Sorry Folks! I don't know where my brain has been but I just realized today that I haven't updated ya'll on the progress as of late.

Well, the chimney is gone! There again, I could have sworn I had a picture of the rooms with out the chimney but when I opened my camera tonight I realized I do not. So I will be sure to get that taken and post it very soon.

In the mean time, here is that mysterious master bathroom!



The construction of tile bathrooms in the 1950's was pretty major. 3/4 of this room was concrete and some heavy duty metal mesh. We do have a jack hammer but that doesn't seem to be making the demolition go any faster.

Yesterday my dad and I put together an initial construction schedule. IF (and that's a big if) everything goes according to our estimations we would be finished with the project by Jan. 22. Our move in date is Jan. 15. Construction schedules flex a LOT so I'm not going to let it stress me out. Although I will say that even visiting this site this morning I found myself saying "Okay Kenny. I'm not going to keep you any longer because there is a LOT of work to do and we are on a very tight schedule so get on back to tearing out that shower!"

Cary is out purchasing the framing materials this evening. Hopefully by the time we get back into town this weekend we'll have a bathroom wall and some closets! And hopefully we'll still be on schedule!!

The Chimney

Little Miss and I stopped by the house this morning for a brief moment. Cary took the day off work to get the chimney demo started and to just get his hands dirty. I think he is the type of man who goes through "dirty hands" withdrawal if he stays away from his projects for too long.

I wanted to go through my lighting design and confirm the switching locations with Cary as well as check out the demo progress.

Looks like Kenny got the entire wall removed and left our dear brick friend standing.



The door in this picture is the existing entry into the master bedroom. It will stay, but the HVAC duct work you see in the corner, that will have a closet built around it!



Here's my man getting ready to build the platform needed to safely remove the chimney from the roof.






I wasn't able to make it by later this afternoon but I'll stop by tomorrow and get more pictures. It should be completely gone by then! Good bye curve ball!!!

Still More Demo

Here's the demo of the paneling room!

The future purpose of this room is to be combined with the existing Master Bedroom to make our Master Suite! It felt so good to see that dark old school paneling go away.



This wall is supposed to be completely torn down. Oh but wait!

What is that brick thing in the middle of the wall?
No.
It's not.
It CAN'T be.
A chimney?!!



Oh but it is. I can't help but chuckle thinking back onto the conversation Cary and I had (and are still having) about this little surprise.

So in the basement of the house there is a new furnace and hot water heater which happen to be vented up through this brick chimney all the way up through the roof.






See...right there...



How did I miss this? I can't say that I'm upset really because working in construction for over 10 years I'm fully aware of the many surprises that can spring up any time during a project. But it's just frustrating.

Our options are:
1-remove the chimney. How much is that going to cost and how long will it delay the current work? That's what Cary and I are working through right now.

2-redesign the master suite to keep this wall or try to "accent" the brick chimney. Not really an option that we want to pursue. As it stands right now with the current design this chimney is right where Cary's feet are when he's in bed. I don't think he would appreciate rough masonry exfoliating his toes when he sleeps.

3-make the paneling room an office and use the room we planned for Ellery as the master suite. Again, not very good because this room is so small it will be difficult to have guests stay comfortably.

I think we are just going to have to suck it up and have the chimney removed. That means more repair to the slate roof, closing in the holes in the attic, filling in the hardwood floors in the master suite flooring (which I think we had to do anyway) and let's not forget a whole lot of mess to clean up.

It's a big "UGH" and sigh of frustration but nothing we can do about it.

I think the easiest thing about this additional project is re-routing the venting for the furnace and hot water heater to the exterior wall right next to the equipment!

Fun Times!!

In the mean time I'll be working on the lighting design and relocating those switches that are currently hanging in the middle of the living room/kitchen. I'll also be working on gather more quotes for the kitchen cabinets!

Second Demolition

The second phase of demo was to create a very open floor plan for the living area.

This is what you see as you enter the house from the front door. More likely than not we will be putting some sort of column support where you see the 2x4 studs still standing. You know, this side of the house need some sort of structural support.






If you look through the kitchen you'll see the "paneling room." Originally there was a pocket door from the kitchen to this room. In order to take out the pocket door we had to remove the plaster and other "stuff." Cabinetry will fill this wall in the future.



