In the Thick of Things

We have owned the house for a week.  A WEEK!  I can hardly believe it.  So far, the contractors have been here every day except Sunday.  Pete came by on Saturday but didn't do any actual work.  He did bring a huge truck load of tools and whatnot.

So now we're in it full swing.  The renovations are dominating the house.  Right now, the Rabbits are here, as well as the A/C people.  The A/C guys had to balance the air in the house; basically they had to mess with a few things to make sure each room was getting adequate air.  They won't be here all day, as they've only got a few things to do, and I have to admit, I think I prefer it that way.  There's quite enough chaos going on in this house with just the Rabbits.  Having an extra two guys knocking about in my attic does add to the craziness.

Anyway, they Rabbits are still working on the kitchen.  So far, so good, despite having to completely redo the floor.  There had been quite a bit of water coming in through the kitchen window.

Being a sixty-six year old house, all the years without gutters or proper sealing around the windows leads to a good amount of wood rot.  The frame work under the window had to be fixed as well as the entire sub floor and joists.  The hole that Jack is working on was actually started by his foot when he fell through.  Luckily, he wasn't hurt, but that just goes to show how much work was needed on the floor.

So they started tearing up the original sub floor.  As I watched, I was amazed that the floor was only as deflected as it was.

Once they got it down to the joists, the damage was clearly seen.  Water had been seeping through the joists to about the middle of the room.  From the middle to the interior wall, the damage wasn't so bad, but right up against the exterior wall, the beams were so rotted that a few of them fell apart with just a little help from a hammer.

So the Rabbits started demo-ing the floor joists.

Until I was left with a big hole where my kitchen used to be.  At this point, I might have had a few "Oh.  MY.  GOSH" moments.  I mean, a crappy kitchen is better than no kitchen, right?  Hopefully the end result makes this giant pit of a kitchen worth it.

Ullr has been a champ through this.  Though sometimes he gets a little wound up from all the noise, he's learning to deal with it.  I think he needs a little hard hat with holes for his ears...that would be cute.

So after the old floor joists were disposed of, the new ones were put in.  Thankfully we didn't have have to deal with a giant pit in the floor for too long.

All finished!  They added a support beam just for extra protection against the floor bouncing.  This floor is going to be nice and level.  Before, the fridge was sitting at such an angle, the doors had a hard time closing.





All of this happened on Monday and last Friday, so the kitchen has been gutted for a good amount of time.  I'm quite ready for them to start moving on to laying sub floors and putting up drywall.  I've also talked to our head contractor about all the finishing touches, but only for a minute or two.  Due to the floor having to be redone, we've had to come up with ways to save money in our budget, which includes using a tile that is discontinued.  I, however, have not been able to see it yet.  I'm seriously hoping that it looks good...I've looked at the cabinet options, but obviously I can't pick one out yet because I don't know what the tile is going to look like with the cabinets I like.  We're also having to figure out how to arrange the kitchen, which is proving to be a difficult task.  The Rabbits have some very strong opinions when it comes to this, but Jared and I already had a vision, and now we're not sure which way to go...ok I'm not sure.  Jared refuses to change his mind on it.

While I contemplate the kitchen, the Rabbits are still working on it.  Today they took down the beam that we thought was necessary.  It wasn't.

The only reason it was there was to hide the crap job that someone did when they moved a light switch.  I would much rather have a nice flow from room to room, so I'm not going to miss the beam too much.

It didn't take much for this to come down.











I'm not sure what the guys are working on right now.  I do know that I'm currently roasting.  They A/C guys left without checking the outdoor unit, so it's not working at all.  Super.  So I'm seriously hoping they make it back this way soooooon...otherwise, I might pull a Wicked Witch of the West and melt.

Demo Day Deux

Day two has already been completed, can you believe it?  I took pictures throughout the process yesterday, but I didn't get a chance to post last night because I had to work.  So here we are, day three, and I'm going to talk about yesterday.

Yesterday the Rabbits tackled the kitchen.  I have to say that I'm probably the most excited about this room.  Of course, to get something new, they had to tear out the old.  One of the biggest challenges with this room was the floor.  Over however many years this house had been occupied, the kitchen floor has been slowly bowing in, creating a veritable bowl in the floor.  When we first looked at it with our untrained eyes, Jared and I noticed some very unique (and ridiculous) aspects of the floor.

