Looking at the "before and after" photos, nostalgia has struck, so I have to throw in a few "during" photos, just to give you a bit of the "OMG-what-the-hell-are-we-doing?" vibe that shows how we got from point A to point B. I'm even super-sizing the photos, just because I can.
This is how things looked when Eric gutted the downstairs.
Here we are early on, during the phase of our lives we've come to know as "The Knotty Pine Purge". We're not quite out of those woods yet. No more knotty pine to tear down, but finishing work? Oh yes! Lots of finishing work remains to be done. The house is toasty warm though. That helps.
See the tar paper? Well, the siding of our house is right behind it. And no, the hole wasn't small.
Eric's gone
rogue with the reciprocating saw, cleaning up the rotten boards so he can repair them. What you're looking at is the structure of our house, not just some paneling.
Ah, yes. One of my many contributions. Many fond hours spent working in this corner. Eric was busy rebuilding in one corner, and yours truly was busy in another, tearing down moldy drywall, tar paper, and finding one load-bearing beam that had turned to sawdust. It was a new low for us.
Upstairs after all divisions had been torn down. Note the furniture we're (regretfully) working around, notice the plumbing that we've tripped over endless times, and the 5 gallon pail that held the nails we'd pulled out of the wood during the renovations. Said and done, that bucket weighed about 100 pounds by the time it went to the metal recyclers.
Are we ready for the insane asylum yet? Are the men with "I-love-me" jackets walking up the drive? If this doesn't strike fear in the most hard-core renovator's heart, I don't know what will.
That we lived like this for months on end is unbelievable to me. Everything is rebuilt, insulated, and even though the final finishing isn't quite done yet upstairs, it's nice to know we'll never have to deal with dirt, dust and debris the likes of the above again.
More than one person came upstairs during the "purge" and declared we're living something worthy of a reality-TV show. So, there you have it folks: an intimate, behind-the-scenes look, the stuff they don't show you on TV, Shim Farm-style.
4 comments:
Wow, that is quite the undertaking. And you were living in the house at the time, yes? That makes it even more impressive.
Out west here we don't have many buildings that old. With your house and barn it looks like you have a great view on building techniques from another world.
And I feel for you on the trim work. I am more of a broad strokes person, and noodling with the finishing details is not my strength.
Good job!
Thanks Buck! Yes, we lived here full-time, save for the first 3 months. The bulk of the downstairs was completed before we moved in, however the upstairs wasn't. A Tarp Zip-Up became my best friend over the years! It's real chaos at times, but you learn to roll with the punches and just deal with things like cats walking through sawdust and trekking it all over the house! I've learned to look the other way!
You are so right when you say we have a different view on old techniques. This is part of the reason we didn't just bulldoze the house down (which trust me, over the years, has occurred to us many times). We respect the old knowledge and building techniques which are a far cry from modern framing methods. This house has a certain "cachet" that would be lost had we started from scratch. We think the house likes us, and we also like the house. It's more of a philosophical approach than anything else. The real challenge starts when you try to marry the old structure to new technologies, such as electricity, plumbing and insulation. Our house was freezing before, but it's toasty warm now, thankfully. I should also mention undoing a multitude of sins that were committed by previous owners, but let's not go there.
So yes, we have bit of molding to put up, window boxes to finish, and some drywall to install, but we're out of woods.
Now we can concentrate on the outside for the next few months!
Oh My and here I thought our house was bad when we started. I'm looking forward to the day I'm no longer tripping over power cords and tools. Well...and drywall. I so want that. :D
Hi Robin, I know, I know...drywall, eh? Just the thought alone is so exciting. Just give me back my closets, put drywall everywhere, and I'm a happy camper. I have to admit, though, the smell of cut lumber just does something for me! Of course we can all do without tripping over power cords and tools left lying around. Your day will come, I am sure of it!
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