Gut Instinct

Well we have had our share of ups and downs. We have torn out more things than we have put together. But this demo makes me happy. See this beautiful bench in the front entry, this was the one thing we were going to keep! I was just going to paint it, and add some pillows! Great right -WRONG!

See that bottom piece of wood next to the tile- well it looked like it had been wet at one time and it kept bothering me. the bench was solid, but I just had this weird feeling. I decided we needed to remove the bench because I just couldn't get rid of that feeling! Look what we found

That is the bottom of the bench- MOLD so we kept going......

That is the exterior wall- completely covered in mold and rotted out- the wall studs are completely rotted off from the floor to about a foot up- the brick exterior around the front door had been leaking for years! We could see daylight through the walls and brick!

Then we looked up and found this gem of a beehive- it was the size of a beach ball- luckily its tenants had vacated the premises and this was all that was left. See we are the only ones who see the beauty in this house! We also found some live carpenter ants- so our entire front entry needs to be rebuilt! Bonus right!

This is above the front door- after removing the ceiling!

 

Jason removing the exterior brick so we can rebuild the foyer! When we got to the bottom the machine went right through the board and it was filled with holes.





Me- giving him a break! Hard work!

Having a little fun in the midst of the hard  work!

We decided to remove most of the plaster- the ceiling had a leak and there was mold- this is Abby's room- all ready for windows and duct work!

Here's our room!
 My husband rocks! He does it all! Keeps me from going insane and does all of the tough work!
He basically did all of the demo in most of the house- luckily we had 2 of his friends that were able to help with the dining/kitchen and den. I am great at pulling out old nails! about  1000 of them! This week the HVAC ducts are being installed and all of the windows. They are also tying all of our gutters and draining to the front pond! Things are moving along quite nicely now. I only had a minor break down this week. But really can you blame me! Before we know it, we will be putting it back together!

Merry Christmas!
 

 

 

 

 

Progress!

Wow- we have made some progress! Now if I am being honest, we went several weeks, just waiting. Waiting for the weather to change, waiting for the excavator, waiting for everything! I do not like waiting.. It was rough! But just when I had enough of the waiting- things started happening. The foundation was excavated and the foundation was poured. The walls on the addition are going up. Our chimney was  completely fixed, raised and mortared (usable in 30 days) Woot Woot! The old septic system was dug and the new one is going in. Last but not least our pond has risen to full capacity. This all happened in 2 very short weeks! I have written more checks in the last few months, than I have my entire life! While I am at it, we had the tooth fairy and the Elf on the shelf arrive within days of each other. But when I am stressed and feeling completely frustrated, I look at my family and sigh with relief that this is temporary. We made these choices, ON PURPOSE! I have to remember why we are doing this and how blessed we are to be able to! That's what gets me through. Here are the updates!

Foundation

Materials

Making room for New window

New Equipment!

Because stacked wood is a balance beam!

Youngest little lost her top tooth!

Addition

Mud fest!

Old Septic- that water is 5 1/2 feet deep! Yuck!

Digging new one

Pond- rose 1 1/2 feet overnight!



Full Addition- 2 windows, one slider and a set of transom windows in family room!

Demo- of front to add front porch!

We are moving along! More updates at the end of the week!