Last night mom and I headed over to the house renovation after work – she is such a trooper! I told her, “Well, all the outside walls need to be stripped down to the studs so we can insulate…” She pointed to a pile of sheet rock and plaster on the floor, “Can I clean that up?” I looked at her and said, “Mom, whatever you want to do, that would be amazing!” So she spent the first half an hour with a snow shovel throwing crap out of the house (we have one window for tossing out stuff that can’t burn and another window for tossing out stuff that can burn – its working out) while I got to work on the wall between the entry way (our future dining room) and the kitchen – then she helped me and then we cleaned up again. If you know anyone going through a renovation the truth is, if you just want to help the most amazing thing you can do is haul debris and crap out of the house, you will be a God-send.

Joe came over after work last night so we could attack the house early this morning before we both had to go to work. With sledge hammer in hand this might just be where Joe shines – everything gets out of his way. Later mom and I (or just me of course) will be doing all of the clean up but, honestly, anything I don’t have to do myself is still helping me get this done.

The wall between the entry way (my future dining room) and the kitchen is now down to the studs, same thing with the wall between the living room and kitchen. Both walls are load bearing – right now I’m just getting everything out that I can, the beams will wait until I start framing. A dumpster will be dropped off at the house either today or tomorrow so then I can really clear a way to get the drop ceiling out of the entryway and demo the bedroom. Next phase is the 2nd floor gutting (no walls to move there just a ton of plaster and lath) from there I’ll move on to the wood shed and then its time to start framing!