state of the interior...more demo

the interior is almost ready for the installation of the new beams and removal of the old walls...

just needs one more day of picking the framing clean of nails and removing any plaster remnants.

but we are still hoping to get the new deck framed before we start the interior framing...if the weather holds out for one more week!


this is why i always wear a dust mask during demo:

i cant photograph the interior with a flash, it picks up all of the dust (that you cant see with the naked eye)!

bad idea: the little slot in the back of the medicine cabinet where you deposit used razor blades!

so where do all those used razor blades go?...

in the bottom of the wall!  and they wait there until some poor future remodeler decides to rip the wall down. gross.

it was way too cold to work outside today- the wind chill made it feel like 10 degrees, and it actually snowed.  so we decided to work on more interior demo.

no more toilet in the entry foyer:

bye bye!

sorry about the bad picture quality...i forgot my camera and had to use my phone

 

old kitchen/ future bath: 

making progress!

shutters in progress

    lowe's severe weather raised panel shutters

siding update

we are almost finished installing the siding...

here is the before (in case you forgot!):

 

here is the back:

and what it used to look like:

these are ladder jacks. they clamp onto the ladder so that you can span a board across them to provide scaffolding- definitely makes work easier!

it's not blue!

we got this siding at home depot because the only grey that lowe's carried was a light, silvery grey and we wanted something darker. actually wish it was even darker, but this will do.  the color is called granite.

it looks blue in these pictures, but its actually a warmish grey.  in fact, this is the actual color:

weird how it looks blue. i almost dont want to post these!

renovation can be hazardous to your health

we are ready to start installing the new vinyl siding, but first- all of the vinyl trim needs to be installed

you need to trim out every edge, corner, top and bottom of a wall...and you need to trim around every door and window.

installing vinyl siding may be one of the easiest do-it-yourself projects--you just need to know a few important installation tips and you are good to go! for example, the first time i installed it i was surprised to learn that you don't hammer the nails in tight, you leave a little slack because the siding expands and contracts with fluctuations in temperature- notice that the nailing flange has slotted holes which help allow for this movement.

you use a trim called j-channel around windows and doors.  it creates a slot to receive the siding panels. (and it looks like a J in cross-section)

over all doors and windows, the bottom side of each end of the J-channel is cut and bent downward so that any water caught in the channel in these areas will be shed away and down the side channels.

the corner boards are also going in 

and all of the windows have been caulked and painted

which brings me to this question:
why is it that so many standard construction materials are incredibly toxic? 

this is the label from DAP caulk....stuff that you typically squirt along seams and gaps, then you take your BARE finger and run it along the bead of caulk to smooth it out (and further push it into the gap)

harmful if absorbed through the skin?  are you serious?

of course i read the label AFTER i used the product all day yesterday- so much that i was picking it out from around my finger nails when i was finished!  who wears gloves when they are caulking?

and then i read the label on the low-temp paint, and it was basically the same-it also contains toxic cancer-causing chemicals.

ugh!

so the next time i caulk anything i am going to try wearing surgical gloves...that should be interesting!
:)


let's finish with something nice....ooo a sunset:

a comedy of errors...

got to the house monday morning and noticed a CRACK in a NEW window!!!

ugh!

we are assuming it was caused by a projectile from the lawn mower and not a drive-by...the lawn was cut this weekend and i am sure there were nails, etc still scattered about.   

then, i was removing the old fence from the backyard and decided to cut the posts below grade and bury them and let nature take its course.  they are embedded in a ball of concrete a few feet below the surface, so i figured this was my best option for removal. (don't you judge me!)

i used our reciprocating saw- the one with the plug because it is more powerful than the one with the battery pack...

the sawblade sheared completely off!  and stuck in the post!

this was after i attempted to continue to remove paint from the chimney, using our dewalt drill- the one with the plug because its more powerful than the one with the battery pack.

and i killed it!  burned out the motor!

:(

scott came to my rescue and changed out the blade and finished the chop (he couldnt believe i broke the sawblade clean off the saws-all, i mean- it's called a SAWS-ALL for a reason!)   

scott came to my rescue and bought a brand NEW dewalt drill- the kind you plug in...and it has a HANDLE!  love it!

so all that aside...some stuff actually gone done.  scott replaced the old bulkhead doors.

and he re-trimmed the garage door...the old trim was a bit rotten and cracked.

we also finished trimming out all of the windows and caulked/prepped them for paint.  we used rot-free pvc exterior trim/brickmold to trim out the windows.

oh, and last but not least, my recently retired mom stopped by to start ripping out the upstairs bathroom...she is a chip off the ol' block!

:)