  Firstly, the vinyl tiles were super ugly.  The salmon colored stick on's just HAD to go.  The second bit of weirdness came to our attention when we noticed that underneath the vinyl, there was a layer of sheet rock and plywood.  Someone obviously thought that would fix whatever bowing occurred.  Thirdly, underneath the sheet rock and plywood, there was a layer of cracked ceramic tile.  Of course it makes sense that when the floor started to sink, the tile cracked, leaving a rather unsightly mess (what better way to cover it up than with sheet rock?  Jared STILL can't get over how stupid that was).  Then underneath the real tile, there was the original wood floor, which was in sad, sad shape.  To investigate the reason for the deformed floor, the Rabbits determined that they needed to go even farther than the original floor, so they tore that up to reveal the sub floor.  I don't know if you're counting, but that makes a total of five layers.  That also made one deadly trip hazard (my toes have learned their lessons; look before you walk).

Of course the floor investigations only took place after they tore out the entire kitchen, so let's back up a bit.

First, they moved my kitchen gear to the living room.  I haven't been able to use the stove anyway (the outlet doesn't work), so no big loss there.  The fridge is plugged in, so that worked out fine.

They then started on this wall, removing the old vent hood and funny little cabinet that contained the panel box.  We discovered during our home inspection that having the box in such a small cabinet was not code, due to the fact that it made it nearly impossible for anyone to properly work on it.

There's really no better use for paneling than using it to keep the dog out of the way!  They pulled this sheet down in preparation for the pass through we're enlarging.  That funny little window is going to get bigger to allow more light and communication through to the family room.

After a lot of tugging, the dry wall came down, and there it is, ready to be changed.  We discovered that the silly little window was put where there used to be a doorway, though we can't figure out why there was a door from the kitchen into the bedroom, when there's a door right around the corner in the hallway.  We also discovered that the doorbell outside the kitchen door works sporadically. 

While Pete worked on the kitchen, Jack worked on the hallway closet.  This closet used to contain the exhaust chimney from the old furnace.  Jared took a weekend or two tearing out the brick from above the roof all the way down through the attic and into this closet to prep for this project.  Why?  This closet will be the home of our stack-able washer and dryer.  The hookups are currently in the "utility room," but we're going to turn that into a third bedroom or office.

Next on the to-do list was the other half of the kitchen.  This was pretty straightforward.

First the counter tops came off.  They were ugly and unfinished, so I'm not sad to see them go.

Then the cabinets came out.  They're not the greatest cabinets in the world, but they're not bad either.  We're thinking of seeing if anyone would take them off our hands by putting them on Craigslist.  You never know.

They also had to disconnect the old dishwasher.  We're not sure if it works, and it's pretty old, so we're getting a new one.

Poof!  No more upper cabinets!  During this phase, they took apart the soffit, a task that Jared deemed unnecessary, but one that I thought WAS necessary.  Also contained behind the sink area was another surprise waiting to be discovered...

But first the Rabbits started on the floor.  Layer by layer, the old floors came up.  The original wood floor was in such bad shape, you couldn't even tell what color it was.  I'm already dreaming of new tile...

Then they started on this wall.  This led to an unhappy discovery of more water damage.  Over the years, the lack of a drip edge or gutters on the roof plus improper sealing of the window led to a whole lot of water seeping in through the cracks.  We're hoping that this doesn't become a regular discovery, but based on what I've seen, I'm not holding my breath.  Luckily, we have contingency fund for this kind of thing, so I'm hoping it helps us through these little uh-oh moments.

So now I have even less of a non working kitchen!  Now that it's gone, I'm ready to see what the finished product is going to look like.  However, while on the phone with my mom yesterday, she told me that, "Your house will never be done."  Not mine specifically, but that when one owns a house, there's always something to be done to it.  There's always a chance to improve on something, and I can definitely see that becoming a reality for Jared and I.  I'm just glad that I haven't reached the point of "Oh no, what HAVE I gotten myself into???" yet.  Through all the dust and noise and chaos, I am determined to remain optimistic!

Am I On the DIY Network?

Hooray!!!  That's really all I can think right now.  We've FINALLY closed, and the contractors came in bright and early today to start working on the renovations.  The two guys that worked today were named Peter and Jack, so Jared has decided that they will be referred to as "The Rabbits."  So far, they've made significant progress in one room, but it's only day one, and any progress is better than where we were!

Since the last few posts have been devoid of pictures, I'm making up for that with this one, because all I did today was hover and snap pictures as the Rabbits worked.  So today was the end of the sad little half bath just off the master bedroom.

