PERMITS ARE POSTED

Up until now we have been doing demolition and repair work which is required but needs no permit.

Removing dilapidated roof and floorboards of screened porch

Removal of the butler's pantry and back wall   

Jacking up the north corner of the porch




Now with permits posted, the real work can begin.

NEW CONSTRUCTION BEGINS

 The butler's pantry on the northwest side of the house requires a new foundation and reconstruction  because of past water damage.  This necessitates tearing down and rebuilding.

So long old  butler's pantry

Because of all this necessary construction, we've had plans to move a wall to reconfigure the 2 bathrooms above the pantry to include a laundry space.

Hello sky

We've been watching the weather and crossing our fingers for NO RAIN.

THE STUCCO COMES TUMBLING DOWN

    In order to make necessary stucco repairs and build a spot for a newly located electric box, a large section of stucco had to come down. 

Next, the original siding was removed and saved for the screened porch area.

Finally, we put up plywood to which the new stucco will be adhered.

KITCHEN FLOOR

   This house has sustained a great deal of damage over it's lifetime.  Raccoons and squirrels, leaky pipes, and improper roof repairs have all taken their toll.  Long leaking kitchen plumbing  has mandated a great deal of floor repair.

We knew before we began to pull up any flooring that at least one joist required replacement.  As it turned out, 3 joists needed attention.  Previous owners had removed the kitchen chimney, however the concrete slab upon which the wood stove sat remained to be addressed.  (Demolition and removal of the slab was a back-breaking sledge hammer job which we turned into a competition knowing Wallace would take the bait.)

   Once rotten wood and concrete were removed, the crawl space beneath was easier to access and prepare for conditioning.

The new rough cut 2x10's have served us well.  Measure, measure, cut, and install.

VOILA !

MY CHIMNEYS ARE NO MORE

Brick by brick my chimneys have come down.  As of today they are no more.

Chimney #1

 BEFORE

DURING

AFTER

Chimney #2

 BEFORE

 DURING

AFTER

I have preserved as many bricks as possible to use in the new construction.  If there are not enough for the job then I will have one beautiful patio!

ACME DOMESTIC LIFE

My world......Very giggly.

MY FORMER LOVE

My reciprocating saw was not cut out (a nod to Wallace) to  handle this mammoth demolition job.  Last night it bit the dust...and after only 1 month on the job! Thus my former love has been laid to rest to make room for yet another infatuation..... the heavy-duty, industrial powered amped up version of my original saw.  Thanks goes out to Rick and Sheila at Lowes  who accepted my dead tool for a full refund/store credit even without a receipt.  I now own the Papa Bear of DeWalt saws. 

Of course it is 2x as heavy as the original 'ladies' version so I will likely defer to the guys when there is major demo to be done.

TRUTH BE TOLD

Now that the kitchen and bath fixtures and plaster on the walls have been completely removed...

TRUTH BE TOLD, there are a few more areas of water damage than we anticipated.

Under the shower...

Beneath the kitchen sink...

And alongside the fireplace in the library.

TRUTH BE TOLD, humans were not the last inhabitants in the house.  Racoons, birds, and squirrels made this their home, and in some cases, final resting place, for several years.  Holes in the house beneath the plaster have been open invitations to critters for some time.   

A couple of the third floor openings in the walls...

TRUTH BE TOLD, not every former repair was done to code.

This staircase had no support post  (We attached this 2x4 as a temporary support).

 I'm not even sure what was behind this roof repair.

TRUTH BE TOLD, we are still excited about our new home-to-be.

Go figure!

MY LATEST LOVE

I like tools.  To be specific, I like power tools.  This must be part of my genetic makeup passed down to me from my Daddy.  None of my friends (excluding Taylor and perhaps Julie) would have been excited to receive a power washer for her 20th anniversary and an angle grinder for a recent birthday (Thank you Lucius for the tip about that spark throwing tool).

I must say that my latest love is the reciprocating saw.  Not only is it moving this demolition project along more quickly, but I spent this sunny afternoon with it taking down monster bamboo.

THE MOST AWESOME CREW

This demoliton crew works so hard.  They are just awesome.

Hauling heavy plaster from the 1st floor

Waiting for the dust to clear

Dumping debris from the 3rd floor

Making more room in the dumpster

OH WHAT FUN

With Michael home from college for spring break, Wallace has enlisted several young men to help with demolition and heavy lifting this weekend.  By the end of the first day, we could see from Michael's room, through the hall and stairwell into Billye's room.

And my beautiful bedroom-to-be looked like this...

RENOVATE VS. RESTORE

We come to the conclusion that, while we love the history that comes with our 'new' home, we are not historical restoration purists.  Much of the house we will preserve, however, since our tastes are not solely those of 1906, we plan to renovate in order to make our house more airtight and healthy, and the systems more efficient.  This effort will require a tearing down of all exterior and most interior walls.

To this end, today I finished removing all interior doors (18 in all not including the kitchen, the basement, 2 bathrooms and 4 crawl spaces) and Wallace and Donnie continue demo of the kitchen.

IF WALLS COULD TALK

We pack the car again and arrive at Hawthorne House to find Donnie has appeared 2 hours before us.  How fortunate we are to have such a knowledgeable and devoted friend and worker.  Finding a complete woodpecker skeleton in one wall and later a 1950's era Pinocchio doll in another wall causes us to wonder what else is in store for us behind the drywall, plaster and concrete.

Wallace and Donnie work steadily to completely gut the kitchen area.  I work to remove interior doors and label hardware while simultaneously keeping Billye safe from the demolition and content with movies, computer games, and diet soda.

It is all so exciting.