Day 66 -- My Family ROCKS!

Seriously. My family is awesome. And not a little bit crazy. I asked my mom, dad and not-so-little brother to come up and help us move some things around so that we could get our couch, dresser and chair off of the floor in the dining room. I just figured we'd move some of the smaller stuff out of the garage and then put the big stuff in there for the time being...it should take a couple hours, tops. Right.....You should know that this isn't really the way we work in my family. If you're gonna go...go big. We decided, instead, to get a jump start on "Phase 2" of our renovation. "Phase 1" is putting the second floor on. "Phase 2" is remodeling the kitchen. We'd have to start "Phase 2" by taking down the wall between the kitchen and our old master bedroom. This is the wall that the refrigerator and a couple cabinets are on. Our logic (I use the term loosely) in starting this was that if we took down the wall, we could use the space in what was our master bedroom to put the furniture instead of having to move it out to the garage. It also would allow me to actually open the refrigerator all the way...something I haven't been able to do in more than a month. So, being crazy, we went for it. First things first, order pizza. It was the least I could do in payment for their services. Next, we yanked the lath and plaster from the wall on the bedroom side.


Then Layne broke out the sawzall and got down to serious business. We pulled out the fridge, took down the cabinets and pulled the entire wall down. We had some issues with the wiring. What a pain. But everything is now working as before.


The end result was impressive. We were able to get all of the furniture into the old master bedroom, move the cabinets and fridge against the north wall and now I have room to not only open the fridge all the way, but I can also walk around in the kitchen without having to turn sideways. It's awesome. I'm so lucky to have a family that will work so hard just to make my life a little bit easier. Thanks you guys. I love you.

Day 65 -- Insulation

We are so happy with the progress they made today. They really kicked butt. This morning it looked unlikely that we would get the hole in the basement poured. I was hopeful that the dirt hill would at least be removed, but when I came home, it was totally done. What a relief! Now we can move some stuff back in from the garage. It was even wet enough for Liz and I to have some fun. What good is a major renovation if you can't put your hands in some concrete? Funny, I think I've got a bit on my mind. I just barely realized that I put 2008 instead of 2009. I'm losing it.


The biggest change of the day was insulation. You can really see the shape of the rooms better. We went with blown-in fiberglass insulation. When they install it, they first staple a thin fabric over the walls. Then the cut a small hole in each cavity and blow the insulation in until it's tightly packed. They did this for the whole upstairs (both ceilings and exterior walls). We also opted to put the insulation in the walls of our bedroom and closet for a little soundproofing.



Here's a better shot of the closet. I think the only thing that went wrong today was that they put insulation over the brick from the chimney that we wanted to leave exposed. I haven't talked to Brad yet, but I'm guessing it won't be a big deal to take it out again.

The master closet seems much bigger than I thought it would. Maybe it won't seem so big once the closet system is in, but I hope not. I think it's at least 10 times bigger than any closet we've ever had. I'm going to need to go buy more shoes!







The only thing on our list that didn't get done -- and it was way down on the list -- was the water pipe that is running right through the stairway. I'm short enough that usually it's not a big deal for me, but even I have cracked my head on it a couple times. Lizzy, for one, will miss it, I'm sure.

Day 64 -- In Limbo

Yesterday they put up the shakes on the dormers. I love the shakes and the trim around the windows! Can't wait to see them painted.

I believe yesterday they also had the plumbing, electrical and HVAC inspections. I haven't heard the official outcome, but I'm pretty sure they all passed because no one was here working at all today.

The insulation was planned to be installed today, however, Brian and I decided to upgrade to the blown in insulation and they couldn't get that team here today. Bummer for us, but our neighbor Sally was at least grateful for a day of respite. I ended up working half a day from home today, so I can't say as I'm not grateful for the quiet as well. My hope for tomorrow is that they get the insulation done and that they pour the floor back in the basement. Not that I don't appreciate the irony of climbing over a mountain of dirt to do laundry.

Day 62 -- One Big Pile O' Dirt

The plumbing was tied into the existing lines today. The lines were put in the floor in the basement and as a result, we have a big pile of dirt in the middle of the room that they had to dig out. I won't be surprised if we find a few rawhides that Bea burried in there. I'm hoping the plumbing inspection is tomorrow so that they can fill it back in and pour the concrete. They ran the lines up through the old master bedroom closet to get to the upstairs. This will eventually be a pantry, so we can box it in without any issue.



The hot and cold water supply lines were put in today as well as a ton of duct work in both the downstairs and upstairs. Looks like they're shooting for an inspection tomorrow.

Day 61 -- Two Month Recap

Today is the two month mark. Here is the then and now.

Day 0	1 Month	2 Months

As far as progress goes today: As you can see from the rear 2 month photo, the shakes were finished on the back half of the house. I think they are waiting to do the front until the balcony is ready for it. We were supposed to have the plumbing, electrical and HVAC inspection tomorrow, but I'm thinking that probably won't happen since it doesn't look like they got as far as they wanted to today. They did quite a bit of plumbing work as you can see here. They also worked on getting the new furnace hooked up in the basement. There's still what seems to be quite a bit of work to do, though, before a formal inspection.

The best news today: the AC is working in the basement again. A welcome development since it was 94° today.




And finally, the photo of the day: Our GM, Matt, sent us this photo of our super, Brad, in his "office". Can I get you some magazines?

You know, the sooner you get the office finished....wink, wink.

Day 57 -- Happy Birthday To Brian

Brian got one big birthday present today: the framing inspection passed with no issues or concerns.

The other present he got today was a furnace for the upstairs.

Other than that, he got gypped.

Day 56 -- Small Sense of Normalcy

This is the mess we've been looking at for the last 8 weeks. This is where we've slept, ate, and hung out. We found out today that we didn't need to put a new post in the wall in this room, so we were able to move the furniture back to where it was before. The shelves that were originally in the bathroom, were put back, the entertainment center went back against the wall, and I was able to unpack 3 boxes from the garage. Now, to you all out there, that sounds like a pretty minuscule accomplishment, but to me, it was a small sense of normalcy that was most welcome. There is still a lot in the garage, but we were able to clear out the stuff in the toy room and move all of it under the new stairs. I cannot believe how much stuff we were able to pack in there! We are really going to make good use of that storage space.


Now for the progress. Yesterday, they put all the posts in the walls and did quite a bit of final framing. The framing inspection is scheduled for tomorrow...cross your fingers. As soon as we get the OK, we can start plastering the walls and really start putting this place back together.


Yesterday also included more soffit work and shakes on the south side (which they also want to wait to finish until after the framing inspection).




Today all the new electrical for the upstairs has been tied into the breaker box. They also started running the HVAC vents. Tomorrow they should finish the HVAC (or at least knock most of it out) including 2 new furnaces (one upstairs and one down) and one new AC.

What may be the last of the demolition (with any luck) happened today. They had to dig another hole the entire length of the old toy room in order to tie in the plumbing to the sewer main and run it to the upstairs. Tomorrow, they should run the pipes and we may be able to start moving stuff back into this room by Sunday.