Demo Time and First Peeks of New Open Space

Day 1 after purchase.....  Day 11 the boiler died.....

Ah, demo week (yup, this wasn't a day, it took a whole week!).  That's always a project milestone that gives me a knot in my stomach as I wait to see what nasty surprises we will find.

Yet we've already discovered some expensive issues with this house - the boiler died 10 days after we bought it (and attempts to resuscitate it failed),  the shower handle broke and leaked all over the bathroom a week after that and the attic only has 4 inches of insulation (see how the snow has already melted off the main roof?  That's a telltale sign of poor insulation).  So we have some big budget items to address.



But as demolition progresses, we always find new surprises.  Some good, some bad, and some that can change our game plan.

Demo team - ready for action!

First Surprise - was a big safety issue.  Evidently the dryer vent was somehow disconnected between the ceiling and the floor above it.  So for years, dryer lint was pumping into the space.  When the guys pulled back the ceiling tile, lint started raining down on them.  The entire space between the joists was packed tight with lint.  It's amazing they never had a fire!

Second Surprise - We had hoped there might be oak flooring under the laminate in the family room or the vinyl in the kitchen.  (That's what is in the living room and bedrooms)  But sadly, all we found was some stained pine and plywood.  That's a big budget hit.






Third Surprise - There was some evidence that there were problems with the electrical system.  I've never seen a house with so many extension cords!!  But as we pulled out walls and looked further, we discovered there isn't a single grounded outlet in the entire house.  That will never work for today's electronic needs.  Looks like we're going to have to rewire the entire house.  BIG budget hit #2

This may be a record for number of things plugged into one outlet from the ceiling

First peek of the open floor plan as the wall between the family room and kitchen is torn out.

This brightens up the kitchen as daylight comes through the opening!!

See the old windows in the wall?!

You never know what you might find behind the walls..... maybe this is why some of the walls are a bit wonky!

The demo team kept air filters running for days.  This was one morning's worth of air filtration.  Can you believe how filthy it is?

This air filtration system had an extra layer of filter on the outside - can you believe how gross it is?

Anybody need a 1974 calendar?  I did some checking and evidently you can reuse a calendar ever 6 years (28 years if it's Leap Year).  

The owner was obviously a heavy smoker.  We found a lot of cigarette butts and ash trays.  But also a LOT of nicotine stains.  See where the posters used to be taped to the wall?  That golden haze around them is nicotine build up.  And despite ripping out walls, ceilings and floors, I can still smell it.  Yuck! I'm hopeful now that we can open windows and air the house out, the smell will go away.  Some of the windows have a golden glow to them, so once they're replaced that should help as well.

Nicotine stains show were posters used to hang.  And yeah, that's another extension cord!

This is the wallpaper we found behind the paneling in the kitchen!  Which is better?  Dark paneling or wallpaper?  Tough choice!

What is Cedar Ware???

The basement clean out was a biggest task.  The bulk of the dumpster loads were from the basement.  The ceiling tiles and paneling reeked of cigarette smoke!

Now that demo is done, I can start to relax a bit - after I go back and revisit our budget!!!  Stay tuned for more updates as we start to put this place back together.  And don't you love how the open floor plan is starting to look!  It's a big space!

Look how big the living space is - now we need to remove that wall to the kitchen!

Removing the old kitchen wall lets so much sunlight in!

Kitchen looking towards future Dining Room

Can you believe how nice that basement is without all the stuff? 

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