The downstairs bath

Duane began tearing apart the downstairs bathroom this week. The tub remains, as it is not a light-weight plastic contraption, but heavy metal, and Duane wants to have a new one ready to put in before he takes this one out.

Duane never does what I want. . .

I wanted to post random pictures of things that I thought were interesting in the new house. Duane seems to think that this blog is supposed to be about renovating the new house and the progress we make, as well as the things we learn along the way. So, while he's at work, here are some of my interesting pictures. . .

My hidden closet. When we pulled down the paneling in our bedroom, there was a covered door. This is what it turned out to be- I was really hoping for some skeletons, but no such luck.


A close-up of the beautiful? wall paper in that bedroom.
This is how they had the door covered, with paneling over the top of that. Actually, I think Duane had already pulled off one of the vertical boards in this picture- it appeared that they REALLY wanted that sucker secured.

This is an old chair I found in the basement. Desperately in need of help, but still pretty cool.

We decided to expose the old brick chimney to add some texture to the living and day rooms.

It was more difficult than Cora makes it look here.

An example of the trim around outside of the windows. One of the best points of the house for me.

That does it for today. Next time I get a chance- Duane and his brother John trying to fit the trash ramp up the inside stairs!

Still More Progress

Following a working party Saturday, we have torn quite a bit more out of the old home. All that remains on the first floor is the kitchen and the mud room. The carpeting has been removed from the upstairs thanks to John and Julie and some of the plaster has been taken out.

We found some interesting things during this last few days. I found a cabinet under the stairs to the attic. It will come in handy for linens and towels. Also, Sara found some old hand-written notes on the plaster surrounding the chimney. She took several pictures and will post them later.

So, everything seems to be going well. But the August deadline looms. We have to keep at it.

Back in Action

Since February was on of the coldest ever, thank you global warming, I did not get much done last month. March, however, is showing itself to be much more productive.
In the past month, I was able to use an eight foot 2x4 to pull down most of the ceilings on the first floor. This wasn't as hard as I thought it would be. I hated removing the plaster, but it was cracked and areas showed what appeared to be water damage. Also, with the need to rewire and possible run HV/AC duct work, I felt it would be best.

In the dining room, there was blown in insulation between the first and second floors. It was the only room to have this done and I still don't understand why they did it.

Yesterday, I cleaned out two rooms and almost finished a third. I think I could have finished it if I had not punctured the tire on my wheelbarrow and had to use a smaller one later in the day. I finished the room today and started on a fourth.


Here is a good picture of me and one of the many things that distracts me as I work. It is also a good look at the work left to do on the overhead. For each one of those boards hanging down, there are two nails that need to be removed. Add in the nails left behind by the boards totally removed. Now multiply by five rooms, just on the first floor. If you have a claw hammer, you can stop by anytime in the next week for a step ladder and free soda.

Finally, I thought I would share this photo with you. There was a rotted out deck on the back of this house, built out of untreated 2x4s and plywood. Following a bathroom break, something told me to get a sledgehammer and take that deck out. So, never one to shy away from haphazard destruction, I did. Once the wood was gone, I removed some grating and roofing tin my son Matthew and my wife Sara had been walking on and found this.

This is a cistern. For those who don't know what a cistern is, I will explain. When this house was built, the cistern served as the source of water. The houses guttering directed rainwater into these underground bell-shaped concrete containers. The water was then pumped into the house.

This one was about, oh, I'd say twenty to twenty-five feet deep and looked to have about three to five feet of water in it still. Very dangerous and I am very happy that I found it before someone was hurt.

In about a day and a half, I was able to fill a thirty yard dumpster and had another one delivered. The local trash service wanted $250 for delivery and $50 a ton. They would only give me the dumpster for four days. Sara hunted around and found one that delivered for $175 and $50 a ton and let me keep it a month. The cheaper service is also 30 miles away. As I said above, I filled the dumpster in a day and some change. When I called them to pick it up and bring another, they said they would knock $25 off the delivery charge. I didn't have to ask, they just did it.

God bless capitalism and God bless Sara.

Making Progress

I have been making some headway into demolishing the main floor. I need to step up my game a little and stop waiting until after lunch to get over to the house. But the main floor is getting closer every day, little by little.

Unfortunately, I have no picture of my progress so I offer you a picture of two cats on a rocker.


A little feline synchronized snoozing for your entertainment pleasure. Hopefully by Wednesday, I will have the main floor done, including the ceilings.

Demolition, or Behold the Power of a Four Pound Hammer

This is what our living room looks like today. I did this all with a four pound hammer and a snow shovel. Here is how. I took the hammer and hit up and down the wall to loosen the plaster from the slats behind it. At first I hit hard enough to go through the plaster and the slats but I learned how hard to hit it just to crack the plaster. I did this up and down the walls until I thought I had the plaster just hanging there. Then I used the hammer to open up an area to the slats big enough for the blade of this snow shovel. For the most part, the plaster fell off the wall like butter off a hot knife. I decided to leave the lath on the wall. There is blown in insulation behind it and I want to preserve that.

Really, it was easier than I thought it would be. But I will admit, it was really amazing how much heavier that hammer got as the day went on. Eerie.

When removing horsehair plaster, it is really important to use all eye and respiratory safety precautions. There are things in this plaster that can make you sick so I didn't take any chances. And I learned that although wearing the hat backwards looks cooler, the bill of the hat helps keep plaster crumbles out of my safety glasses.

After a while, I was able to lose the coat, even though there is no heat in the house. I finished removing the walls in the living room and the library and tomorrow will take some of the moulding out of the house and get started on the kid's play area.

This seems to be moving along rather well (knock on wood.) Tomorrow I will call to get trash service started to get some of this plaster out of here and hopefully remove the plaster from the walls in the kids play room. I also need to call an electrician and schedule a time for him to come by and look at the wiring.

Overall, I am happy with the progress of the main floor.

A Little Note about Links

I believe that you can find information concerning whatever problem you are facing on the Internet if you know how to search for it. However, I have yet to find a website that covers a total house renovation.

There are some really great websites on specific renovations and repairs but not one that covers everything from roof inspection to selecting a furnace. So, if you look to the right, I will be linking to those sites as I find them. The topics will hopefully cover everything you need to know to repair or replace just about everything in your house.

Oh, and when looking for information about installing windows, make sure you put house windows. Bill Gates has a little product that goes by a similar name. It tends to get a higher Google search ranking without being specific.