Update...

Living Room expansion:
Since we now have the porch enclosed and the windows and patio door installed, we are ready to demolish the existing wall that separates the porch and the living room. We will need to replace that wall with an 18' long beam! After speaking with our structural engineer, it seems that the best solution for us will be to add 2 columns in the space to support that beam (otherwise, the beam will have to be too deep and we just dont have the ceiling height to accommodate it). So, we will be adding 2 columns---about 30" from the walls---leaving a space of 12' between the columns. C'est la vie!

Master Bedroom:
Today we worked on the Master Bedroom expansion and framing of the walk-in closet...which is now complete! This task involved removing an existing wall so that we could gain 2' in the space. The bedroom is now 12' wide by 14' long and the walk in closet is 8' wide x 6' deep. The next step in the Master Bedroom is to rough in the additional electrical outlets. Once that is complete, we will be ready for the final finishes in that room!

Critters:
So, I have been wondering where all of the spiders, mice and miscellaneous bugs have been...I suppose I expected to uncover alot of critters in the demolition process. Just when I thought we were critter-free...we found a mouse nest in the fiberglass insulation in the porch ceiling, and a poop-load of mouse droppings in the pull out cutting board in the old kitchen cabinets....ick! oh, and I can not neglect to mention the partially decomposed mouse carcass that I happened to rake up with the leaves...ugh!