Rebuilding The Floor

The rebuild is on! Nick and Dave got immediately to work once they finished tearing it out. My bowels feel very light! hehe (Psssttt-that is my new furnace! WOOHOO!) They diligently put me back together, shimming where necessary. Nick had to leave in early afternoon, so Dave carried on. Christina told him to put his tools away and soak in the tub about 8pm. Long weekend's work!! A path to the kitchen was made and he parked them. Ahhhhh...now for some ceramic tile and beautiful pale bamboo hardwood flooring! What a hoot! (I feel good..da-da-da-da-da-da-da [a bit of James Brown thrown in there *blush*])

Don't Look Down!

Houdini did it again! This time it wasn't a wall, but an entire floor!!All those beams came out except one, closest to the chmney. It was the only one that anyone had secured! Dave's finger pointing is to yet again a gorgeous full beam cut to make a flat wall! The beam used to fill the square hole he is pointing to. There were three layers of floor on this!!! About 5-6 beams held the three layers! Remember too that only one beam was secured! How this floor withstood the hands of time is beyond Dave and Christina! I am very glad they tore it out. It was weighing me down! Now for the rebuild!! They have their work cut out! They as in Dave and Nick hehe Christina had to stay ou tof the kitchen for about 24 hours, while the monkeys swung from beam to beam hehe

Front Entry Tear Down

This wall was torn down sooner than anticipated and as you can see someone cut my corner post to make a flat wall!!! Dave found severe water damage when doing this little project! On the wall to his right near the side light windows, it was pretty wet! The porch ceiling/roof meets right there and the gutter from the front of the house dumps out on the peak of that roof, which in turn dumps water through the roof because the roof was never flashed! So they are going to have to fix that roof real soon so Dave can insulate and sheetrock that wall!Giroux Oil, out of Portland, started installing a brand new heating system on July 18th for Dave and Christina. For various reasons, they all decided to wait on putting in the baseboard part of the system. Dave and Christina want to put a new ceramic and bamboo hardwood floor in my dining room and kitchen area. They have torn out some walls to accomodate the new baseboards and had planned on tearing out the rest down the road. To make life easier for all involved and be nicer to the new equipment, they all decided to wait. It would be easier to install the new baseboards if all the floors are going to be done and if the exterior walls were all finished reinsulating and sheetrocking, plus less chance of ruining the new baseboards from debris and possible dents, etc. Which actually works out just peachy for Dave and Christina. Less to do downthe road and more efficient heat over the course of their first winter here. So Giroux is coming back in September to finish up. Meanwhile, they did accomplish hot water off the furnace, so they don't have to use the substitute hot water heater anymore. I feel warmer already hehe

Old Old Wallpapers

Now these go back! The one above on the left are from my front entrance and the one on the right is from the dining room. On the left, keep in mind that there is nasty colored paint still surrounding the sample. On the right, Dave and Christina have determined five layers of different wallpaper!

Just call Dave, Houdini

Now you see it now you don't! Tearing down walls, something Dave has become quite good at!! Why have 10 tiny rooms when you can have one great big one??!! Dave took out an eyesore and an obstruction. Now the breeze flows through me better too. My walls are permeated with bad smells so with him tearing out all this I am going to smell sooo much better!

Dining Room Atrocities

Now these are two different atrocities! Most importantly, someone many years back, cut my center posts down to achieve a flat wall! That took some of my structural support away and may have had bad outcome in several areas. WHAT were they thinking???!!! The second atrocity is above! This was NOT a mouse either! It is from the cheese eater family though and it was a RAT! When he died in my walls I could have barfed! He smelled for so long, I thought it was going to be permanent! He has been dead for many years now and is almost mummified! Glad to be gone and GOOD ridance!!! Hope his buddies got the hint!

Dining Room Wonders

Ok, now this took several days with help for Dave from Christina's son, Nick. This room was my darkest dingiest room and I am still appalled that my walls were painted brown with 'gold' leaves embedded into stucco type stuff. I was thoroughly embarrassed to be seen! Thank God Dave and Christina had the vision to see beyond some of my atrocities! As you can also see, I had some rotting window sills going on, so I am very grateful they are doing this remodel properly!!

1st EVER Sheetrock Job!

This was Dave's first ever sheetrock job! He did a mighty fine job too! Could never tell he had never done it before! The people who lived here many years ago nailed up the sheetrock, so when Dave took it off my walls it just came right off without a problem and very little breakage. I am very pleased with Dave and Christina taking care of me. They have good heads on their shoulders and are going to do fine by me!!

Gettin' theyah

Progress coming slow to Dave, but oh how good that feels in my side!! He should be able to finish my wall off today,I expect. He will need a bit of Christina's help with the sheetrock, but other than that I think I heard Christina say something about beading and finishing her beautiful new piece she has been working on.

