Demolition, Part Two

dust barrier, sorta not working 

The demolition continued today. The floors were ripped out and more walls were removed. And lots and lots of dust was created.  The crew has put up a dust barrier to try to prevent it from moving around, but dust just gets everywhere.  

So the big news is that the engineering firm came by and has a solution to the load baring wall where the old powder room used to be.  Currently, there is a steel beam going across the room until it meets with the brick column, which formed one edge of the doorway to the loo.  Then there is a short steel beam across the expanse of the doorway that ties into the side of the house.  We need to add steel to steel and continue the beam across at one level.  So, that is a hiccup in the schedule, but one that we work around.

FYI: in the new layout, where you see the single window is where the new stove will be, so that window gets blocked up.  The brick column is messing with my stove, so it definitely has to go. 

Brick column has to be removed and a new header put across the opening.  The flooring was removed to reveal old tiles and enough space to level out the floors. 

The crew also took out that coat closet that was across from the basement door.  A useless coat closet because, as you can see below.  Inside the closet was a white corner piece: the back of the drinks cabinet in the living room.  The corner created  on L-shaped closet: too little of space to hang anything properly on the right side and too deep to find anything on the left side.  Now that closet is gone (to be relocated) and we have the start to the new opening into the dining and living rooms.  The wooden lathe to the right of the white column, left to where Stirling is standing, will be removed and that opening into the foyer will be enlarged.  And so you can get your bearings if you have seen the new layout, to the right of the opening/Stirling: that is the location of the new powder room. 

White column is back of drinks cabinet in the living room

For the most part, Will's office stayed the same today. Good news came when we ripped out the flooring in the rest of the space: we will be able to save the hardwood floor in the office. A new floor will be required in the former kitchen, but we will get matching sized planks (2 inches wide) and tooth it into the existing hardwood floor in the foyer and his office. Then we stain it-- and we haven't decided to try to match the rest of the house (we aren't refinishing the floor in other areas) or go a different color entirely. 

The floor in Will's office can stay!

The crew also started the new opening into the dining room.  Below, you can see the front of that drinks cabinet and through the hole, where the basement door is. The studs that you see now will remain there until Monday, when framing starts.

Here is another view of the opening, that includes the current doorway from the dining room into the kitchen.  It just gives you a different perspective.

 

The crew is now slightly ahead of schedule, so no work tomorrow.  Framing starts on Monday so we will have more to show you then. In the meantime, I have to call the project manager.  I am assuming that smelling gas isn't good.....