Hi everyone,

It’s been a quiet couple weeks on the job site, but behind the scenes there has been plenty of activity.

Last week, the Massachusetts State Plumbing Board and Elevator Board finally approved variance requests that we had made earlier in this winter.  These variances were mainly procedural, necessitated by specific conditions in our old building, but they have now paved the way for new work to begin:  ordering and installing the lift, finalizing plumbing bids, etc.

Meanwhile, I have been working daily with our architect, our builder, and the city’s office of Inspectional Services to revise and finalize a strategy for ...
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Hi everyone,

Thanks to the few of you who turned up on short notice [again] for another work day on Saturday.  We got a lot of good work done in advance of an important meeting with the building inspector set for this Thursday.  The architect, builder, and city are sorting out a few final questions regarding the building code, after which framing will begin again for the new stair at the driveway end of the building.

In the meantime, Joel Bennett, Seth Riskin, and Jeff Levine are working together to put together a survey to try to understand the availability and skill ...
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Hi everyone,

Work at Summer Street slowed a bit over the holidays and while the architect, builder, and I try to sort out some building code questions related to the new fire stair.  However, the foundations are now all poured and backfilled, and the interior of the building is ready for some parent work crews.

Joel Bennett and I will be hosting another work day this Saturday, Jan. 16th, from 9:00 to 2:00. The weather report is calling for temperatures in the mid-40s, so it will be a good day to work in an unheated building.  There will be a new dumpster ...
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Greetings gentle readers,

It was busy last week at Summer Street, despite the inclement weather.  Anyone driving by will have noticed a chain link fence that used to surround a hole in the ground, but now surrounds a foundation!  This is the concrete for the bottom of the new stair tower, which will rise up all three stories to meet the new roof that the framers constructed two weeks ago.  Once the concrete is cured, the walls & floors will start going up, and the final outside form of the building will finally have taken shape – save a porch or ...
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Hi all,

As promised, Joel and I will be hosting another work day tomorrow 12/12 from 11:00-3:00. We will be working indoors, mainly – but there is no heat, so dress warmly!

If you come tomorrow, you will see that the third floor extension of the staff space has been framed and the roof line is starting to take shape. You’ll also see an excavator sitting idly by in the driveway – excavation for the new foundation starts Monday! Interior partitions will start Monday as well, and the spaces inside will really start to take shape.

We hope to see ...
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Sorry for the erroneous post earlier this morning. Joel and I will be trying to put our new tree in the ground TOMORROW, Saturday 12/5.

We both plan to be there around 11:30 and to work for about three hours. There is plenty of other landscaping-related work to do, so we would appreciate any company you feel like providing. If you are free tomorrow for this impromptu work day, please email Joel: joelbikesalot@yahoo.com. We will be opening up the building tomorrow, too, so please come down for a quick walk through – even if you don’t ...
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Those of you following this blog closely know that an alumni family donated a great elm tree to the school, which arrived wrapped in a big burlap bag last weekend. We have to get this tree in the ground, and this coming Sunday seems like the day to do it! There also happen to be about 4,691 other things that we could be doing around the building, so Joel Bennett and I thought we could make Sunday afternoon an impromptu work day. Look for an email later today with more details, and please stop by for an ...
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For those of you who haven’t seen them yet, here are links to the floorplans of our new Summer Street home:

• Exterior perspective view from Summer Street
• Kitchen
• Play nook
• Bench / “Stage”
• Play loft
• North and West Elevations
• Basement and First Floor Plans
• Second and Third Floor Plans
• South Elevation

Last week was a busy week at Summer Street, despite the holiday. Carpenters have begun the interior framing, opening up structural walls and replacing old, under-sized, heavy-timber beams with new engineered lumber and steel. Excavation is expected to start this week as well, pending a conversation with the structural engineer about the stability of part of the existing foundation, and the new walls and roof on the second and third floor should be taking shape too.

In an act of generosity typical of our Agassiz community, Gillien Todd (parent of Charlie & Chloe, MG) put us in touch with ...
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OK, folks, we’re into it now!  If you haven’t been by Summer Street in the past 24 hours, you haven’t noticed that the demolition contractor has removed a good part of the roof and second floor walls on the driveway side of the building.  This is to allow us to build up to the third floor in this area and attach to the planned interior fire stair.  If construction’s your thing, it’s time to start routing your daily errands past the site at least every few days, as the exterior of the building will be taking shape in the coming ...
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