Build Updates

Volunteer crews generally work Wednesdays and Saturdays and sometimes Fridays, 9am to noon. Volunteers should wear clothing that you don't mind getting dirty or damaged, sturdy shoes (no open toes or sandals), and bring work gloves if you have them. Check our work plans below and if you have tools, bring what might be helpful for the work day.

First time or occasional volunteers, please check our volunteer guidelines and please contact our Volunteer Coordinator, Beth Davis, at beth@mathquilt.net before the work day. We try to insure that we will not have too many or too few volunteers on site for any work day. Groups wanting to schedule a work day should contact Beth Davis at beth@mathquilt.net.

Building site location: 37 Main Street, Williamstown. Heading east from Williamstown on Route 2, the house is on the right, just before Dion Money Management (a big gray barn building) and the North Adams line, and diagonally across from Renton's Farmland Market. Overflow parking is available in the Dion Managment lot, along the west side facing the project home.

Work plans: February 1 and 4 - Continue installing sheetrock, first floor walls, stairwell and upstairs hallway. Furnace is to be installed this week. Start taping sheetrock.

more photos available on Facebook

Work Progress:

January 25, 27 and 28 - Installed sheetrock in master bedroom and living room. Built wall in basement for furnace.

January 16, 18, 20 and 21 - Installed sheetrock in stairwell, still to finish. Installed ceiling sheetrock first floor kitchen, dining, livingroom, bedroom and entry way.

January 11, 13 and 14 - Installed second floor sheetrock, bedrooms and bath.

January 4 and 7 - Installed sheetrock on second floor bedroom ceilings and walls. Finished siding on east side of porch.

December 21, 28 and 31 - Attic and wall insulation was done Monday and Tuesday, 12/19 and 12/20, by B|E Retrofit from Newton MA with labor donated and some of the cellulose insulation donated by National Fiber. B|E Retrofit co-owner Kevin Colwell is a recent Williams graduate who stopped by to volunteer last summer and offered his business expertise and services. Installed fascia cover and sofit on front west first floor. Installed window trim on porch windows. Installed ceiling strapping for sheetrock. Insulated inside porch. Installed last cornerpost on porch and starting siding on each end.

December 14 and 17 - Installed porch windows. GEM Environmental sprayed insulation along basement rim joist and under front overhang.

December 7 and 10 - Framed porch windows. Installed cornerpost and siding on north side of porch and on east wall next to porch door. Finished siding on second floor east side. Continued installing furring strips on ceilings.

November 2011 - Williamstown Boy Scout Troop 70 completed landscaping work, removing brush and dead trees and trimming the overgrown hedge. They have been working Saturdays for several months on this project and have greatly improved the appearance of the lot. Completed siding on south side and west sides second floor. Installed fascia covering and soffit on second floor gable eave and eaves. Started installing strapping for sheetrock on second floor ceiling. Installed window trim and siding on front second floor and on east side almost to eave.

October 2011 - Constructed center wall in basement. Finished siding on west gable (in the rain). Installed treads on bulkhead stairs. Installed cap on side deck railing. Installed second floor windows. Installed siding on east and north sides first floor. Installed southeast and southwest cornerposts second floor. Finished installing and taping thin rigid insulation under ceiling joists second floor. Installed front exterior door, exterior doors to porch and to basement hatchway. Installed window trim on south window second floor and siding up to window.

September 2011 - Groups from Williams College and MCLA stripped the deck and installed a new deck floor. Installed deck railing on south and east sides. Installed j-channel along gables and eave corners for soffit. Cut vinyl window trim and installed on first-floor windows. Installed vinyl cornerposts first floor. Bulkhead walls were poured and area backfilled. Basement floor was poured. Installed bulkhead door. Installed siding on south and west sides to top of first floor windows.

August 2011 - Installed last window on first floor. Finished installing exterior insulation. Installed j-channel and utility strips under first floor eaves for siding and soffits, and installed starter strips around first floor windows for window trim. Added and leveled sand to basement floor. Added rigid insulation, plastic and wire mesh in prep for concrete floor. Adams Concrete poured footings for front steps and footings and bulkhead walls. Secured house for hurricane Irene (no damage incurred).

July 2011 - Installed first floor windows. Continued installing exterior insulation and furring strips. Dug out trench in basement floor for cement center beam, removed old cement and leveled dirt floor to prep for cement floor. Installed perimeter drain with crushed stone.

June 2011 - Continued installing exterior insulation and furring strips for siding. Finished shingling porch roof. Constructed corner furring pieces. Excavated for basement hatchway, again thanks to Dave Larabee, and cut opening in basement wall for hatchway. Applied Vicor seal to window openings and installed kitchen and dining room windows.

May 2011 - Installed rigid insulation under ceiling joists. Installed lally columns in basement. Finished installing air barrier and started installing rigid foam exterior insulation. Installed 2x4 nailers around windows on first floor. Water and sewer lines to house connected with excavation thanks to Dave Larabee.

April 2011 - Ouellette Bros. Plumbing started plumbing work. Installed LVL beams under second floor east and west walls. Met with National Grid for demonstration of window installation with air barriers and exterior insulation. Sealed air barriers around first floor windows and installed window extensions for insulation. Constructed valley on porch roof to divert water. Installed new roof sheathing, ice & water shield and roof felt on porch roof and started shingling. Installed air barrier around second floor. Broke up and removed cement flooring in basement to prepare for perimeter drain. Framed front corner of porch. Moved porch door to new location. Installed thin rigid insulation under ceiling joists.

March 2011 - Shingled first floor roofs. Constructed mock wall for window installation. Trimmed and filled in sheathing around windows to prepare for wrapping air barrier, cut plywood pieces for window box extensions, wrapped air barrier on west, south and north exterior of first floor and second floor exteriors inside the first floor attic space. Completed interior framing details for building inspection. Maxima Electric installed wiring and boxes on second floor. Removed old roofing on side porch.

February 2011 - Stripped shingles from first floor roofs, cut back roof sheathing and extended rafters for deeper eaves, installed gable ladders, added new roof sheathing and fascia, installed ice & water membrane, roof felt, drip edges and flashing. Framed banister wall for stairwell to second floor, small dividing wall inside porch entrance and flooring for second floor closet over stairwell. Dismantled and removed old furnace.

January 2010 - framed new entry door from porch; framed interior walls for second floor; built stairways and landings from basement to first floor and from first to second floor; installed fascia boards, drip edge and snow & ice shield along eaves of second floor roof; second story roof was shingled by volunteer roofers.

December 2010 - Framed first floor interior walls for master bedroom closet, dining/living room area and stairwell/bath. Installed sheathing on second story gables. Removed first floor windows and reframed window openings. Replaced exterior plank sheathing with full plywood sheets on first floor corners. Completed roof sheathing on second floor.

November 2010 - framed front bath wall downstairs, installed sheathing on corners of north and south walls second floor, installed ceiling joists and rafters for second floor. Completed wall sheathing around rim joists second floor, plumbed rafters and started installing roof sheathing. framed wall for bath and bedroom entry, and wall between bath and closets. Completed blocking between second floor ceiling joists and between rafters. Installed staging for roof work. Completed roof sheathing and wall sheathing on east side. Framed and installed gable ladders and framed gable walls.

October 2010 - Finished joists for second floor and installed plywood deck. Framed and sheathed second floor walls. Removed first floor walls around bath, stairwell and small bedroom. Started first floor center wall. Removed floor boards to lengthen basement stairwell and removed old basement stairs. Dug holes for front steps. Berkshire Gas installed the gas line to house. Removed old and installed new bath subfloor. Built shelving for tool shed. Friday afternoon 10/8, 26 members of the Bishop family (Tim Briggs' mother, aunts, uncles and cousins) volunteered. BART senior students began a series of five volunteer days.

September 2010 - Labor Day weekend, we had two volunteer crews from Williams College and one crew from MCLA as part of the colleges' first-year orientation programs. We removed aluminum siding and clapboards from the exterior and trimmed back the overgrown hedge on the west side of the property. Wednesday and Saturday crews then cut the mid-section of the roof, removing the existing roof, rafters and ceiling joists, and began framing the floor joists for the new second floor.

April 2010 - Volunteers from the North Adams and Williamstown United Methodist Churches did a spring clean up of the yard. And then we waited all summer for completion of the renovation designs.

March 2010, aided by crews of students from MCLA and Williams, and by our returning Wednesday crew, we demolished the inside of the house, removing sheetrock, ceiling tiles, furring strips and insulation, kitchen cabinets, bath and kitchen flooring, and the chimney.

The weekend of February 21, we had two large trees taken down, one crowding the deck and the other too large and close to the house. Not that we don't like trees - we left a large tree toward the back of the lot that will give good shade to the house.

We purchased property in Williamstown in November 2009 for our new project, a rehab of a small home. We are working on renovation plans and will begin initial work in the house in early spring 2010.

We completed the Henderson Road project in March 2009. See our Completed Homes page for photos.