Permitted

I have learned more about lateral bracing, foundation tie-downs, structural speciality code, 16 inches o.c., and high efficiency ducting than I ever thought I would need to.  Frankly, I hadn't heard of any of these a month ago.  But in the process of drawing up plans to submit to the city for a building permit I have mastered them all.  (Special thanks to my dad for loaning me his plans and coaching me over the phone!)  Handing in the building application was like handing in my master's thesis - I had to just wait and hope I would pass.  And Monday I got the call - a passing grade.  Phew...

We now have the magic florescent green sticker posted at our front walk that indicates a permit and the (de)construction has begun in earnest.  This morning Jeff knocked down the porch roof and by dark had everything down to the floor; now we have a deck :)  The crash of the roof falling apparently reverberated through the neighborhood and one of our new neighbors came over from across the street to make sure we were o.k.  Such nice people here!

Hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving and get to eat your favorite foods.  We have plans to have a Thanksgiving picnic on the floor of our new house.  Turkey sandwiches with cranberry sauce, pumpkin soup, apple sauce, and peach pie.  Yum!  We had thought earlier that we'd feast on our porch but the porch no longer exists, so we will have to eat inside.  That will be warmer which is nice.  It will be a Turkey Day to remember, with much to be thankful for.  Building permits, for one.

it's beginning

The cast iron tub is in the middle of the master bedroom, listing on its side due to two lost claw feet.  A large hole gapes in the window pane in the back bedroom.  Insulation blows lazily around, inside and outside the house.  The house seems to sigh.

I think it's a sigh of relief and anticipation.  This is progress after all!  We have owned this house for a  month and in that time have taken the inside down to the studs and removed the topmost layer of exterior siding.

When I say "we" I refer partially to Jeff and I but mostly to a couple of guys we hired from craigslist who have done a lot of messy work for us.  Because, really, who would want to take down ceilings with attic insulation falling all over you like dusty, dirty snow?

We have discovered that the past owners of this house never threw anything out.  Instead, when they wanted a change they just layered.  And layered and layered.  We found that clawfoot tub inside a "built in," to make it look more modern, I suppose.  I can't tell you how many layers of flooring we have (and still are) peeling up.  My favorite was a linoleum-type flooring made to look like a rug.  I'm not sure I can explain it well.  It was as though someone had photographed

a wall-to-wall carpet and reproduced that photo on this flooring. Cheaper and easier to clean than real carpet I imagine!  I'm glad we've decided to keep the hardwood floors, though....