Making Progress

Well, I am officially a (part time) contractor.  I even have the carhartt overalls and work boots to prove it.  For the past two days, I have been working with Joe to demolish what used to be three closets, a smaller bathroom and a hallway- all off the master bedroom in one large rectangular space.  Our goal- to clear all the smaller rooms and make them into one large bathroom with a raised ceiling, skylights, windows, a claw foot tub, shower, two sinks, and a toilet.  A big undertaking considering our timeline- but last night over dinner when we were talking about leaving in 4 weeks, I heard joe's dad say (hrm, c'mon, 6 weeks... under his breath)  He, I believe, realizes something we might not be thinking about- that this is a BIG project that is unlikely to be completed a month from now- but Joe thinks it will.  Im still too new in this 'construction' game to know how long any of this is really going to take, but judging by our progress in the past two days- maybe Joe is right... check it out.

A view looking into the doorway that will eventually open to the new master bath.

Before picture of the little bathroom area

Just getting started busting out the tile surround

Day 1- mid day progress

Joe loves when I take pictures, clearly.

The end of day one.  An important lesson Joe has taught me is the proper way to clean up when doing a project- the answer: often.  Starting a new days work in a clean space makes the work you did the day before feel that much better and the progress cleaning is similar to stopping to stretch your legs and take a break on a long road trip- when you get back in the car, you feel like you are just starting out and you are refreshed and ready for the next length of the journey.  

All our trash from day one neatly stacked in the front porch... to be picked up on day two and delivered to recycling and the dump. 

Day one happened to be Joe's dads 55th birthday.  We celebrated with the neighbors with some beers and authentic chicago hot dogs.  (Apparently in Chicago hot dogs come on poppy seed buns, have tomatoes, peppers, pickles, mustard, ketchup, and onions ALL on each hot dog...they were good, but it took me a few minutes to get used to how strange they were) 

This one needs no explanation. 

This was a gift from Joe.  Simply put- it takes a good friend to pick up a talisker sampler box set (my favorite scotch- thanks to Fitz) as a gift for my arrival.  I've already opened the 10yr, ill wait on the 18yr and the Distillers edition for another occasion, perhaps even another city.

Lucy helped us get started on Day 2.  (side note- that respirator that joe is wearing is incredible- we got them before getting started- thank god for them because with all the work we are doing with dry wall, tiles, insulation, and dust, our lungs would hate us if we didnt wear them all day.)

Day 2 involved removing insulation from the attic so we can raise the ceiling of the new bathroom and install the skylights- also more demolition... including demolishing the tub... what a sight that was.  Did you know that in order to get a metal tub out you literally smash it up into pieces using a sledgehammer?  I have a video of Joe doing it but cant figure out how to post it up here... anyone know how I can do that?

The attic is a bit spooky- look at this slanted chimney- it's old and not functional but certainly creates an interesting dynamic up there.  I think they should keep it in place if/when they finish this space.

Me smashing up the tub a bit- that was fun...

The tub in (HEAVY) pieces.

And the end of day two- tomorrow we build the new gable in the attic and remove all the studs you see in this picture to open the space up.

Sorry if this post isn't quite as interesting or exciting.  To me, these pictures represent many hours of hard work, and a big project ahead of me with lots of learning involved.  I'm not going to lie here- I don't know if I could do this type of (physical) work full time for the rest of my life, but I am loving the experience and also loving the feeling I get at the end of a day when I can see some tangible evidence of the work I have put in- the feeling simply cannot be compared to the feeling you get after sitting behind a desk all day, and I am appreciative for the refreshing change of pace.

More to come at the end of the week when we've done a bit more.