Monday, June 18, 2012

What a difference a day makes

Whew!  What a busy time!  Of course, V has had the brunt of the hard work and I am just the helper, holder and gofur.  But a lot has been accomplished.  Behold!
 On Sunday afternoon, V worked to remove the old drywall from the library room in the addition.  The tiny bit of old insulation was removed along with the mouse nests in the wall (Eww!)
 Finished with interior demolition, we stopped for the night.
 You can see why we wanted to replace this window.  It is fogged and parts of the frame are water damaged and rotting.
Of course, this morning, removing the siding to begin the rest of the work for installing the new window unveiled more problems.  Evidently, according to one of the old owners, cutting corners was common.  They pieced thing together from scraps rather than use a solid piece.  There were gaps in the sheathing which allowed the mice to move freely from the attic into the walls.  sigh...
And we seem to have picked the hottest, windiest day of the year to rip a hole in the side of the house!  We had both a heat advisory and a wind advisory for the day.
Framing for the new window going in. V had to do quite a bit of work on the wall, both inside and out.
But the new window is installed.  It provides so, so much more light.  Next we will work on the North wall but not until we get the garbage barrels emptied!  Tomorrow will see the siding going back up, the inside outlet and outdoor floodlights re-wired and maybe some insulation in the wall.
The outside will look so much nicer when the siding gets up again but the window will be fabulous.  The window is on the West side of the house.  In the winter, the extra light will be wonderful and we've got the big hackberry tree that shades the house in the summer.
Now, it's time to relax after a hard day.  Tomorrow brings more.

12 comments:

  1. MY SISTER HAD HER DOUBLE WIDE LIFTED AND UP ALSO AT HER LAKE HOME ,I NEVER GOT TO SEE IT AND NOW SHE IS GONE BUT I GET THE IDEA FROM LOOKING AT YOUR PLACE--DID YOU SEND ALL THAT HEAT AND STORMS AND A REPEAT TONIGHT,WELL AT LEAST JERRY'S RELATIVES FROM KY WILL FEEL RIGHT AT HOME TODAY, I LOST MY SENSE OF COOKING ,I ONLY HAVE ABOUT 2 MEALS PLANNED,GETTING OLDER SUCKS LOL ,CAN'T WAIT FOR THE FINISHED PROJECT

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    1. I'm sure you'll get your cooking mojo back soon enough. And I'm not sure we sent the heat your way since it is still here! Back into the mid 90's again today.

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  2. Wow, looks like a lot was accomplished! I've always wanted to be able to say I have a "library room", awesome!

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    1. LOL! Now that I think about "library room" it sounds redundant! It is the room that we are slowly transforming into the library- but currently it's a catch all of all sorts of stuff, including my plant starting set-up. It is so poorly insulated and drafty that it hasn't been terribly useful and was the repository for boxes when we moved in. As construction gets finished throughout the house the boxes are dwindling. I think most of what is left in there are boxes of books and we don't have all the bookshelves constructed yet. When we finally tackle the interior walls, V plans to put in built in bookshelves between the studs. But I'm envisioning a large overstuffed chair or chaise in front of that window for reading. Ah... heaven!

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  3. The window is Great!! I'm a lover of BIG windows! Let that light in!! Plus, you'll have a pretty view from inside too! V is a wonderful builder!! You are lucky to have him to do all the projects you all do!! Think of all the THOUSANDS of dollars he's saved by doing it himself!! Yea V!!! ...debbie

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    1. I am so, so lucky that he is so handy and not opposed to big projects like this. In fact, replacing the windows and re-insulating the walls in this room was his idea!

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  4. Your house is looking lovely! We re trying to get the nerve up for a bathroom DIY that involves a molded window frame. We take heart when we see work like the two of you did here:)

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    1. I'm sure when you've got a bit more energy that bathroom won't seem so daunting! The scary thing about windows is ripping a hole in the side of your house!

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  5. The new big window looks GREAT!

    We found similar corner cutting evidence on our house, too. At this point I've decided to just be amused every time we find another one, because my other option is horrified. lol

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    1. There is something about houses that have been owned by someone who's motto seems to be "good enough" that engenders amusement or horror!

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  6. Hang in there! Every house we've owned has been a fixer upper, but it pays off with savings and your sanity in the long run :)

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    1. Every house we've ever owned (or rented!) has been a fixer upper as well. This one has been a bit more of a challenge than most but the land called to us.

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