Merry Christmas!

This was the fun day for Dave and Christina! $3800.00 worth of materials delivered to their doorstep from Home Depot!! The man arrived at 10:15AM on Saturday. They had been preparing all morning for this delivery. Dave went to Marden's and bought tarps in case of rain and arrived home just in the nick of time for the truck. Christina was quite relieved because he needed to do things I don't think Christina could have done. The picture above depicts the 'square peg in the round hole'. The man, who luckily had 10 years experience, had to fit that load between a fence and a tree, with a load expanse of 16'. That turned out to be a bit tricky for all involved and Christina couldn't watch! But they managed, had to level out a few dirt/grass patches in the yard after, but it went well considering.

Lately

Over the last few days, Christina and Dave have just been trying to get things out of boxes. In the meantime, Dave thought he would put a FREE ad in Uncle Henry's to see if anyone would like all the cellulose insulation that he has been tearing out of my walls and ceilings. Indeed, someone did want it. The gentleman showed up yesterday afternoon and took 16 bags of it with him and said he would come back on Monday for the rest of what we had so far. He bought a home, a 'winterized' camp in Litchfield, which wasn't insulated very well, costing his family $100. a week to heat last winter. So it has gone to a good home and to someone who needs it. That made Christina and Dave feel good. On the 4th of July, Christina and Dave thought they might have a few drinks to celebrate their new home and the holiday. In their haste, they had forgotten to register the car during their moving process. Nick had invited them to his annual 4th of July party, but they declined because of the car situation.

On July 3rd. they went to Home Depot to get estimates for the roof and the walls in the addition. Good news and bad news came with that and they have to completely tear out my roof to put 2x12's in for the roof framing. If Dave had put in 2x6 they would only have been able to get R-11 in there for insulation. Code says 2x12 and R-30, not to mention the fact that they are spending all that money on a new heating system. So, the complete roof tear off is their only option. Dave had decided to build in his fish tank into the wall that runs adjacent to the original home. He will build in bookcases on the other side for their book collection. It will look quite spectacular in there when they are done. Tonight, they will go back to Home Depot and price out windows, doors and kitchen cabinets for the addition as well. Christina will post some pics this weekend. She has also started the painting of the bedroom and ran out of paint. So that is her weekend project. I think Dave will probably work on gutting out my walls to get ready to redo them very soon.

Salvaging a Tin Ceiling & Ripping Out The Rest

This was quite the project!! Cellulose insulation crept into many rooms and settled on EVERYTHING!! The cobwebs were amazing! It looked like Cypress trees in Louisiana covered in spanish moss!! Nick and Dave did a great job though! They were organized, mostly, and it came out quicker than either of them though it would! I feel great having their hands on me and cleaning me out from the inside! I even smell better! This project took about 5 hours from start to finish. They bagged up all the insulation after and there is a mountain of it now! Dave is going to see if he can post a free ad in Uncle Henry's for the insulation. Saves him time taking it to trasnfre station or renting a dumpster, plus he thinks someone might like it possibly for a camp or something. Hope that works out like that! For today I am breathing freely, while Dave looks my insides over and ponders his next plan of attack. He is worried about the fact they didn't make soffits in me. He will have to figure it out because he will have to redo work if he doesn't and we don't want to have to do this again hehe Rich gave him great advise the yesterday, but he is in Russia right now and not seeing first hand might be difficult to have a complete recommendation. Maybe Dave can take some more pics and send them to Rich of exacting problems. Meanwhile, I hope they open my windows wide and I think Christina is going to do cleaning..AGAIN in my kitchen hehe

Making a House A Home

Last night and this morning was about Christina and Dave trying to make a house look like their home. They are trying desperately to get out of the boxes, which they both have spent their entire adult lives living out of! Dave got a bit upset with Christina last night, not realizing the truth of the matter. Cleaning comes with unpacking and rearranging in the house that has no storage AND is in the middle of renovations. It is a difficult life to live and they both accepted the challenges that came with the purchase. As Christina emphasized to Dave, Rome was not built in a day! So this morning they both agreed to do one room at a time together this weekend!

Originally, Dave was going to start ripping the addition roof off and replace it, but alas, weather is not going to cooporate for several days in a row! Christina's oldest son, Nick showed up this afternoon with a change of clothes hehe (smart kid!) to give a helping hand. He doesn't like moving boxes around, as he helped his Mom move many, many times as a youngster! He wants to be productive! Sooo, Dave and Christina agreed the perfect progress to make tonight is tearing down AND salvaging the tin ceiling in the dining room. So, as I speak they are making quite a racket in my ear! Nick had to bring his CD collection this time! hehe Small price to pay for free help!! hehe It is comforting to have a happy couple and happy people occupying my rooms! Christina is taking pictures of the tin ceiling coming down and they will be posted on here tomorrow.