This is what you'll see if you were standing in the back corner of the kitchen looking into the dining/living room. Several folks have asked if we were going to have a formal dining room. The answer is no. I just don't think a formal dining room really fits into our relaxed lifestyle right now.



So. Some of our upcoming decisions/projects are:

More demo!

Cary will be installing hardwood floors into the kitchen (currently linoleum in this photo) and weaving new hardwood into the existing hardwood floors where we have removed walls. Thank goodness for YouTube and the library, which is where he's learning how to do the hardwood weaving!



I will also be determining where these light switches will go. Since we have no walls now I'll have to figure out where I want to work the lights!



I will be figuring out if we are relocating these HVAC registers or just putting them into the floor.

First Demolition

The first thing to go was the kitchen cabinets. Well, they were pretty sturdy and almost build into the walls so to remove them meant we had to remove the wall its self.



The next day Kenny took out the wall separating the kitchen and dining room.

It's starting to look brighter already!



I've changed my mind on the cabinet color and door style a few times already. But I think I've settled on white cabinets with black or dark gray countertops. My inspiration came from Ina Gartens kitchen. Any holiday decorations or colors will play nicely off of white cabinets. They are very "clean" looking and I like that they will assist in making the kitchen feel larger.

We plan to run hardwood flooring into the kitchen. That's another fun project for Cary!

Next demolition.....the living room walls!!!!

Vision

Okay, so it might not look like much now. No big surprise to me. TRUST me, it's taken me quite a while to even come close to cracking a smile when it comes to this project. BUT, thankfully I have a vision for this place and I'm married to an amazing man who thoroughly enjoys any hands on DIY project. And this, my friends, is one heck of a DIY project.

So here it goes!

Welcome to the 1955 brick rancher.



Friend: "It looks like Cary on the outside."
Leah: "Yea. Well, it might be Cary on the outside but it's going to be all Leah on the inside when I'm finished with it."

The Foyer: Yes, those are saloon doors that provide the graceful entrance into the kitchen. And they will be for purchase on Craig's List very soon...so those interested keep your eyes peeled, or you can e-mail me directly and maybe we can work some deal out. ;)



The Living Room: Immediately to your right is the living room. The classic picture window on the front of the house and a nice gas fireplace!








The Dining Room: The living room flows right into the dining room which is off of the kitchen.






The Sun Room: So our lot is sloped quite a bit and when you are in this room it's like you are sitting in a tree house. There is so much potential for this room and it's gonna be adorable!









Kitchen: A quick step back through the dining room and we are standing in the doorway to the kitchen. Looks kinda scary now, all dark and old; but don't worry, I'll take care of that!



This picture is from the saloon doors.






This is Kenny! He's one of our carpenters. He's a really good guy.



Paneling Room: Honestly I don't know what else to call this room. But it's off the kitchen and just space waiting to be used "properly."






Master Bedroom: Just scroll down and see the master bathroom! Wait, will you even be able to see it? You have to look really hard, but it's in these pictures. All I can say is that who ever used to live in this house must have been really short.









Ellery's Room: Not really any renovations going on in this room but I wanted you to witness the sherbet colored walls yourself.



Ellery's Bathroom: Aww, how cute! They made it pink just for her back in the '50's. So thoughtful!!!



Yes, there is a guest bedroom and a full walk out basement. There is nothing very exciting about the guest bedroom right now. And the walk out basement is a post all of its own.

So for now, that's the place!

Renovations have started and I have more pictures to post so go ahead and become a follower of our blog so you can see the latest and greatest fun stuff happening!

Update

Wow, this year has been almost too much!

I've always wondered when I would feel like a grown up.

It was when I turned 30.

This year included:

Having a baby
Selling my dream house
Closing the doors of my family business
Completing a marathon (I hope as of this Saturday)
Renovating and moving into a new home
Starting a fabulous bible study
Attending MOPS (Mothers Of Pre-Schooler)

All this while growing much closer to the Lord.

I know 2009 isn't over quite yet, but I'm looking forward to getting this year behind me.

So. Why start blogging on the original site again?

I thought some of you out there would be interested in virtually joining Cary and I while we renovate and move into our new home!!