All Jacked Up

Wait...what?  Isn't that a Gretchen Wilson song?

Meet Mr. Hammer.  Jack Hammer to be precise. 

Other famous hammers come to mind.

MC Hammer

Arm & Hammer

Rogers & HAMMERstein

Okay, okay I digress......



We are going to expand the kitchen by approximately six feet.  In order to extend the kitchen, we have to remove the concrete pad that was once a screened in porch (the previous owners had already removed the back porch because it was in very poor condition).  Next the hubs can lay block and pour the foundation for the kitchen expansion.  Once we add onto the kitchen, we will build a covered back deck/ porch. 

It's not a huge cement pad, but it takes A LOT of time to "Jack it up"  demolish concrete with a jack hammer.  I didn't realize how slow the work is when one is jackhammering. 

 

My awesome hubs is almost done.  I think he's going to need a well deserved massage tonight!

 

 





Windows Resume in the Bedroom

The hubs and I have been pretending to be bats for the past month.  Well, not really...we just didn't have any windows in the batcave our bedroom.  It was great for the hubs while he was working night shift!  Me, not so much!  I can tell you having no windows makes it REALLY hard to wake up in the morning.  Not an ounce of daylight shines through OSB!

The Before

 

The After

 

 

 

 

Eventually all the plaster will be coming out of this room so we can rewire and add insulation.  For now we have this beautiful "trim work" to look at!  

 



How A-door-able

Three sides of the house have been torn apart and put back together with OSB, foam board, house wrap and new windows. 

 

 

The front of the house has a new entry door! 

We still have a window to install on the left side.

The front concrete porch/ stoop had to be demolished to make repairs.  It wasn't attached to the house so there was a gap between the porch and the house that allowed water to seep down inside and damage one of the main support beams.

 

 

 

A little before and "work in progress" shot.

 

We are removing the window above the door completely.
 There is only a cubby attic space up there.

The hubs and I are still trying to decide on a porch roof.  That steep gable makes it a bit tricky.  We don't want a porch roof to cover up our new door.  We are planning on a deck porch with railing.  But we're not quite sure what we are going to do.  We have a couple of ideas in mind.  We just need to come up with the final plan!







 



Bye Bye Red Cedar Shakes

The men set to work removing the rest of the cedar shakes.  My little superheroes jumped in on the action.  Armed with crow bars and safety goggles, they removed a good portion all by themselves.  I was a nervous wreck.  I mean.. I was sure one brother was going to accidentally clonk the other brother on the head with his crow bar.  Or one of them was going to step on a nail.  Or any other myriad of "what ifs" that could happen to them.  BUT I kept my inner maniac mommy mental madness to myself and just tried to offer some praise as they were doing a really good job. 

Without further delay, here are some pics.

{front of house}



It was a very rainy day.  This helped keep the dust down and kept the wasps away!

We found acorns behind the cedar shakes (pesky mice) and about 125 old wasp nests.  And of course 900 million stink bugs.  The stench of stink bug lingered in the air!

 

Here's a before and after of the side we worked on too.

 



 

We are removing the side porch completely.  There will just be a window there when we are done.

A Mother's Day Poem

As I look around my house, all I can see is a jumbled up mess.  It seems that no matter how hard I try, my house is always in a muddle.  This poem is exactly what my house looks like right now.

Happy Mother's Day everyone!

 

There's a pirate ship in my living room and cowboy boots in the hall. 

Flip flops left where they were kicked and I just tripped on a ball. 

 

Olaf is under my dining room table. 

Captain America’s shield has been disabled. 

 

Last night’s jammies still in a rumple.

A basket of laundry sits looking hopeful. 

 

I can barely keep up with the dishes. 

I’m trying to cook a dinner that’s halfway nutritious.

 

My countertops are a jumbled mess. 

But Jesus, our home, has truly blessed. 

 

For I have two little boys that are growing up fast. 

These moments will soon be in the past. 

 

So I pray dear Lord, let me slow down. 

Take in this mess that’s all around. 

 

Let me handle each moment with love and grace. 

And share lots of kisses on each one’s sweet face.

On One Side....

The hubby was on vacation last week.  He got quite a lot accomplished.  Here's a little of the progress he made. 

Our house has three layers of siding.  There are red cedar shakes on the majority of the outside then a layer of wooden siding.  Some parts of the house have white textured boards.  And under that is some kind of crazy sheet rock stuff.  The shakes, white boards and wooden siding are coming off.  The sheet rock stuff is staying on because we are pretty sure it contains asbestos. 

This is the back of the house.  Check out all the moss growing on the shingles!

 

 

 

 



 

And I wonder where all the stink bugs are coming from!

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is the view from our back yard. 

Even though it rained all week, we did have some beautiful skies.



 

 

 

 

 

 

We did most of the work on one side.  All the windows are being replaced.  None of the windows in the joint have headers, so hubs had to make some headers and prepare smaller holes for the new windows.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Two more windows will be installed on this side.  But they will have to wait until another day.

 

 

Prepare the Stairs

This week we have been working in the basement.  Our biggest project is to move the staircase that leads downstairs.  We are eventually going to put a covered porch on the back of the house.  Our plan for the back entrance is to enter from the porch and be able to go straight down to the basement.  This will make future moves of washers, dryers, water tanks and furnaces MUCH easier. 

The first thing the boys had to do was take down the side wall of the stairs.  It was lovely!  Complete with vintage paneling and mouse droppings.  So glad to see that go!

 

 

 

Hubs let the boys help for a few minutes.  One with a crowbar, one with a hammer.  Yes, yes I know, they should all be wearing protective eye wear -- already added to my Wal-Mart list (insert terrible parent remarks here).

 

 

Here's a look of the wall all gone!

 

 

 

 

It's a good thing the stairs are coming out because several of the support posts were cracked.  I knew I felt like I was tipping when I carried a basket of laundry up. 

 

 

And here's a picture from the bottom up.

 

 

We have big plans for this little space.  But details for that will follow in a later post.