February 26, 2011 -

Where is the septic tank????  Yea - Daddy found it! 
But....I think this is where the new front porch is supposed to go....hmmmmm........

This floor removal is taking forever!

Tearing down the wall between the old kitchen and old dining room.

Working on removing the wall between the breakfast area and family room.

Taking down the wood paneling....

Scott has become an electrician!  Removing the old baseboard heaters.

"Big Red" loaded down AGAIN!

The kiddos standing where our new kitchen will be - one day!

.....Still catching up on old posts...sorry!

Knocking down the wall between the breakfast and family/living room...starting to see the place opened up.  Rooms are still smaller than we like but we think it is the best we can do with the footprint we have been given.  I am beginning to understand why the rooms are the size they are - lumber sizes back in the day were just plain shorter - see photo for lumber in ceiling in wall between kitchen and family/living room...aren't they supposed to overlap a little!!??  Nice gap huh?

Baseboard heaters going one by one - oh yeah - first appointment with a framer came and went and no framer showed up!  I'm sure the first of many!

Where is that septic tank?

February 23, 2011 - After speaking with the Health Department I learned we needed to locate the septic tank and be sure there are no encroachment issues with them to get there approval for the building permit so I borrowed a few tools from work - probing rod and a pin finder/metal detector and started the hunt. 

After just a few minutes - treasure was found albeit too close to the house for my liking...and VDH - well maybe.  I learned we need 10 feet from any foundation/footing - based on the plan for the new front porch we might have an inch! 

Gee...I wonder if pier footings will work....

Plans Submitted...Let's Get this show on the Road!

February 22, 2011
Plans were submitted today to JCC - let's hope this goes quickly.

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"Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.  Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD and shun evil."  ~ Proverbs 3:5-7

Crawling Around the Attic - February 21, 2011

Sorry catching up on some old postings...Bruce and I succeeded in fishing through several wires for the upstairs ceiling boxes I put in...much more challenging than it sounds to find the right wall cavity - so thankful for friends willing to breathe in fiberglass insulation with you - we had our masks on but still we concluded we might be getting too old for this! 

Oh yeah how could I forget - part II of the green brick was taking it to the dump - thankfully "Big Red" made it there and I was able to shove it all out the back of the truck!  Nothing like moving that twice - tomorrow will deliver plans for permit review.

Bought lots of paint tonight - HD had a buy 3, get  free deal so we got a boatload of paint - have no idea if he have enough of not and hope the colors are right!  Yahoo!

Bye Bye Green Foyer Brick!!!

Yahoo! 

The green foyer brick has been completely removed!  After a lot of hard work it is loaded in the back of "Big Red"!  Thank goodness we have that pick-up truck! 

We've almost removed all of the wood flooring from the old (and new) dining room.  Planning to work on upstairs electrical work tomorrow with Bruce and whatever else we have time for - maybe then I'll start getting some carpet up...still so much to do. 

Also will start to get contractors lined up to begin the rebuild work - apply for permit Tuesday...

Whew - what a day!!!

Starting on the removal of the green brick in the foyer....this is harder than we thought! 
Thankful for a friend letting us borrow this tool!



Connor starting on the wood floor....



Need to take out these twin closets in the master bedroom....



Family room - what a mess!



Location of the new kitchen.....



Piles of debris in the garage.



Appliances removed - loaded into "Big Red".



Even Daniel is helping!



Great job, Connor!  He's a hard worker!



Scott using "the tool" to remove the floor...



Just back it right up to the front door!

 Whew - what a day - we are all exhausted - long day of dismantling the place - had lots of help and were very thankful for the helping hands from church there with us today!  But opening the place up by taking down some walls really makes a difference - especially the hall way to the MBR - let the light come shining in. 

And when we thought our great day was over we got a call from our architect who let us know that the plans are complete - so we will be submitting them to the County for approval Tuesday - Monday is President's Day holiday...

Now we need to hurry up and complete the demo so we can start the re-construction ASAP...thank the Lord for keeping us all safe today and for the love of others in giving us a hand. 

We found all kinds of uses for a WonderBar (thanks Del) - a serious wrecking machine - of course it pretty much works over the operator but does more damage to whatever it hits!!  Although we and others today saw just how hard and tough those lovely green foyer bricks are!!



Taking out the old kitchen cabinets and appliances.  So thankful for the help.




Let there be light!  Looking into the master bedroom.  Taking down this small wall to let more light into the hallway. 
We will slide the window down to line up with the hallway and make room for our bed and two nightstands.



February 18,2011

Starting to take down the wall between the family room and breakfast area. 
We have NEVER done anything like this before!

What a family project!

Daniel having fun in the sand box!

Removing these cabinets between the family room and breakfast area.

Starting on the second wall of the family room.  This should really open things up.

Progress!

We ripped down some drywall and wallpaper today. Demo party tomorrow.....  :)