Inch By Inch

Finally got the kitchen moved again into its next "permanent" home. We tore out the ceiling, joists, and insulation above the old kitchen and over part of the new one. I had to support the roof so it would not collapse in order to get the new ceiling joists in. Cousin Todd came over last Saturday and we were able to get the new LVL headers, top plates, and new ceiling joists started. I had to tear out the front wall of our bedroom so now we sleep in the middle of everything. Needless to say I have a great wife.

I Need a Dump Trailer

We tore out the kitchen ceiling removing the sheetrock and the poplar T & G underneath. I have never seen so much dust and dirt in a kitchen before. I had to cut out part of the dining area as well so I can install 2 LVL headers to maintain my 9' spans. When I cut into the dining ceiling, I exposed a section above the joists where the original house roof was. When I pulled down the insulation, I got a mouth full of old asphalt chips. I have tomorrow and Monday off so I should be able to get a lot of work done.

2nd Floor

Finally got to start putting in new floor joists above the bedroom. I cut out the old ceiling joists and the rest of the poplar T & G. I had to stick the ends of the new joists out of the existing roof line and ended up in a rain storm trying to patch the holes. I have to level the top plate in the center of the house somehow but the exterior wall plate was pretty level. I will end up using the high spot in this room as a reference for the rest of the house.

More Demo

We have spent the last two weeks tearing out the ceiling in the bedroom and part of the kitchen so I can get the upstairs floor started. I thought the house was cold before but once again the only barrier we had left to the wind was s shotty roof and a ceiling...we are down to the shotty roof now. Dad came by and helped tear out part of the kitchen. I had to be able to access the tops of the bearing walls to receive the floor joists and be able to fasten them securely. My goal is to be able to build the new floor overhead without tearing the roof off...that way we will have a platform when it is time to remove the roof...I am expecting backfire. The ends of the joists will be protruding out of the existing roof line but I will just cover them with a blue tarp...and as you may know blue tarp is an accepted roofing material in watauga county.

Nail It

Finally go the hardwoods started back in the bedroom. I had the electrician stop by to give me some guidance on updating my service to 200 amp. It is nice to have some positive movement forward for a change. It has taken me about 3 days to get the bedroom finished and the kitchen almost done. I finally pulled my building permit and got legal. I got a nice new spot for a wood stove in the kitchen area...can't wait for that next year. I was able to get all the old hardwoods out of the shop so I will be able to use it again. Our life has gotten a little more organized but now we have to gear up for the new roof.

Get in Gear

Aren't you glad this is not what you see looking into your kitchen. Maranda and I spent Friday evening cleaning out the last bit of kitchen floor, concrete forms, and a trip to Lowe's for some lumber. This is the first trip to buy building material since beginning the interior. Framing the Kitchen is business as usual...three floors to match up, three different heights, and I am out of PBR. LEVEL is not an option so I am attempting FLAT. It is a dream come true to get the last bit of rot out of the house, plastic down, and insulation in the floor. I will have some fun transitioning between floors but a small task considering what we just accomplished. Pete stopped by to evaluate progress.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

We came back up the mountain from Christmas early to take Charley to the Vet. We ended up tearing out the rest of the floor so we could maximize the use of our help. Mom, Wade and I dug out the kitchen floor down to an acceptable depth. LAST FOUNDATION DIG!!! Dad and Maranda de-nailed the rest of the hardwood flooring. I discovered some pretty bad plumbing leaks from a conglomeration of terrible patch jobs spanning back 40 years maybe. I finally discovered where the puddles under the house originated. We got all the rotted floor and trash hauled to various dump and burn piles. I got the footer formed and poured on Monday. 14 bags of quickcrete. We have a snow storm on the way...Charley is 17 pounds. Pretty productive year for us.