Day 4 - Completing the Demolition

We're almost totally finished demolishing stuff.  All the big stuff is gone, and there are only a few things left to dismantle. It took longer than I thought it would, but we managed to complete it during a weekend, and still got to go the Glebe garage sale, so it's all good.

Today's Challenge

Lesley also took advantage of the dumpster by cleaning out the garage this morning while I got started ripping out panelling and strapping. She did an outstanding job - the garage has never looked so good. We still had leftovers from when we first moved in, so it was nice to get rid of all that stuff.

Cleaning out the garage

Today went very well. We've become quite experienced in demolishing out basement, and our approach has become more methodical. I started taking out the big panels, followed by the ceiling tiles, followed by the strapping. We managed to get everything out well before 4pm today. Unfortunately, we have lost a hammer. With all the debris getting piled up in the middle of the room, it's easy to lose tools in the pile. Goodbye brave hammer - you hung pictures like a pro...

Standing on the debris pile, removing strapping

No real adventures today, except for me stepping on an electrical wire staple. I thought I had a sliver in my foot until I realised that was impossible. When I checked my shoe, I discovered an electrical staple buried deep in my shoe. Lesley was nice enough to remove it for me.

Ouch!

So where's the cat?! We've had to banish our friend Neuman from the basement during the reno. He was already banned from the main part for reasons I won't get into here, but he's been double-banned since we began demolition. One downside is having to share a bathroom with a cat.

Banned by floor tiles

Sharing the bathroom

We still have a few days before the dumpster gets picked up, so we'll be tossing in odds and ends until then. We're both quite relieved that the worst is over, and we won't have to breathe in any more demo-dust.

Fighting the dust, robbing a gas station, or cute ninja?

Next steps involve taking out all protruding nails, including those in the concrete, cleaning the floors and walls, and repairing the concrete. I also have to remove 3 existing stud walls, and I'm planning on saving the 2x4's to use later on. Tomorrow it's back to our actual jobs for which we get paid, so progress will be slow until the weekend. We're still hoping to accomplish all of the above prior to next weekend though so we can begin to lay the subfloor.