The shingles on the renovation portion of the house are GONE!  Roofers arrived at 8am and had it mostly done by the time I had to leave for Rockford with George. (emergency dental surgery on a broken tooth using the Egyptian mafia connection)  And by the time we got home everything was cleaned up and in the dumpster.

Tomorrow comes the big removal- the walls and roof come down....then the excavator arrives.  We are to have temperatures in last part of the week in the 90º's so am NOT looking forward to that but just glad to have the renovation finally started..... three months from now I should have a new kitchen completed... so, my birthday present to myself....

The garden progresses as I prepared for the renovation and needed to clear plants from the walk up to the house and around the house.  I've moved everything from the walk on the south side down to places in the "yard" or in the woods where they will be safe from the excavation.  I have many ferns that if the time were right would have been moved to the new "fern garden" I created down by the apple trees under the shade of the forest edge. I got some of them moved...but so many still in harm's way and no time....ah well.  I'm glad the rototiller still functions- I was able to prep a long line of garden on the edge in under a half hour and it has made transplanting so much easier.  I also cleared out the raised bed by the parking area of all the trash weeds and old plants except for the bushes and iris- rototilled it all and moved hosta (three varieties), some of the lacy ferns, and the plain iris to fill in the bare areas.... it's starting to look good.  Having to do a lot of watering due to the heat and NO RAIN but all is well.

The demolition is delayed until Monday now... we had high winds and damage around the area making  my contrator busy until next week.  Arggh....they did come and pick up all the trash from the demolition so I have empty barrels again.  It makes the house look much better without stacks of trash barrels and giant chunks of drywall and paneling stacked on the porch.  So.... I spend this week doing the final plant move, removing the walkway, and doing final selection on items...

George and I went to look at appliances on Wednesday.. I need a dishwasher, a wall oven, and a fan for over the stove.  Last August/September I had found choices at American but didn't know if they were still available or if pricing had changed.  Also I wanted to get competing bids.  We went to Colders- what a waste of time.  We practically had to cut our throats to get help and then he didn't know anything.  The "good old boys" sitting around at their desks were having a good laugh and playing on the computers while our "salesperson" blundered about....and eventually disappeared.  So we walked out.... not enough time in the world.

Went to American but Radik (the guy who gave me the quote) wasn't available....so we left there too.  No one wanted to talk with us since Radik would get the sale...duh- stupid....but so frustrating for the customer.

Yesterday I went to pick out granite..... I thought I knew which one I wanted since I had gone previously and selected six different varieties for pricing... I can't afford the E level and had several choices in the A level.  So, walking in I knew I needed to keep to my A level pricing...as I walked around trying to find the particular granite I thought I was going to take (Santa Cecelia) I ran into a NEW shipment of Venetian Gold... how could I resist!  It was an A level as well and has flecks of a black and gold on beige background with small dots of red mineral flecks and these faint swirls of color.  I double checked the price- all good.  Midwest Tile, Marble, and Granite in Waukesha- good folks.  They graciously moved slabs about allowing me to look at a variety of the slabs- I only need one- and I could select the one I wanted to be marked for me. Such pressure!  LOL- such fun!  Of course I decided (eventually) on the one that had been on the top of the pile originally but the sales guy was delightful...no problem.  He was patient and helpful- getting me a tape measure so I could plot the sizes of the counter on the slab- and answered my questions.... something the guys at Colders and American could learn.  AND he gave me samples so I can confirm my cabinet paint choice.... all good.

Here is the granite piece I chose:

TUESDAY- start day!   arrrghhhh... delayed.... the heat yesterday was unmerciful.  So it was a day of getting permits and lining up the crews but no hammers were working.  I do wish someone had called to tell me however- I was up at 6 anxious to get started...finally at 10 I texted Kevin to ask What's up?

It is supposed to be cooler on Thursday and perhaps it is a good thing we don't have half the house open to the outside....I even decided to turn on the air conditioning when the heat and humidity got to us and we said ENOUGH!  It probably wouldn't function all that well with a wall of plastic.  I know once they take the walls down we will have several weeks before we get enclosed again so all for the best.  George is having concerns already about living in the country with the house open- lions and tigers and bears, oh my!

I'm thinking of using the screen doors that previously created my screen porch and putting them on the gardening shed for the south side wall.  The sliding door we hung as a temporary door twenty years ago is failing (wonder why? hmmmm) and the plastic tarp I nailed in place several winters back is in rags.  I like to re-purpose things instead of throwing them in the landfill so will put my brain to thinking of how to use the screen doors (I have eight) and create a great new look.  I should have plenty of scrap treated lumber once the porch decking is removed to build frames and support members so all good....and will need something productive to do when everything is torn apart and I'm not allowed to pick up a hammer!  Soon..... soon...