Here's what it looked like before.

First things first, remove the baseboard.

And the molding.

Then the sheet rock.

This was a dusty job.

The old frame work.

Hooray!  No more sheet rock...on that one
wall.

They had to move the toilet, and they
completely tossed the old sink.

Then the other side of the wall plus the
frame work came down.

Add caption

This is how Loki was through the process.
Didn't phase him at all.

What would a demo project be without a
few surprises?  The sub floor had a bad
job done to it, so up it came.

Do it right, not fast.

The view from this location would be nice,
but only on one end.

Prepping to make the expansion.

It's not much, but it's enough to add a
shower and vanity.

Putting in the frame work.

Ta da!

Also, a closet got torn out.  It was
unnecessary.

This is what happens when leaks are not
addressed.  Just another surprise that has
to be taken care of.

Before

After.  They were getting far too bushy.

And there it is.  Our first step on the road to a livable house.  As it is, as long as we keep the cats out of holes to the outside world, it's not so bad.  We rented a little storage unit to keep most of our unnecessary stuff out of the way, so that's been a big help.

Tomorrow is another big day.  The kitchen is getting ripped out, and they're starting on the fence!  The challenge from here out will be making sure that the cats don't escape through the floor, so they'll be locked up in their own room for awhile.  Hopefully we get sub floors in and all possible escape routes blocked soon so they can at least roam at night like they're used to.

I'm just so happy to have some visible progress going on, and I know Jared is too, even though he doesn't like being on the sidelines.  He would love nothing more than to be in the thick of things himself, learning and helping build this house.  I on the other hand, am content to sit by and watch the guys work.  For now, I'm going to take a hot shower at Jared's work and be glad that something is started!

The Comforts of Home

It's been over two weeks since we moved in to the house.  Despite the fact that we still have not closed, the place is a disaster 24/7, and we continue to go without several modern amenities, it is starting to feel like home.  As we are still unable to get any work done on the house, I've had to occupy my time inside by daydreaming of a working stove and walls that are not a gross shade of brown.  Amid all the chaos that is living here, Jared and I are at least a little comfortable, and we hold on the knowledge that this situation isn't permanent.  For his part, Jared does a little yard work here and there when he's not working AND possesses the motivation.  I'm still trying to come up with meals that can be made without a stove or oven.  All these little adventures are memorable, though, and I know that we'll be laughing about them in the future.

Still, despite the craziness that is our lives right now, there's nothing like gazing out of a window to see birds flitting through the trees and squirrels harassing each other in the yard.  Just yesterday I discovered that we have a family of cardinals living somewhere in our backyard.  Those little encounters make me feel at home amid the boxes and whatnot.  Even though our former apartment was in the current century, it was dark and I was unable to enjoy a dreamy afternoon on the couch just staring out the window.  Maybe it's the extra sunlight coming through the windows that has me in a better mood.  I am certain, however, that there's nothing quite like having your own home, and as much as I want to leave Georgia, I know I won't be forgetting this place any time soon.  So I'm making the best of it by cherishing the memories and hoping I learn a thing or two from this crazy experience.

Slow and Steady Wins the Race

Holy internet, Batman!  Well we're slowly making our way towards the current century.  The air conditioning is being installed as I type, and the cable guy already finished his job!  Next on the list is getting the stove working and making sure the kitchen sink is usable.

I've been taking pictures with my phone, but the only way to get them on here is via my computer which is currently unavailable due to some dog that lives with us who has an uncontrollable desire to chew on my charger cords.  Anyway, the yard is full of long silver tubes for the a/c, and people are trooping around in the attic (a job I DO not envy).  Whether we get to use the air today is in question.  The electrician may or may not show up today to hook up everything to the panel box, but if he does, we'll be sitting pretty in a nicely cooled house.  At least, if nothing else, we have a little bit of entertainment by way of internet and t.v., although I must admit, I wasn't too bent out of shape about not having it....

Just got an update from Jared.  Apparently the a/c guys are running the electricity to the panel themselves, so we can put our window unit a/c out of its misery.  It's been running non stop since we put it in, and I think that it's starting to get tired.  Only a few more hours, little guy!

Other than that, I've got to work close for the next four days, which means I'll be getting back home at around eleven-thirty at night.  Just when I was hoping I wouldn't have to close due to the new half hour drive I have now, I get scheduled exactly that.  Oh well, I guess it's Murphy's law.

I'll keep you posted,

Sarah