This can be one of the most exciting and terrifying stages throughout the entire process. Day by day, hour by hour, you are able to visibly see progress. I think it's one of the few areas in renovation where you can actually measure the amount of work done. Oh...the left wall is opened up. Check. And today, all the debris has been removed to the dumpster. Check. Check.
It almost seems like the universe planned it this way. You write the big deposit check and then you (almost) immediately see results. I might describe it as feeling a little cocky - "like, yea, I can do this! This isn't so bad..." It builds this inflated sense of accomplishment. Of course this is before the inevitable slowdowns occur, the no-show subs, or the dreaded out of sight plumbing/electrical stuff that seems to move at a snail's pace.
Yikes!
As mentioned, this stage is also the most terrifying since you see/sense the force it takes to get this job done. Sledge hammers swing wildly. Crowbars jam into crevices and yanked hard. If you listen closely, it sounds like the wood is straining to hold on then crying out with a large crack as it finally gives up. At one point, I think I actually began to apologize to the house. She's been here since 1927, relatively unfazed, to now have some of her innards ripped out. Ok, maybe that's a little too graphic, but you get my point. Homes today aren't built like they used to be. Lighter materials, hollow instead of solid, plaster boards vs. metal mesh and horsehair. This grand dame isn't going to yield without a fight. I felt a little guilty...
As to be expected with all this raw destruction, there was some collateral damage.
My initial victims:
The plastered wall on the other side of the ones being demo'd. I guess the guys used a little too much heft behind their swings. We are not talking simply about cracks in the plaster. Nope. There were literally holes where the head of the sledge hammer made its journey all the way through. BTW, this was not just one wall. There were three walls that needed demo. The opposite side of all three walls needed repair. The first thing for the contractor to absorb.
Also lost was my vintage (original to the house) hanging light fixture in the second bath. Demo was supposed to be modest in this location since it was simply a new floor and a replace/swap out of the fixtures. Not so much. Came home and it was dangling in pieces. Ker-ching. Another thing now needing to be replaced on the contractor's dime.
Then there was the fan the contractor "borrowed" (smashed, how?), the walls going down the back stairs (scraped and gouged from the debris removal), molding/trim that was supposed to be salvaged for re-use...hyeah. Good times...
And dust for days
It was futile. This was just the beginning of non-stop dirt and dust until the project would be finally over. After an initial quick vacuum, sheets were now placed over all of the furniture (even behind the closed doors, plastic sheets and tape). We were now living in a house that looked like it had been closed down for the season.
Well, they said it would take only 6-8 weeks, right?
Famous last words.
Till the next time...