Demolition...to make way for the new, the old must go away...

As part of my contract with Image Custom Homes, and to save a bucket or two of money, I said I would do the interior demolition and remove the exterior siding.  I started taking out the kitchen interior a month ago, working when I had time, cleaning drawers and packing up the china, glassware, etc.  The big cabinet move and the removal of the stove came next.  Then I unlooked the sink and started busting out cabinets.  The last thing to leave was the oven....I still had a turkey in the freezer and two pizzas!  One last night of cooking and then out it went.  I'm getting pretty good at unhooking electrical and I have a freezer full of cooked turkey now...good for all those sandwiches I'll be fixing while I have no kitchen!

The kitchen had wood paneled walls painted white- those came down pretty easy with my trusted hammer and crowbar.  Underneath was drywall but all the screws were visible so it was a straightforward removal.  As you can see in the photo above it looks like new construction- insulation good, studs clean....nice.  Too bad they don't have a "moving" machine that would allow you to zap a wall and move it down about six feet and re-zap it into place!  Once I got the ceiling down- a dirty job if there ever was one- it's evident where I was having the leaks. A layer of 1x paneling over the top of a sheet of 1/4" ply, plastic, insulation- it all still looks good and fairly clean but evidence of water getting in around the skylights and probably from the upper vent.  And evidence as well where Mr. Mousey was living.  He had several little pockets of food stored away.  I guess I don't think much about it- we live in the country after all and he was on the other side of the ceiling, not in my kitchen really but my partner, George, found it unsettling...lol....Overall, the kitchen came apart fast after I beat apart the crappy cabinets.  Didn't take a lot of beating since they were pretty cheesy.  I saved some of the tiles- and made garden markers from some of the white ones.  The blue and white decorative ones are boxed up for a future project...First the cabinets, then the walls, and lastly the ceiling....all down and out the door.  Kevin Settele helped one afternoon with taking down the ceiling and helping me get the sink cabinet broken out around the plumbing.  He's a good guy...easy to work with, funny, and a hard worker.  Helping with the demo is just part of his willingness to do what he needs to do to get the job...plus I think he thought I could use the help...and frankly after everything else and all the beating apart, unscrewing, tearing down, cleaning lumber, moving it to the shop, sorting it out, loading up the trash...yeah-I'm a little tired out and achey.  My hands especially.... bruises on legs and arms- looks like I've been in a fight and come out on the short end of it all...

Bottom picture is George working with Kevin Settele of Image Custom Homes to take out the ceiling in the entry.  I had torn off the pantry and the closet and removed all the oak trim, cleaning all the lumber to be reused.  Kevin arrived (for a second afternoon of fun) to help take down the last of the ceiling and final drywall in the entry.  The kitchen and entry are demo'ed!

The top picture shows the view from my "dining room" into the new entry area thru the log wall opening...a re-configuration of existing space to make a new way to come into the house allowing the kitchen to expand.

Kevin brought me these great plastic barrels to use for the demolition- they would make GREAT rain barrels!  But for now they are making great trash cans.  By the end of the day the entire porch was full of these barrels and big pieces of drywall and all the siding is down, nails removed, and it's stacked on the south porch....ready for the "boys" to arrive on Tuesday to do the structural demolition.

This is my beloved antique cabinet and cannot live without it 6 burner cooktop..... The kitchen is being planned around their size but I can't imagine NOT having either one of these bad boys.  I have more drawers than I know what to do with and storage for days in the cabinet.... and when I'm cooking or putting up jam this sweet gas cooktop can do it all....So look for both of these in the new kitchen.  Where they used to live is now long gone- an empty shell.  The cabinet is in pieces, drawers removed, top off, glass doors in storage.  The cookstove has been torn apart, cleaned and waiting a new cabinet.... It's going to be sweet!

And so we are "getting real"...

After three years of planning, saving, and talking to contractors I signed the contract last night to do the renovation on my home.  This time last year I was at the drafting table trying to solve how to keep my big antique cabinet in some kind of configuration with the new kitchen....and putting pots and pans under the leaks in my roof as it rained.  This year the weather is more cooperative- dry and hot but this year that's good- the roof is coming off.
With the signing of the contract and a nice chunk of my savings sent off in a check, the work will commence on Tuesday.... I have the weekend to finish removing the rest of the hallway drywall and taking off my beautiful cedar siding in preparation for the coming of the back-hoe and the demolition crew.  I did the interior demolition to save a pretty penny....and to take out a lot of pent up anger.  Funny what one discovers when tearing apart your home....some interesting choices.  Not sure what "he" was thinking at the time but while some of the work is strong, sturdy, meant to last...other parts are falling in the major WTF land.  I'm sure there is a metaphor there somewhere but this is about looking forward and letting so.... so.... let's begin.