My forearm has healed, so no more rest, we are back at gutting the second floor. Temperatures are still incredibly hot so Zach and I only work for a couple hours at a time. Steve works full time at the hospital and helps with the reno in the evenings (if we have small projects only he can do) and on the weekends. That was our deal. I would run the renovation while he worked.
I have finished the design for the first & second floor as well as a small addition. Those floor plans are off to Earl, my father-in-law, who will do the architectural drawings. He has done this for us on our previous two house builds, we are very fortunate and thankful for his help. This time will be a little different though, because Earl has never been to see the house. Due to unforeseen circumstances he will not be able to come down to see it before the plans need to be done. He will rely on Steve and I to take measurements & pictures, forward them to him and from that he will create the sketches. Can you imagine? It is one thing to draw brand new house plans, but to try to draw plans of an existing house that you have never seen and then draw the remodeled version. He is a gifted man. He graciously gives of his time/talent to Habitat for Humanity of Waukesha County, building/remodeling homes for the needy.
Finally towards the end of the summer the demo is complete.
We have opened up the entire upstairs and it looks great. but we still have a number of projects to get done before we can frame up the new spaces. The collar ties have to be moved up so we can raise the ceiling height to meet code. The windows have to be replaced. Steve is going to install a sky light in the hall between the two bedrooms. All the old electrical has to be removed and then rewired to new outlets and switches. The flooring has to be removed, the floor leveled and then new wood floors installed. Some rafters have rotted around the old chimneys and will have to be replaced. The two brick chimneys need to be taken down before drywall is put up, so we can access them. We need to insulate. Before all that though, we need a new roof.
In my spare time, I am reading the North Carolina Building Codes to be sure we are in compliance.
This blog you have created is amazing!!!!!