More walls coming down

We are just coming into the phase when construction on the house is beginning. But in order to get here, there was a lot of destruction!

Since all this work is taking place in November, there are tarps everywhere. This was especially an issue for the front yard where they needed to pour concrete for the porch foundation. I believe the day before and the day of the pour were the only two dry days in the month (or at least if felt like that!)

The final house will have a rectangular (i.e. regular) perimeter – no more weird protruding closet at the back, no more notch in the front corner, and no more uncovered front porch.

 

Actually, last week there was nothing in the front as the crew framed the new front corner, along with the beautiful and inviting and covered porch.

Eventually the extra "bathroom facilities" had to be moved in the parking pad so they could drop off a large construction waste bin. Our backyard got a touch of colour when it was dropped off.

The bin has actually come and gone several times now – there is a lot of waste when doing such a significant renovation.

Last week was strange for us – there weren't a lot of obvious changes on the outside of the house and on a day-by-day basis, but by the end of the week, there wasn't any ceiling left on the main floor and there were significantly fewer walls!

We told the city that we didn't plan on renovating what used to be the master bedroom as permit fees increase with the percentage of the house being renovated. We had expected that the wall around the bedroom would remain – until we discovered that it was built with 2"x3" lumber and we need to have 2"x4" studs to bear the load of the new top floor. So we are left with a rather lonely and ridiculous closet on the main floor to prove to the city inspector that we do not plan on making any improvements to the space beyond what is needed structurally.

In the past week and a half, there have been several major rain storms, wind storms, plus even a thunder and lightning storm complete with hail and heavy rain. Which was perfect for us as our house was covered with an enormous tarp. It was especially fun for me during the first wind storm as I was convinced that vandals had broken in and were trashing the house. "Luckily" what I heard was simply the tarp flying to and fro in the wind until it eventually fell off the house in a major crash, ending up in the side walkway. Fortunately there weren't many holes in the roof at that point, so not much rain came in.

Since then, the tarp has been more securely tied down and has only disrupted our sleep during the major storms as it flapped about in the wind. I am really, really, really looking forward to the new roof that will be installed soon, so we can get rid of this horrid tarp!