Demolition

Old things need to be repaired and sometimes that can't happen until you fix the root of the problem.  Old houses are full of old problems!  In the process of fixing one problem, it often creates another.  There was a lot of demolition going on in this remodeling project!  And a lot of new problems arose!

It starts with the kitchen and the porch.  Removing old cabinets was easy.  Tearing out an old bathroom is less easy.  Tearing off old siding and planks, not so hard.  Raising a floor.... hmm... now the door won't close!  Fix the floor/door, now when the door swings open, it hits the light fixture on the ceiling. Gah!  The electrician will just have to put in a recessed light! It's a big mess and you begin to wonder if it will ever go back together and look nice again.  I cannot picture the end result.  I have a hard time making decisions.  Everything has to be done in a sequence.  The walls can't go up until the electrical wiring is in place.  So we wait  on the electrician to get done with his part of the job.  The floor can't go in until the plumbing is done.  So now we wait on a plumber.  The drywall can't go on until the framework is worked out.  You can't paint until the walls are done.  You can't put in the flooring until the painting is done.  It's like a set of dominoes in reverse!

The Porch is one of the very first things they worked on.  Tore off the old outside siding.  Removed the windows, build the framework for the door, ceiling, and walls. Put in a new back door with a lock, and a new door to the basement!  Here are some pictures of the Porch remodeling:

  

 

  

The kitchen cabinets, counters, and sink were the next to go, and the little bathroom soon followed:

That tall vent pipe is made out of cast iron.  Now that's a job for the plumber.

Seems like every house needs one of these vent pipes.  After talking with the plumber, this pipe will be moved to the little wall between the laundry room and the refrig.  They will build a "box" to put it in. In effect, they will be moving that little wall 6" left, into the kitchen.  They will put the plumbing for the washer in that wall box as well, so that the laundry room plumbing is not on the outside wall.  Since it will be so close to the kitchen sink, the sink will get 3" pipe right up to the drain--the sink should never clog up again!!  This is good for the laundry room, because that extra six inches moving into the kitchen allows a regular sized washer/dryer to fit in the space on the porch.  Originally we had to consider a "stackable" washer/dryer, or a pair of "Space-saver" appliances.  Now that's not going to be a problem.  However, solve one problem, create another!  Losing 6" from the kitchen counter poses a problem with an already short counter space.  We had left 36" at the end of the new counters for the refrigerator.  Now we only have 30".  (And still have a short counter to the right  of the sink, which needs to be centered with the window and the existing plumbing setup.)  Solution:  Move the refrigerator to the other wall, next to the other window and stove, with a counter/cabinet in-between.  There is (will be) new electrical outlets in both places, so it works.  This will be exactly like my own kitchen.  It works!

So, the little bathroom is gone, and the main bathroom now looks like this:  (OMG!)

  

You can see they have started framing in the bath tub area, and it doesn't show in this picture, but some ceiling framing is happening as well.  It makes me so nervous to see so much demolition.  I guess this is what you could call "negative progress."  The old has to go before the new can be installed, and a lot of prep work has to be done.  I will be glad when I start to see some "positive progress."