Tipsico

 I thought we were past the deconstruction stage but I was wrong.  The electrician, plumber, and HVAC folx can work more efficiently if we just rip out the wall.  We're going to upgrade and replace the insulation on this outside wall.  And as long as we're poking around, we're also going to stuff some more insulation into the roofline. We also have our first unexpected finding and slight change in plan. The ceiling behind the wall has partially collapsed.  The duct work for the exhaust fan is going to be re-routed through the ceiling so we will just re-enforce and secure this collapsed ceiling at the same time as we cut a new hole for the exhaust.  The contractor was expecting to climb around in our attic to install the exhaust duct work. We changed that plan because it will be easier to just work from the interior of the house to access the attic.  We have a low pitch roof and there is little, if any, space to crawl around the attic.  In other ne...

  Yesterday they removed the soffits and today they removed the original 1960 linoleum flooring.  We knew that there was asbestos (25% Chrysotile) in the flooring.  Rather than adding another layer of flooring over the existing we decided to take out the old stuff.  Given the amount of safety equipment for the removal in 2025, I'm wondering how the workers who installed our floor and many others in 1960 fared.    I think the deconstruction is done and building can commence.

The workers quickly detached and removed the counters, cupboards, and appliances today. Both Jim and I worked from home.  I was not bothered by the noise, but Jim struggled to hear his co-workers over zoom today.  The workers kindly gathered things they found that we might like to keep.  We recognized some missing hot pads, marbles, and utensils, but these recipes are not ours. Meanwhile we are getting used to our temporary kitchen conveniently located within our living room, and our temporary coffee bar in our guest bedroom.  I have no idea what is happening tomorrow but Wednesday we are leaving the house while the asbestos removal specialists can remove the old flooring.   

Why remodel?  I first saw my current home in the Summer of 1999. The house was custom built in 1960 by an architect who made it his family's home.  We knew we wanted our new home to be  located close to my husband's new job (he could walk to his office)  be close to schools (elementary school is across the street) be welcoming to our aging parents who we hoped would visit often (it's a ranch style with gentle stairs to the basement) be close to a bus line to get to campus (8 minutes to walk to the bus stop). This house met all those requirements but the kitchen was dated and needed updating.  We made an offer, it was accepted, and we moved into the home in August of 1999. A short twenty-five years later we hired professionals to gut and re-build our kitchen. Our primary goals are to update our cooktop and oven, gain more counter space, gain more storage space, and get better lighting.  Here is a picture of our galley-style kitchen unchanged since we moved i...