Overly Ambitious Home Remodel and Other Schenanigans

Back in April, while Paula was away trying to figure out why some in Kenya put lizard poo on the umbilical cords of newborn babies, I was back here at home systematically destroying our house. I have to admit, I did a pretty good job of destroying and sense of comfort that our house provides. As part of Phase 2A of the Overly Ambitious Home Remodel, I took all of the interior dry wall down. However, since Paula and I got back from Africa, I've taken my home destruction to new heights. 

Living room circa Radmaker era.

It used to be, when you walked into the house, you were greeted by walls and ceiling. But no more. I've taken nearly all of the southern half of the house down to the studs/joists. So, now when you enter the door you can see through 2 bedrooms to the other side of the house. One of the perks of this, if you consider waking up in a home with no heat, is we've turned the furnace off. It made sense to us (or rather me) at the time since logic told me that if I could see through the ceiling to the roof, then it's a good chance any heat would see that roof and want to escape to freedom through the roof vents (and all the leaks we've discovered). Plus, waking up with a shiver is motivation to get this overly ambitious project done sooner than later. 

There's a hole in your floor, dear Liza.

Now that the demolition is complete, we've begun to actually try to put the house back together. We've taken out the shared closets between the master and guest bedroom, bumped out a wall a bit, and have begun to get ready for our new bathroom. We've decided on a tile bathroom floor, so we had to take out the hardwood in the new bathroom and replace the subfloor. Once that was done, Eirik came over to help frame up the new bathroom. Now, we're framing up the new closet and office and mapping out the new electrical circuits that we'll run. All is good on that front. 

Gordon reviewing the electrical layout I'm mapping out.

One thing that we've quickly realized as part of this home remodel, is that we're essentially the PPRRA (Per & Paula Recovery and Reinvestment Act). We're like a mini stimulus package, or "job creators!" A few things have happened recently that have really driven this home recently. 

C'mon roof!

The first of the unanticipated projects that we've discovered to be a high priority since we've started Phase 2A, is that our roof has decided to revolt and now refuses to keep water out of the house. Super sweet project we weren't expecting nor budgeting for. But, what is life without more debt? 

Our second unanticipated project we've decided to undertake is to replace our 1980's oil furnace. When we bought the house in 2009, we found out that natural gas was in the street to the east and west of us, but not accessible to us without us paying for the costs to tear up the street. However, the utility connected the two lines this summer. Then, we found out about a program that provides low interest financing for home owners who switch to more efficient heat sources. Not only that, but they have a special going to essentially pay for the removal of old, underground oil tanks. So, we signed up and got a bid. Between the efficiency incentives and the added costs necessary to bring gas to the house and run gas lines to a furnace, we decided to go with two mini split heat pumps. A few sweet things about these furnaces: 1) they're much more efficient, 2) even with the monthly payments they're going to save us money, 3) the furnace can fit under our stairs, so we get back usable floor space, and 4) we can get rid of half our ducting. 

El Shenanigan

Last but not least of our job creation-izing, is that my exceptionally patient, driven, intelligent, and hard working wife is about 9 days away from being done with her residency. Paula's going to make the difficult transition from working 80 hours a week to working about 24 hours a week. She'll be working at Children's Hospital in their Urgent Care department in Seattle, Mill Creek, and Bellevue. While she's excited about this, Paula's current mode of transport, when she's not riding her bike, is the Shenanigan...a 1992 Dodge Caravan that is eroding in front of our house.  I'm not sure her patients are going to take her seriously if she pulls up in this piece of modern art, assuming she makes it there. So, she's going to need a new subcompact hoopty with great gas mileage.


As always, we've added a few more photos to our ongoing home remodel slideshow for all to enjoy.