Uptairs Flooring

Dad is visiting for a couple of weeks and is helping us with the flooring upstairs.  He is working on the floor in the play room where Colin left off.  Colin is removing the rest of the flooring from the master bedroom.  It is somewhat strange to be ripping up something that we put down.  When we first moved in we renovated the upstairs kitchen, painting the cabinets and installing new floor.

Mudding, Part II

The mudding is pretty much done now.  These pictures are from Wednesday.  Dennis came yesterday (Thursday) to finish off sanding.  We're excited to paint, although we know that once the project is handed over to us, we have a lot of work to do before we can move upstairs.  We are also waiting for the plumber to finish plumbing the shower and bathub. 

Mudding

Yesterday the gang was back to start on taping and mudding the upstairs.  (Alistair was excited to see Chris, Brian, and Dennis and to give Conrad a dog biscuit.)  Above is the bathroom.  You can see the two circles for the scones that will be on either side of the vanity mirror.

Above and below are photos of the master bedroom.  You can see in the photo above where the old kitchen cabinets and the two recessed lights were .  Below you can see the old wall around the laundry room and square where the light fixture was.

Below is the new family room that used to be the living room.

Drywall

While we were in Chicago for a few days, Shawn finished plumbing the bathroom and Chris hung the drywall in the old living room, the bathroom, and our bedroom.  Now that there are proper wall, we really have a sense for what the space will be like.  The bathroom is definitely bright.  Even with the blue board, it is super bright.  The back ordered drain kit arrived today, so Shawn is planning on installing the tub tomorrow.

Opening Up the Floor

This week, Colin started wiring for the new bathroom as well as rewiring what was the kitchen and the living room. Chris also ripped up the old floor so that the plumber (Shawn) can run the pipes. In the photo below, the joists under the plywood run perpendicular to the wall. There appears to have been a staircase at some point (fifty years ago or more). Very curious as to what the layout of this house has been over time.

No sign of any bats in the attic today.

New Master Suite Windows

The windows are in, and we can't get over how much light there is upstairs. We know that the light will be different once the walls are up, but in the meantime we are enjoying the light.

The bathroom window is nearly the width of the bathroom, which is kind of crazy.  Again, not what we were envisioning at the beginning of our design process, but the large window will create a bright room.

Here is a view of the future master bedroom of the bathroom, hall, and closet.

New Window Preparations

Yesterday, they prepped the walls for the new windows (you can see the headers).  We have the bathroom window already (since we ordered it for Charlotte's room before we realized that we it wasn't an egress window) and the bedroom window is due tomorrow.

End of First Day Demo Upstairs

By the end of the day yesterday Chris, Brian, and Dennis had taken down the laundry room wall and the wall between the living room and kitchen.  You can see the stack from the downstairs bathroom that used to run in the wall separating the two rooms.  With the wall gone, the space seems huge, like we should have a dance party or something. 

Demo Phase Two - Upstairs

Today is the first day of work on the upstairs master suite.  Alistair was happy to see Chris, Brian, and Dennis again.  It didn't take them long to knock down the flimsy laundry room wall.  Already the space seems so different.

Brian found evidence of munching carpenter ants on the little kitchen window header, which was what we expected.  We had heard munching and even witnessed a mass exodus of flying male ants.

Triple Window

Today was an exciting day. This morning they removed the upstairs door, made a huge hole, framed out the window rough opening and installed the window. It looks great from the outside, and the view from the upstairs is amazing, especially with the fall color.
The porch ceiling is also up, painted, and weatherized.

Kitchen Demo Part One

Today Colin started to demo the upstairs kitchen. Although we're excited about the potential for the space, it is somewhat sad to destroy what we worked hard to improve. The upstairs kitchen was the first room we renovated when we moved in. Alyssa spent several hot, humid August afternoons inside the cabinets, becoming overwhelmed by primer fumes. Alyssa's Dad once had an adventure with water while swapping sinks (we had waterfalls of water through the downstairs light fixtures). We toned our arms muscles sanding down the bumps in the walls and ceiling (including what we dubbed the Himalayas on the wall next to the archway). Alyssa learned how to tile when she put up the back splash. Alyssa's Dad made origami cabinets. Colin wired some of his first electrical boxes and fixtures.  We had some of our first adventures in DIY in our kitchen, so we are somewhat nostalgic before the destruction begins.

Besides the all the DIY, we've also had fun hosting Christmas tree chopping brunches, post Shamrock Shuffle race lunches, Pancake Day pancakes, and countless bowls of oatmeal.