Progress Update: Week 1

Before the kitchen gets better it's going to get a lot worse!  So this week was all about demolition, which started on June 4.  We had already spent our spare time weeks prior to demolition clearing out the back half of our house.  For 8 weeks we are losing the kitchen, the downstairs bath, and another bedroom serving as the home office.

This used to be a respectable-looking dining room!

Since there won't be access to the downstairs bathroom, we decided to hole ourselves up on the 2nd floor.  So in addition to clearing out the contents the first 3 rooms, we've also moved our master bedroom temporarily to the 2nd floor guest bedroom.  As a result, the entire house is in shambles.  We set up a stationary kitchen with a camping stove in the backyard.  It's actually quite nostalgic of the sort of outdoor cooking I've done in Italy.  However, breakfast and lunch usually get made in the second floor bathroom.  In the end, I know this is all temporary, so it hasn't been a big deal at all.  It's just embarrassing if anyone shows up at my front door!

One last look at the existing kitchen before Demolition Day.  Packing up feels so strange; didn't I just move in?!

I had to laugh at the plumber who scoped out the renovation job.  He told me I was nuts to stay in this house while the renovation was going on.  But he doesn't know my archaeological background and that I'm used to spending my summers without plumbing!  Who wants to take a hot shower in the Florida summer anyway?

Home-made shower from my archaeological dig in Ukraine.  We made this out of 2x4's, bubble wrap,  a giant cook pot and an spicket!

I was amazed how much work actually was accomplished on day 1 of demolition.  By the time I got home from school, all the cabinetry was gone, the appliances were out, and two walls had started coming down.

Same space, 24 hours later!

 The crew uncovered a patch-work of harvest-gold linoleum, plywood, and even a bit of the original wood floors .

The most exciting part of week one was breaking into the the odd-angled "mystery wall" in the vestibule.  The architectural plans revealed there was an unknown wall cavity in the space between the original hall wall and the bedroom closet wall.  Since we knew there was no plumbing, ductwork, or electrical in this space, I came to the logical conclusion that there must be (a) a dead body, or (b) hidden treasure inside!  I begged my husband to let me buy a sledge hammer and tear the thing down for a whole year, but he never let me do it!

The mystery wall finally comes down.  What a freaking mess!

On the downside, while we had intended to put up plastic sheets and seal off the doors to the back of our house, this didn't get finished before demolition.  As a result, I now have a fine layer of plaster dust covering EVERYTHING on the first floor to deal with.  What a mistake that was!