Our Old House: Demolition Preparation.

Demolition is...TOMORROW (Monday)! I can't believe we are FINALLY getting underway here. I thought I'd share a bit with you about how we will manage containing the gigantic mess that is about to ensue.

Many, many people live in their homes through a kitchen remodel. While it may not be the most ideal living conditions, it's manageable knowing the project isn't going to drag out forever. Our project is unique in the sense that we are moving our kitchen to a different location in our home...as well as adding an additional bathroom. Aside from the fact that this will mean shutting off our water and electricity for a good chunk of time while they reroute the plumbing and electric...let's not forget that all of the windows on our main level are being re-sized and replaced. All things considered, we are going to be much happier people by relocating until those windows are sealed up and there are no gaping holes in the house.

While our main level to date is true to it's original state (with the exception of the addition that was added in 1960), we have given the upper level QUITE a little facelift. You've followed along as we've torn out carpet, refinished floors, refinished woodwork, laid carpet and runners, tiled and wallpapered the bathroom, etc. Preserving all of the hard work we've already put into this house is 100% crucial while we relocate for the next few weeks. So, our preparations have been two fold: create a condensed living area for us upstairs for when we return to the house AND properly cover, protect, pack away, seal off the upstairs from any and all life forms and debris. This means losing heat to our upper level in an effort to keep the air flow from circulating dust upstairs, removing all linens from the beds and covering the mattresses with plastic, rolling up our rugs and covering them to keep the dirt and dust off them and packing away small objects so we aren't left dusting every solitary possession we have. With all of these preparations, there is of course the reality that dust is going to get up there. It's our goal to limit the number of hours we spend washing and cleaning the upstairs when it's time to re-inhabit our less spacious digs.

Now is about the time in the project I remind myself this will all be worth it. There are 112 days until my 30th birthday (my deadline for having the house done in an effort to make the next decade of my life remodel free). With the weather HOPEFULLY swinging to the warmer, sunnier side and lots of exciting milestones in our near future (our 5th wedding anniversary, Gloria's 1st birthday and a whole slue of other family events) let's hope all these distractions keep our morale high!

Here are a few pictures of how our main level is looking tonight...at 10pm after hours of shifting everything from upstairs to downstairs, right side to left side, upside to downside, you name it. We are spent and while we still have a few evenings ahead of us of sneaking over to the house to get things organized, the main level is crystal clear and ready for demolition.
In progress...