August Update

It has been a while, I am sorry for not keeping you up to date! It has been a busy, hot summer and we are trying to be patient with the Vickery progress.

The inside has been completely gutted and re-framed. We are currently waiting on permits before the electrician and plumber can come in and get to work. We are making decisions on windows, doors, lighting and fixtures. It a slow process, but we are getting there. Perhaps waiting for the permits is a blessing in disguise, as it allows the time for us to do some difficult decision making.

Below are some paint samples on the house and some pictures of the re-framing process.

Kitchen Demo Begins

I can't wait until I can show you pictures of things other than destruction. But for now, destruction is what we get! Goodbye oven, microwave, cabinets and countertops. Half of the kitchen is now gone. It was pretty exciting.

Don't you love the patchwork sheet rock? What were these people thinking?

I know what it looks like, I stand around taking pictures while he does all the work.

I am not denying that this is often the case.

Yay for the Foundation Crew!!!

The foundation crew (ACE Pier and Beam Repair) was supposed to begin work next Monday, but they started today instead! We are so excited. I have a feeling that the ball is rolling and will be gaining speed very quickly. I hope we can keep up with it.

Fireplace Demolition

I should start by saying that I really liked the original fireplace and built-in units. However, they had to go. The weight of the fireplace was putting too much stress on the foundation. So, in order to fix the foundation, and fix it correctly, the entire structure needed to be removed. (Along with the master bath, which was another major weak spot in the foundation and has now been gutted completely.)

The fireplace was not functional, and hadn't been for a long time. It had been completely bricked in. We will eventually be rebuilding it into a working gas fireplace. After weighing the benefits of gas versus wood burning, we think gas will be cleaner, easier, and therefore used much more often. We will save the wood burning for an outdoor fire pit.

Who took out the fireplace, you ask? Nabil. Bricks, marble, thick concrete slabs and all. Not an easy task. Not your average man.

He will also be building new built-ins that will flank the fireplace. We haven't talked in depth about the design, but you'll see the final product at some point.

Bathroom Gut Job Continued

Nabil has been hard at work gutting the bathroom. What is left of it is now in the bedroom, or in the yard, waiting for the bulk trash pick up day. We may be turning the sink into a planter for the garden. But maybe not.

Below is where the sink used to be, through the hole in the wall you can see the entrance to the mud room.

This is a hole in the floor. Under the house, and running through the walls, are old cast iron pipes that are no longer in use, and live wires that don't serve any obvious purpose, except of course danger.

There was literally nothing supporting this bathroom from underneath, as you can tell by the significant slanting beam. There were joists that weren't nailed or screwed into anything, they were just there for show.

Oh, and the latest news...I got a tool belt. Isn't that handy? There aren't any tools in it, but I swear I was working.

Bye Bye Bathroom

Yesterday Nabil and I decided to spend some quality time together, ripping things apart. I was working hard to get premium carpet gripper up off the floors around the master bedroom and taping down thick brown paper to protect our original pine floors, while Nabil was busy gutting the bathroom.

Below are some pictures of the old master bathroom. The floor is dipping big time in corner to the left of the sink. We are planning on tearing out a wall on the other side of the shower, to extend the bathroom a little more into what is now a small closet. So, the bathroom won't get any wider, but it will extend another 5 feet, roughly, making room for an additional sink and a nice walk in shower.

It may be hard to see, but that is a strip of crazy floral wallpaper that was underneath layers of drywall and newer ugly wallpaper. And check out the wall underneath the drywall, they don't make 'em like that anymore. There will be more pictures of the gutted bathroom to come, as we continue ripping it apart.

Nabil and I were laughing yesterday, because people always ask how the house is coming along, and we always say that it's coming along, and it is. But it's funny because truth is that every time we leave, it's a little bit worse than it was before. But, I guess it has to keep getting worse before it can better.

Some "Before" Pictures