Day Three - The Ceilings Come Down and an Upstairs Project

This is Kevin and this is what he looked like after pulling down the bedroom (future dining room) ceiling. Good thing Kevin wasn't wearing his Sunday bests for this job! I also learned that plaster-dust-filled air makes focusing a bit difficult for the iPhone.

While Kevin worked downstairs, Nedd tackled Henry's room. Since Brad and I are getting a master bedroom out of the remodel, Henry did not want to be left out. The room next to his bedroom is an eaves with a low ceiling that we have been using as a closet and storage. Nedd is building a door between the two, giving Henry twice the shelf space and a cool new place for his bed. 

We covered up Henry's room.

The wall came down.

And went into the trash.

And here's Ned, the contractor, scrambling to finish up the job so we can put the room back together.

Day Two - A Room with a New View

More plaster came down and walls were stripped to their skeletons. Today we got a glimpse of what the new opened up kitchen will look like with the wall that used to separate the kitchen and bedroom now gutted to its bare bones.

This is the view from the future dining room into the kitchen.

This is the view from the future kitchen into the dining room.

The rest of the photos for Day Two show what the insides of an 1891 house look like both the frames as well as the pieces tucked away in contractor bags. It's weird being upstairs and hearing the work going on downstairs - it sounds like really large rats chewing away at the house. A bit disconcerting, but knowing that it's not actually rats but a team of men setting out to make the house a healthier, happier place. They are also talking, telling stories, and laughing, laughing, laughing. If only everyone laughed so much at work. 

Day One

Plumbing was disconnected...

...kitchen cabinets same down...

...back hallway lost its plaster...

...and house gained a layer of plaster dust. Oh, plaster dust, I know you will be my nemesis for the next several months.

16 years ago I began remodeling my newly purchased Cambridge house. The horse hair plaster walls were mostly removed and I updated the home into a two-family house with a first floor one-bedroom apartment and my second- and third-floor apartment. Today we began the process again, turning the house into a single-family house. The ground floor apartment will become the new kitchen, living, and dining rooms. The second floor kitchen and living room will become a master bedroom. Brad, Henry and I will live in a house with more than one bathroom! Here are the before pictures of the first-floor apartment.

The project started off with a bang, literally, as the back hallway was stripped of 100+ year old plaster. The kitchen cabinets came down. The bathroom sink and tub were disconnected, and the stove sold on Craigslist in less than an hour. I thought it was a great deal - selling a more than five year-old stove that I bought for $400 for $80 to a couple who is happy to have it and will haul it away. I had written it off as a business expense when I bought it so the sale was great! That said, I earned $80 and spent many, many times that today giving the contractor and plumbers deposits and putting a down payment on the purple couch and chair and a half for the eventual living room. When will we be able to use the couch and the new living room? When the contractor and I were discussing the timetable, I said, "How about it's ready for a Hanukkah party?" He thought about the timing and estimated that it would indeed be ready by mid-December. I texted him an hour later when I discovered that the first night of Hanukkah is in fact the day BEFORE Thanksgiving this year. Will we be spinning dreidels and eating latkes in the new kitchen by then? Time will tell...

Construction photos coming tomorrow -  Stay tuned for how the project progresses!

For Sale - Gas stove and oven. $100 or best offer.