Middleton bunker

Pray for sunshine!

We came home today to find the entry way bumped completely out. You can see in the photo where the slate floor stops and the aggregate from the landing begins. We also came home to a new style of air conditioning similar to what you find in 3rd world countries :) The wall, door and windows facing the mountains are gone!! The new horizontal support beam was put up on this wall and I'm guessing that they'll start framing the wall tomorrow. Pray for sunshine.

Door bell? What door bell?

The front door is GONE! It's not that friendly of a welcome, but I think we'll get used to it :) If you stop by, you might as well walk around back and stare at us through the back door. Chances are, we're here!
And to think that some people pay big bucks for security gates.....

Horsin' around

Busy Bodies

I started sealing the clear cedar for the overhang of the roof on Friday. One coat down, two to go! Mike and I put another coat on Monday afternoon. While we were busy staining, the kids were busy having fun on Sue's horses. They had a ball!

Room opened up!

I accidentally hit post prior to typing a description. Sorry! You'll have to check out the photos under this short note. The room looks even more open now. More wall near the kitchen is down and the roof appears to be secure! Temporary posts are in place and it gives a good idea as to where the final posts will be. Have a great long weekend! We're off to the cabin tomorrow.

Beam is up!

The entire beam is up now! Looks real good. You can see in the photo close up of the ceiling, the beam and then a 2x10 stringer (I think that is the right word) running perpendicular to it and down the ceiling. I believe this entire stack of 2x10s will marry up to many of the existing 2x6s to stabalize the roof now that the retaining wall is gone. I probably don't have those numbers right and could verify against the plans but that is simply too much work! And, to most of you, the details really don't matter all that much :) Sorry to dissappoint you other engineer types that feel that it's ALL in the details!!
So far, we've sold our old cabinets, our downdraft Jennair, and possibly the sink and faucet. We donated the old beer-fridge to the horse crews down at Emerald Downs. It has a great home in the stables next to what I've been is 20 more!! Now, if only someone needs a window, a front door or a wall oven! Anyone??? Going cheap!

Fixed my blog

I forgot to mention in the last post that I changed a setting on the blog so you can freely comment now :) I guess I had it set so that I had to approve it and you had to login, be a member, etc. Whatever! Have fun.

Beam me up, Scotty!

"Watch your head!!!" That's what we'll be saying until the stairs get rebuilt. You can see in the photo above how the beam takes up some necessary head-space! It appears that the beams are temporarily in place at both ends of the room and the middle section still needs to get put up in place. It's fun to see the nice wood in the peak. This is going to look great!
More of the entry way wall has been removed to prepare for pushing that wall out. I ordered the doors today and they'll be in in 4 weeks. I also received revised stair drawings from Jeff, the architect.
It looks to me like we're ready to "beam us up MikeK!"

Problem Solving #1

I think today was mainly a day of discussion and problem solving. Our architect, Jeff, and MikeK worked through some scenarios of how to fix our clearance issue at the top of the stairs. MikeK dug into the stairs a bit to see what was behind them and Jeff took some more measurements to tweak the plans. Mike and I met with both of them 1st thing when we got home to come to the conclusion that the best way to get this done will be to rebuild the stairs I show going in the above picture. They were going to get a facelift anyway, but now they'll also get some lyposuction to make the lean and long :) JK. We'll be changing the pitch and adding 2 stairs into the hallway at the top.
As soon as the drawing is revised for the beams, MikeK will start installing the beams. Anything major with the project is on hold until the beams can go in. I anticipate this will occur this week. Luckily, Jeff is on top of it and tweaking the plans asap for us.
The closet was torn out today and MikeK started to lay plywood in the dining room. Sorry these pictures are so dark. I didn't take these until just a few minutes ago and the sun is down for the night.
Mike and Ian took off for the Mariner's game tonight. It's a quiet night for us girls here at home :)

