the dump..........

No, I"m not referring to the house:) This is a photo of the gigantic dumpster that Larry ordered when he started the project.  Originally, he thought it would be too large, but the guy convinced him to go with their largest model.  Normally, these hold around 1 ton.  But, not when Larry Brown does the packing.  His days of carefully packing overseas shipping containers to hold the maximum load have paid off.  Unfortunately this is not the final photo before they hauled it away.  When the guy came to pick it up, he estimated it would be closer to 2 tons.  Final tally.......over 5 tons!  The guy said he had never in all of his years in the business seen a dumpster packed so tightly.  When he dumped it, it came out altogether in a tightly pack cube!!  We just ordered another one:(

To permit or not to permit.......

This was the question.  Who knew that remodeling could pose moral dilemas.  Here, as everywhere, there's the legal and the "other" way to get things done.  Often the other way is fine from a quality standpoint and it's always cheaper.  But, in the end, it needs to be done right.  Sooooo, we are replacing ALL of the wiring in the entire house.  At least we'll be able to sleep at night and, when time comes to sell, we'll have a clear conscious. 

Firm Foundation

 The trenches in the foundation have been filled with cement creating a smooth basement floor with no earth exposed.  The existing steel posts were solid, just covered in rust. 

And MORE demo!!

The demolition has continued this week.  Hot and muggy temps have made for nasty working conditions. We are adding a second bath upstairs and totally gutting the existing one to steal some space. One bath upstairs is plenty for us, but adding an additional one will help with resale...when the time comes. 

The kitchen demo has proven to be very challenging and tedious. There is metal lathe on the ceiling with 1 inch of plaster.  In Larry's words, it is nasty.  It involves working overhead, using wire cutters and lots of banging. He can't wear his goggles because they fog up in the heat and humidity, so he uses safety glasses which allow for falling debri into the eyes at times.

Foundation

With threats of flash flooding, Larry took time out to do some additional work around the foundation.  I understand that dry basements in New England are as scarce as affordable housing.  We'll see if our next purchase will need to be a sump pump:( 

Demolition Continues

nearing capacity

Tomorrow is the date Larry targeted for completion of the demolition. Still a bit more to do, but good progress is being made. 

Surprises

Some surprises are nice, like discovering there was some blown in insulation in the walls.  Others, not so nice, like uncovering rotted out studs that had been placed right on the ground in the basement. And, sink holes right next to the foundation. Never fear....Lare Bear to the rescue! Nothing like a nice rainstorm to expose the warts, I mean wonders of home ownership!