Exciting....

So, I had to leave one of the old walls of the kitchen in for a while, because first I needed to find a beam that would carry the load without being way too big (we don't have 8' ceilings in this house, so some of the beams I explored were going to simply be too big to be practical for this application). My cousin pointed out a product called "LiteSteelBeam" which I looked into. Long story short, this product would work. The actual beam I ended up getting is over-sized for the load requirements (it was what was in stock at the regional Boise Cascade distribution center), so it's really not light, but it's not too bad.

This shows the two temporary walls needed to carry the load before removing the load bearing wall. (LiteSteelBeam in place on floor to left.)














And now the wall is gone (in the picture below).















This is a photo/view that matches with one of the pre-construction photo vantage points.














This one...

The beam, waiting for hangers, and to be set.

Not one, but THREE!

Well, it's been a bit since the last blog update, but work has continued to move forward. All three skylights are installed, roof re-shingled, and air sealing and insulation completed. We've had two serious days of rain since the skylights have been in, and so far so good (knocking on wood).

Finally, a skylight

Prepping for first skylight installation














Rough cut out -- seems awfully cloudy to install a skylight.




















Skylight set in place on roof - phew!

Skylight framing continues...

Rough framing for the three skylights continued today. I'm pretty convinced that this is really going to help brighten up this space during the looooong winters. Weather forecast isn't so great for tomorrow, but maybe Sunday I'll actually get one (or more?!?) of the skylights installed.

Putnam (on the ladder below) has been my most consistent helper on this project.

First skylight rough framed

First of three skylight shafts rough framed. This was a slow day trying to maximize the reach of the light expected from the skylight into the room, but needing to stay behind the kneewall of the upstairs bedroom. In the end I think it's going to provide quite a bit of light into the room. Hopefully framing in skylights two and three will be MUCH faster!

New windows and door!

Two new windows and new door installed. Housewrap added, but siding/insulating, etc. still need to take place.

Most of rough demo done....new windows for back wall awaits

Most of the initial demo was complete. The backwall of the house is about to be reconfigured with a new door and two new windows. We're also adding housewrap to the backwall to help with the strong winds that sometimes come down the hill in winter.

Count 'em, 1-2-3! layers of sheetrock/plaster

In the kitchen, however, which had already been updated once, there were THREE layers of wallboard/plaster.

Demo underway with kitchen

Initial demolition of wallboard on walls and ceiling was pretty messy and a bit harder than normal as most walls had about 1/2 inch of backerboard and 1/2 inch of plaster. Still, nice to be underway.

The Kitchen Remodeling Project Begins

So, after years of debating, considering, designing, we've embarked on a major remodeling project. The project will alter the space of our kitchen, dining area and living room. When completed, we will have replaced one window with two windows, replaced the back door with a new (and newly located) door, replaced our front picture window with a bay window, add three vented skylights, change the flooring, the cabinets, the countertop and the entire configuration, replace a load bearing wall with a steel beam....I think that's it. A daunting project. But one that we're excited to finally have underway. Here are some before pictures.

The first thing...

I thought I'd set-up a blog to keep track of a few things. I've never blogged before, so I'm not really sure how this will develop. Who isn't unsure how things will go when they start? I'm about to embark on a huge remodeling project in my house. Renovating our kitchen, living room and dining room.