Ellen & Steve's Remodel Project: Remodel

Of course the first week of the remodel would bring the return of cold weather to Wisconsin - nighttime temps were near zero and the daytime temps barely made it into the teens for the first part of the week. But Jason and his worker are from hardly stock and showed up every day, albeit later in the morning than they would have liked - waiting for the mid-day warm up (relatively speaking, of course).

Day 1:

Demo begins...

The dumpster is delivered. The old chimney is by the dumpster - the plumber on the project asked if he could have it as his blew off in a storm earlier this winter.

Day 1 - Crisis at the end of the day! Jason discovered that the family room roof trusses from the 1994 remodel were not the size that was called for on the 1994 plans - the new bedroom floor would be 2 inches higher than floor in old part of the house. Sigh.

Day 2 - The architect arrived early on the job site and he, Jason and Steve brainstormed. To correct the 1994 error would mean tearing out entire ceiling of family room and ordering new trusses - quite the expensive endeavor. The final solution is a compromise - the floor of the new bath and hallway leading into guest suite will be raised so that the entire area will have the same floor height. The transition will occur where the upstairs hallway gives onto the new guest suite hallway.

Oh well, whenever our outdoor garden projects don't go as planned, Steve and I call them "rustic" and call it a day. We shall call this "quaint" and "charming" - should anyone notice.

Day 6 - the south wall goes up...

Meanwhile, Steve is doing the inside demo...

Note the little niche (door is already removed) built into the wall between the studs...the 2nd floor was an apartment during WWII and this little bedroom was the kitchen for the upper flat. This niche was where the tenants could keep milk and food cool in the winter time: