Started taking down the stud walls today. This part is a little bit slower going since I'm trying to save the 2x4's, and so I have to be careful not to destroy everything in sight as I go. For those of you that know me, you can appreciate my difficulty. I did manage to get the first wall down in just a couple of hours nonetheless.
The first wall
Careful...careful...
We're actually going to change the configuration of this wall when the new framing goes up. Originally, it created a little nook to accommodate the exhaust pipe from the original furnace. When we moved in, this house still had an oil burning furnace that had been installed in 1968. Nineteen sixty-eight! Not exactly your high-efficiency model. It vented through the chimney, and its exhaust pipe had been built-around when this basement was first finished. Of course, one of our first orders of business when we bought the place was to replace that old clunker with a high-efficiency gas furnace, which vents through the wall due to condensation issues. So now there's just a gaping hole where the the exhaust pipe used to be.
Gaping hole
Since there's no longer an exhaust vent, the new wall will simply go straight across, which should create enough room at the bottom of the stairs to get large furniture (i.e., couches, etc.) in and out of the basement without first having to break them into tiny pieces. The really good news is that we may no longer have to work around a couch as we go, if we can now get it out as I suspect we can (this will be attempted later on).
The first wall comes down
Another bit of good news: the lost hammer has been found. It had simply been misplaced during the chaos of demolition. I found it when I started to move stuff out of the makeshift storage cabinet that had been built from scraps in the nook underneath where the old exhaust pipe had been.
Crappy cabinet
What once was lost is found
We're still on schedule to meet our goal of getting the subfloor laid by the end of the weekend. 2 more stud walls and a bit of parging to go.
Posts
4 comments:
OMG you two have energy! I don't know how you work all day at your jobs and then do renos all night?!? Well done! You will be so proud when it's finally completed!
Kerri
The secret is vitamins. And caffeine. And general exhaustion. And...what was I talking about?...
Maybe the hammer just needed a rest from all that heavy-duty pounding. Self-preservation of hand tools is a well-documented phenomenon. They can't rely on beer and hockey.
Mom
xox
Self-preservation of hand-tools, huh? That would explain why I can never find a screwdriver when I need it... I knew it wasn't because I don't look hard enough!
Post a Comment