Week 1 Closed

The fireplace, the middle wall and entry way walls are officially gone! Two loads of bricks and mortar later, the room really seems more open now. MikeK and I started playing with positioning of the posts and also discussed issues with the overhead beams. Yes, we finally have a REAL issue. The way the beams are drawn up on the plans, there won't be enough head room going up the upstairs between the beam and the floor to meet code, plus expose the beam. SHOOT! The architect is going to play with the plans but so far, the only option appears to be to rebuild the stairs going up to change to a lesser pitch by adding more steps at the top by borrowing length from the hall. It's hard to explain.... but in any case, it means more $ and time. Mike and I knew their would probably be a hiccup and we're hoping this is the only structural one. I think the posts also need to move slightly to the north a bit, maybe a foot or so each simply for looks and space functionality. This isn't a huge deal and the architect had discussed with us how we would want to stand in the open space, map it out and then make minor positioning adjustments.
Part of the lumber was delivered today, and I'll order the doors next week. The front door takes 4 weeks and will need to go to the stain house prior to installation. MikeK plans to build out the entry way wall next week so I gave him all of the roughin measurements for the door.
I've come to the conclusion that I am a great coordinator but a lousy construction worker :) Luckily he's patient enough to walk me through things..... I have a hard time following the "jargon" of this industry! Can't we just talk marketing???

Bricks Anyone?

Today was a day of NOISE! MikeK and his crew took up another layer of floor and destroyed the fireplace from the roof down. They filled up one dump trailer and will have more as they take down the final wall of the fireplace and the bricks under the floor. I had to flee! As you know, Wednesday is my day to work on my computer from home. Luckily, it was also Julie's turn to have the kids and I was able to work down the road at Anna's house. I also had Raea take her nap at Anna's. I'm so lucky to have such great neighbors!
Our electrician, Chris, came over tonight to label all lead wires and coil them so they are up and out of the way for the ceiling supports to come down.
We've filled up the largest Green waste management bin available. I'm glad my dad told me to get the biggest one they had. It took them a whopping 3 days. Sheesh! They'll be dumping that tomorrow and bringing it back empty to be filled up again. I imagine the waste will start slowing down soon.
The house is freezing when we come home from work. We leave the heaters off so the dusty air doesn't circulate around. I started a fire tonight. It was 62 degrees in the house last night when I went to bed and realized that Mike turned the heat off completely. It makes sense, but with my nose frozen and the plee on behalf of the children, he got up and cranked it up. Yes! I didn't want to have that happen again....fire it is!
Talk to you in a couple more days, unless of course there is something cool to see :)

Dust! Dust! And more Dust!

"We gotta problem, Rebecca!" That is the first thing I heard tonight when I drove past MikeK and rolled down my window this evening. You can only imagine my look...."already?"
Luckily, the problem isn't really a problem but boy he knows how to peek my interest!
The ceiling came down today and dust is everywhere. Ian had fun running his fingers down the hand rails making trails but other than that, it's really a "stay the heck out" zone. The fireplace comes down tomorrow, and possibly the wall between the entry way and living room. I didn't post pics tonight, but will tomorrow when there is more to show. I've been scrambling tonight trying to find a dump option for the brick and mortar. Mike and I don't want to break our backs having to load a pile of bricks. We'd rather they move it the one time for us right into the dump trailer. Luckily, found a dump trailer and a reasonable fee for the bricks.....should be only around $100. Whew! Sure beats Waste Management fees! I've also been told the electrician needs to be here STAT to move the wires off the ceiling. Luckily, the electrician is local and is on his way over now. So far, so good. More from dusty alley tomorrow......

Evening Arrival

Mike and I came home to plastic zipper doors on the stairs, a Waste Management dumpster out front and piles of debris throughout the living room. We also had our first dinner in the trailer- chicken tacos! I couldn't help but giggle a bit when Anna drove up looking for Olivia and I stuck my head out of the trailer door to tell her "I'm making dinner!" I can tell this is going to be a LONG haul ahead of us. It was great to see the progress. Enjoy the pics.

Day 1; Demo begins

I've decided to start my first blog. I can hardly believe it..... I've starting talking about something so often that I've turned to blogging! What a terrific opportunity to share our remodel progress with all of you and save me some repetitive chatting :)



Today is officially Day 1. Mike Koffman, who I'll refer to as MikeK as to not confuse folks with my hubby, arrived this morning at 7:45 with his crew of 2 to begin demolition. Right on time, he pulled up and began unloading his equipment.



Mike and I have never been involved in a big construction project before. This is all new territory! I'll post some pictures this evening showing the empty house and the results of day 1 demo!

We hope you can join us on this great new adventure. We estimate that it should take 4 to 5 months, give or take. More later.