The curtain comes courtesy of Meg, and Liz put it up in an effort to help retain some of the heat on our first floor. A lot of the heat coming up just rushes up the stairs into the second floor, and this curtain actually helps keep things a little warmer downstairs.
Demo is one thing I feel most comfortable doing, as I’ve gotten the most practice with it. But given the tight quarters, I’ve been moving a lot slower – taking my time to throw things into a nearby trashcan instead of just dumping everything on the ground. Fitting a ladder and a trashcan and a person into a small, half bathroom involved a lot of moving around and squeezing by things.
Earlier in the week, Liz and I went out to Home Depot to pick up more supplies for the house. A big item on our list was lots of insulation for our pipes. We knew which types to get, thanks to Bob, and so Liz ended up doing much of the ordering online (and using the in-store pickup option).
This is several days old, but wanted to post up a few more photos of the clean(er) basement. It’s a very gradual thing, but it’s still exiting to see more of the floor again.
On Saturday, Liz and I spent the first part of the day working on the house. We have a running to-do list, and one of the bigger tasks is to take down all the walls in the small half bathroom, on the first floor.
I am really fortunate that I didn’t have to drive anywhere today. Thankfully, I just walked to the Metra stop, which is quite close to our place. If I had to dig this guy out though… yeesh.
This morning, Liz was going to join Meg and Michelle for a purse-making class that ultimate got canceled due to the weather. Despite the cancellation though, I still decided to head out to run a few errands in the morning (getting some groceries, coffee, and breakfast).
I was working from home yesterday, and I’m not exactly sure when I noticed it… but there’s a small hole in the wall that partly opens up to the outside. How did we not notice this before now?
Well, I’ve used the word “Final” one too many times when talking about the kitchen, but I really do believe this is the final, final bit of demo work we had left in the place. Liz, tackling the remaining bit of wall/plaster with a chisel.
The SW corner of the basement, tidied-up a bit more. The mule (pipe-threading machine) will stay here for a bit longer still, so that guy remains in place for now.
Seeing wall to ceiling insulation on the South wall was really something to behold. I have to admit – I got a little teary-eyed, seeing so much up. Perhaps, when the true winter kicks in again, this room will fare a bit better against the chill.
While I was standing there, I remembered one of my very, very early blog posts – a Chinese Dumpling Recipe I posted way back in 2002. I remembered listening to this same album while I was cooking then, and it struck me how much things had changed over the last 13 years.
Bob came by the house today, and put down the remaining boards to finish off the kitchen floor. There’s a small gap that we’re waiting on (right before the East wall), but beyond that the entire kitchen is a solid surface now!
On Sunday, Bob and Julie came over to help us work on the house. Here they are with Liz, down in the basement going over future plans.
To date, the attic has been one of the longest-running project areas in the house. And to think that it’s over, and we don’t have to go up there anymore… well, it’s difficult to fathom. I don’t know that it’s really sunk in yet.