Double Drywall and Working Switches

Took out the pass through and ran into something new, the previous remodel double drywalled the area. It wasn't that they had painted the first layer and wanted to cover it, they were using drywall to even out the wall.

The finished wall and some interesting use of electrical tape.

Pulled off the final slat and panels from the wall where the sink goes.

Light fixtures in place and they work!

We have three-way light switches!!!

Two working light switches in a box

Flooded Out

That span across the whole room is what's left for the subfloor. We have a floor to walk on!!!

A mini break in the weather followed by two straight days of rain have led to a flood basement and yard. We had a picture of a previous flood, but it was nothing like this one. There were 3-4 inches in the basement which meant running out for a pump. The picture above is the submersible pump which is about half under water. This pump did not work very well. It kept cutting out which meant Kevin went out and got another one which helped significantly in the backyard.

 You can see the water lines on the tree and birdbath which show just how much water we pumped out of the backyard today and just how much is left. Since we don't stay at the house we have to shut down the pump, especially since we are under a winter storm warning.

There is a local park that is under even more water than our yard. I thought it was funny ducks were using it, but today there were two kayaks and an inner tube. 

Pepsi can in the wall of the bathroom

This prybar was in the wall too, guess we didn't need to buy one

Kevin started on the vent system in the kitchen ceiling.

While he worked on the kitchen I worked on the bathroom. I think with the exception of a span of drywall over the door that was proving to be a pain, the room is stripped and cleaned. 

Garbage can where the bathtub goes.

Preston Was Here

On the main rafter of the roof there is a bracing plate that has the name Preston carved into it.

Kevin ran the wires into the walls and back to the panel. They aren't plugged in yet, but this means we can proceed with the floor.

Beautiful new sill plate in place with the notches in place for the wires to make it through safely. Now that the plate is down we can get on with the plywood. Interestingly, the kitchen side is about 4 inches narrower than the dining room side which means that our 8 foot boards don't land nicely on a joist and cutting or notching is going to be needed.

Attic Surprises

Kevin found a bunch more things when he finished tearing down the ceiling.

The pair to this old leather shoe fell as well and we haven't found it yet, but it is really awesome!

Play time! We also found some more kid related things:

1) Mallo Cup  prize redemption card

2) a die, two hockey players, some checker pieces

3) a shell collection and I really don't know what the red thing or vile is. The large green piece was some sort of pot that was broken before the shards rained down all the way to the basement.

Old electrical showing there was once knob and tube wiring

Interesting grouping of things, some old leather, a tarnished spoon, and half of a pair of scissors.

WARNING: a bit graphic

We had found evidence of the squirrel in the form of droppings and corncobs, but we didn't expect to find the remains of it....

Solo Work

I haven't been able to do much with the house. When I get off of work, it's already dark and we don't exactly have lights to be able to do anything. (Plus the house is currently really creepy after dark) In the mean time, Kevin has been putting in some solo time and gotten a lot done. The kitchen side ceiling is now down. There's lots of clean up that needs to happen. He has sorted out the electrical panel and we are now up to two (!) outlets and a basement light hooked up along with the furnace, of course. With very little exception the gutting is done, you can see some of remaining yellow and green drywall, so next step is confirming our kitchen layout so he can set forth on the adventure of wiring and we can proceed.

Chock Full of Nuts

We've seen old corncobs and droppings, but I think the nuts confirm that squirrels had made their home in the walls. It also appears there was an old window that was boarded up and hidden by insulation and drywall.

An old shoe found in the wall
(We also found a sock but I didn't get a picture)

A lot of demo was done in the last few days. Kevin went to town ripping down the walls and ceilings.

On the other sided of that insulation is the main bedroom

Under the drywall, plywood, and slats is a nice high ceiling. The studs were barely attached.