Do it All

The weekend goal was to finish demo. That means getting the beam up, kitchen wall down and a dump run to take all the debris out of our house. Of course, construction never goes quite to plan, so we are flexible with adjusting those expectations. Especially when it means balancing good quality sleep and breakfasts.

Saturday morning promised sunshine so we ate croissants and headed to the beach to hunt sea glass and agates. The sun was perfect for agate hunting and we came home with a handful! Awesome start to the day! Then it was time to change into construction clothes and get to work.

Matt made more progress on the demo, but it was slower than we both had hoped. By Sunday afternoon it was clear that we had some questions and needed to pause again. We called in our go-to resource, Shane, and he came over to take a second look. Our plan for installing the beam was good, but not quite as good as his years of experience. Thank goodness we called! We needed a different bracket and a different type of screw…and he recommended some additional bolts for the attic rafters. With inexperienced blank stares looking back at him he offered to show us exactly what we needed at the store. Can you say lifesaver? We trucked into town, and $60 later we were ready to tackle the beam.

While Matt went back to the project I picked up some more hobby work. Posted two new mobiles to Etsy and shared them on Instagram. I also made a neat connection to work as a day-of wedding coordinator for an island wedding this summer! I am so excited to help this bride out and use some of my creative wedding and planning energy in a local way! And I finished our taxes. Horray for finding money to finance our DIY remodel. As I was happily working away in our freezing cold house (the ceiling is open to the attic so all the heat just leaves), Matt discovered that the bolts were too burly for our drill so that meant another pause until we could borrow on Monday. Thank goodness for generous neighbors with tools! So we called it for the day.

Monday morning I had a work meeting on the island and worked from home the rest of the day. Flexible schedules are amazing. I worked away at the dining room table while Matt worked on the beam through the soon-to-be-gone kitchen wall. At 4:30 we were ready to hang it! It only took 3 tries to get the post heights just right and then it was set in. Screw in some brackets and it is in! Woohoo!

Today I am writing from a coffee shop before an all-day work workshop. I am excited to see the wall down when I get home! This will be the hardest week to live in the remodel (well…maybe cabinet painting will trump it…) because we will not be able to really cook. Our stove will be in the middle of the dust zone so it covered with plastic and cardboard. Not available for use. We will get by with the toaster oven and oven but we are a no-microwave household so tea and hot water are not really an option. Guess we will be reheating things and eating out!

Project summary:

1. Remove french doors and fill in new guest room wall
2. Widen entry to living room to add french doors and transom
3. Open wall between new dining room and living room
4. Remove old guest room closet
5. Add supporting beam in kitchen
6. Remove wall between kitchen and new dining room
7. Drywall to close up all construction areas
8. Repair/add and refinish hardwood floors
9. Add additional kitchen cabinets and counter tops
10. Paint all cabinets white
11. Paint walls and ceiling
12. Build built-in bookcases and new fireplace mantel in living room
13. Move existing gas stove to new fireplace area
14. Finish all baseboard and casing trim
15. Move on to the basement!

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