it always takes longer than expected

what was supposed to be done by september 14th is only now exhibiting any illumination at the end of a very long tunnel. the contractor - who is certainly not trying to get away with anything, but seriously needs to consider a partner - finally, today, got a room to the point that i have some hope for the near-term use of my house. granted, that's one of four rooms. but a room is a room. and it's all i've had since the day he began work...

it's been a tough month here. since the kitchen, living room and dining room are out of commission, ian and i have been living mostly out of my room (which has served as the temporary kitchen-slash-living room-slash-dining room). ian's room is still in operation, but it's separated from the remainder of the living space by a cloud of pervasive dust. the bathroom? that's where we wash the dishes - our skeleton crew of eating equipment - every single day because of the mess. ian's been a trooper... it doesn't seem to bother him. but for me - it's knocked me down a rung or two both physically and mentally...

the good news? there is a light. i'll take friday off and, after a major cleaning of the living and dining room, start to put down the new hardwoods that will eventually overtake the whole house. i may even manage to get the kitchen floored over the weekend. within the next couple weeks, i should have walls painted and cabinets in and (dare i say) kitchen-stuff put away for the first time in two months. not to mention, as early as next week, furniture. in. my. living. room. (after, of course, a thorough steam-cleaning)...

pictures will come soon. i just want to have an after - and, well, i'm still waiting for the after.

on another note, i'm feeling some need to make a declaration of intent ala bold, just so i have something to hold myself accountable to. because as my mood has gone through this renovation mess, so has my desire to train...

phase 1 - demolition...

on monday morning, the contractor began work.

monday was labor day, and when his bid came in and he named a start date of labor day - well, i asked if he was sure. he said yes, so i scurried to get all that i could moved out of the four rooms that would see demo and cover all the larger items that wouldn't fit elsewhere. besides that, i had to close off the three remaining rooms that we will have to live in for the life of this project - ian's room, the bathroom (which doubles as dish-washing station), and my bedroom (which also serves as kitchen and living room for the time being)...

the contractor was to show up at 9:00 on monday morning, and when 9:15 rolled around i started to worry. outwardly, i'm not really a big worrier. but on the insides, the worry can turn me upside-down... and since i'm perpetually on-time, the worries begin early and grow exponentially with each minute. by 9:20 i'd tried both his cell phone and home phone and when neither was answered i managed to jump to the conclusion that he'd taken my 50% deposit and moved to montana. by 9:25 i was dealing with the loss and recovering it in my head with personal labor. and when he called at 9:30 to let me know that he was at home depot ordering the materials and had left his phone in the car... well, i felt a little silly. so i waited until he made it here, and then went and celebrated by buying a new tree...

(yes - i know that sounds random. but tree-buying, trust me, is not a random occurence for me.)

today was the wrap-up day for demo... mostly because the very large dumpster sitting in my front yard is set to go to the landfill tomorrow. the lathe and plaster removal turned out to be exactly the project that i hired someone for - meaning, rather than deal with the mess myself, i could hire a contractor to do the job and deal with the mess while i work (dust-free) at my job that will pay for his work. of course, the living here isn't so dust-free - but with some heavy-duty plastic sheeting and a staple gun, life can be manageable...

i really don't have much story beyond that. the demo is done, and framing begins tomorrow. i've got some exposed 95-year old studs (which look so much better than the studs you can buy today), lots of electrical in lines running in conduit (we don't do that any more in residential building), and some exposed (for the time-being) brick that almost makes me want to take the rest of the plaster down. almost.


this is essentially the same shot as the before from the last post, with the arch in the foreground and the missing yellow wall non-existent in the background


while this shot better shows the extent of the demo

and, so as not to be deemed lazy while the inside work is happening, i tore out some unsightly (to me) shrubs from in front of my house - to make way for said purchased-tree...


before


blurry after

remodelling this weblog home...

and i've made it back. sadly, there isn't anything to report on the training side of things lately. i've made it to the gym fairly regularly, but no races to set goals for (except for the race for the cure in a month - but you can't really have a goal when you're running with 50,000 other people). which is all just fine with me, since i've got another little project that will be taking the bulk of my time and energy over the coming months...

a few weeks ago, i closed on my new house. this was a necessary step in moving things in my life along for many reasons. selling my former house got me out of the financial burden that remained in the settlement of my split with k - a major relief. but the ensuing renting experience made the summer a rough one emotionally. luckily, after just a few months i was able to find a house in a great neighborhood with friends closeby, and for a really good deal...

the house, though. the house is old (built in 1911) and has great bones. but it's going to require some work to get to the point that it feels like it's "my house." the kitchen is amazingly small. the walls and trim have seen their share of wear. the former owner made some questionable painting decisions. and the bathroom - oh... the bathroom. the only room in the house that has a ceiling fan. in the bathroom, you ask? yes - in the bathroom...

i've got big plans in place, starting with the kitchen and easing into the public rooms of the house. before i moved in, i ordered new cabinets and appliances for the kitchen, knowing that if i had the goods i'd be more inclined to start the work right away. i've also ordered new wood floors for the whole house to replace the tired hardwoods that are in today. it's going to be some work for some time, but i'm certainly not afraid of a little sweat equity - and i can't wait to make this place feel like home.

last weekend, my brothers and i began the demolition with the destruction of the kitchen...


(pre-move-in and post destruction photos above)

tomorrow, a contractor begins work on several projects, including:

the demolition of lathe and plaster walls in the living and dining rooms and replacement with drywall

moving the wall dividing the kitchen and dining room to make the kitchen a usable space

reframing the archway between the living and dining rooms to better reflect the bungalow style of the house

and some plumbing and electrical work to bring the three rooms into the 21st century

(the living room and dining room today)

once the contractor has moved on, i'll begin the dozens of finish-work tasks - beginning with the new floors and hanging the kitchen cabinets. eventually, i'll be doing my typical landscape and garden work, will probably build a new garage, and maybe - just maybe - i'll expand upward into the already-roomy attic space. but that's for later... for now, it's all about preparing for the mess that begins tomorrow. and, in lieu of real training news for the next several months, i plan to use this site to track the progress in the house. hope the transformtion is an interesting one to watch...