconfigured into distinct zones serving distinct functions. Hurrah!

  • Stair Framing to the Loft is Complete!

    Stair Framing to the Loft is Complete!

    Stair Framing to the Loft Complete! (Photo: Hroth Ottosen)
    Stair framing to the loft is complete! (Photo: Hroth Ottosen)

    First phase of interior framing (walls for bathroom, mechanical room, coffee bar, and loft floor) was an invigorating milestone in Rosslyn’s icehouse rehabilitation project. And then, installing the loft subfloor helped complete the transformation, visually defining the new spaces. But the most notable triumph during the interior framing phase is the stairway which has dramatically transformed—both visually and functionally—the construction site into a prototypical preview of Rosslyn’s icehouse reinvention.

    Stringers level for stair framing to the icehouse loft. (Photo: Hroth Ottosen)
    Stringers level for stair framing to the icehouse loft. (Photo: Hroth Ottosen)

    An avalanche of accolades on Hroth and Matt for successfully completing the stair framing to the icehouse loft. Bravo!

    Stringers level for stair framing to the icehouse loft. (Photo: Hroth Ottosen)
    Stringers level for stair framing to the icehouse loft. (Photo: Hroth Ottosen)

    Of course, skilled carpentry is the foundational ingredient for framing a staircase, but there’s a fair bit of mathematics and geometry as well. And then there’s the question of codes compliance. Lots of precise and inflexible dimensions enduring the safety of stairs!

    Stringers cut for stair framing to the icehouse loft. (Photo: Hroth Ottosen)
    Stringers cut for stair framing to the icehouse loft. (Photo: Hroth Ottosen)

    And all of these ingredients need to be carefully coordinated to ensure successful staircase framing.

    Stringers cut for stair framing to the icehouse loft. (Photo: Hroth Ottosen)
    Stringers cut for stair framing to the icehouse loft. (Photo: Hroth Ottosen)

    In the days prior to framing the loft stairs, confirmations were ironed out with the inspector; three-way meetings between Hroth, Pam, and yours truly reviewed plans, verified field conditions against the plans, checked and double checked everything to ensure that we were all on the same page; and then Pam and I stepped aside to let the carpenters perform their alchemy.

    Stringers cut for stair framing to the icehouse loft. (Photo: Hroth Ottosen)
    Stringers cut for stair framing to the icehouse loft. (Photo: Hroth Ottosen)

    I’ve juggled my photo sequence a bit in this post to keep things interesting, but it’s worth noting that the first photo at the top of the post actually shows the staircase. And then the next for photographs document the process of installing the stringers.

    Mid-story landing 100% level for new stair framing. (Photo: Hroth Ottosen)
    Mid-story landing 100% level for new stair framing. (Photo: Hroth Ottosen)

    In addition to the stringers, Hroth reconfirmed that the landing is 100% level, eliminating problems down the road.

    Stair Framing to the Loft Complete! (Photo: Hroth Ottosen)
    Stair Framing to the Loft (Photo: Hroth Ottosen)

    Throughout stair framing verifying everything for level and plumb is critical so that micro adjustments can be made as needed.

    Stair Framing to the Loft Complete! (Photo: Hroth Ottosen)
    Stair Framing to the Loft Complete! (Photo: Hroth Ottosen)

    Once stringers are secured and sun-treads installed, stair framing is ready for for further structural integration.

    Stair Framing to the Loft Complete! (Photo: Hroth Ottosen)
    Stair Framing to the Loft Complete! (Photo: Hroth Ottosen)

    And then, Hroth moved on to framing the tops of the stringers where railing balusters will land. And he’s even begun framing in the built-in shelves.

    New bookshelves integrated into stair framing. (Photo: Hroth Ottosen)
    New bookshelves integrated into stair framing. (Photo: Hroth Ottosen)
  • Icehouse Rehab 6: Framing Windows

    Icehouse Rehab 6: Framing Windows

    Hroth Framing Windows in Icehouse (Photo: R.P. Murphy)
    Hroth Framing Windows in Icehouse (Photo: R.P. Murphy)

    Although sourcing and designing the new windows and doors started this summer, the order wasn’t finalized until late autumn. Rosslyn’s icehouse is a small building, but there were many details to dial-in before production could begin. Precise pitch of the roof (echoed in several windows) and structural integration with windows and doors (especially in the west elevation where the fenestration-to-wall ratio is atypical) were among the challenges that delayed the process. But once the deposit was paid our focus shifted to framing windows.

    Icehouse Window Framing Plans with Notes (Photo: Hroth Ottosen)
    Icehouse Window Framing Plans with Notes (Photo: Hroth Ottosen)

    Starting with the north elevation, the constellation of six windows — three small upper windows echoing the horse stall windows in the carriage barn and three, six-over-six double hung windows, templated from the majority of the windows in the carriage barn — has been framed in. Especial gratitude to Hroth and Eric for jumpstarting this process so that cladding, siding, insulating, electrical installation, etc. can soon follow. Window framing would normally be an exciting step toward natural lighting, but given the lengthy production time on our windows and doors, the rough bucks (window and door framing) will serve as opaque placeholders for a few months longer.

    Video Mashup of Framing Windows

    Time for a quick zip through framing windows — precisely the first six windows — in the icehouse.

    https://www.instagram.com/reel/ClGfJ26Av7v/

    Hat tip to Hroth and Eric.