Someone done knocked out a wall

Thanks to a great friend who came over to help us today, the first two larger, stronger collars are in. Hopefully we'll get the other three in tomorrow.

And finally, the wall is out. The Missus really enjoyed this part.

A glimpse in the dark

Took out a couple joists tonight which gave a better picture of what the future vaulted ceiling will look like. The eagerness to keep working into the night is getting harder to fight. 

Small but Huge change

Oh, there used to be a chimney there? I hadn't noticed. Hello bigger kitchen.

Termites, you little bastards

Unfortunately, the news isn't always good news when you tackle a house project. We knew we had some termites based on our kitchen, we just didn't know how bad. The room that is going to be our laundry room is off the back of the house and from the looks of it, I'm going to have to tear most of it down and start from scratch. The good news is, it looks like the termites showed up sometime in the past and all the sill plates and a few of the uprights have been replaced with treated lumber. Since termites usually stick to an organic diet free from chemicals, these additions made by the previous owners saved the room from literally falling off the house. The truest sense of the word, "literally". 

All that to say, I know what I'm doing next weekend. 

Work Day in the books

We are so blessed to have friends who will stand on countertops to take out nails and crawl into attics to get rid of rotten insulation. Our skin and hair may be covered in dirt and dust, but it was a very productive day.

Stay tuned, the next couple weeks are going to be a waiting game for the big stuff like a new roof and new HVAC, but once those are complete, the magic of reconstruction can begin.

A thousand thanks to Cam, Heather, Mark, & Rick for your help today.

Tool Time

Who has two thumbs and just got new toys?

This guy. 

The man with the juice

The Missus and I haven't been able to work on the house for a couple days due to those pesky things called jobs. Thankfully, with us out of the way our electrician was able to rewire the entire house. Another day and he'll have all the outlets and switches and everything else hooked up. Not too shabby for owning the place less than a week.