Our Monona Mess

  Look How Far We've Come

The highlight of these last 2 days is the floors. The crew came on Wednesday and Thursday and refinished the living room, kitchen, and hallway. It is always so amazing to see the beauty that was buried under those carpets. Tyler also got the master bathroom primed and the ceiling painted since the weather was not cooperating for outside jobs. 

We finished getting everything out of the kitchen and living room space and prepping for the floors to be refinished. Then we ripped up the paper. It is a huge open space. This is the first time that we can see all of Dave's patching together. It should all blend together when it is done. Speaking of wide open spaces, Tyler is holding down the work at home while we explore the wide open spaces of South Dakota.

Lauryn and I continued painting the feature wall in the hall today and it is starting to look amazing!!  Dave spent most of the day caulking the bathroom (and complaining about the messy tiling job...perhaps we should not hire her to do the next bathroom.) He also installed the showerhead and valve trim but the tub filler pipe is incorrect and so he could not add that. We also took our last load of carpet, plaster, and wood to the recycling center...it feels great to have the bulk of the demo done in the house.

We continue to clean out the living room to get ready for the woodfloor. Tyler and Dave and I carried the drywall down to the basement which unblocked the front window for the first time ever. Then Dave pulled up the last of green carpet. After Tyler left, Dave worked on patching int remaining wood floor in the hallway.

  Questionable Choices Tonight I painted. I painted several walls. I painted several walls white, so it is difficult to see my progress.  There is one grey wall at the end and I started color blocking the hall wall. Questionable choice #1: Trying to peel off the tape and move it--ripped off the fresh paint, the texture, and a chunk of wall.  Dave already started to fix it.  Dave and Tyler worked on getting the new beams in the attic so that we can close the ceiling in. Questionable choice #2: Working in the attic when it is about 120 degrees up there.  Dave found several electrical wires in his way and when he opened it up, he found another electrical mess--(Questionable choice #3 goes to a previous owner). Dave cut the wires to make way for the new beams.  Dave and Tyler got one set of the new beams dropped in and put up the studs to support them.  They had a brief interruption in the evening so that Tyler could run to the store to get thermostat wire...

Plaster Dust Dave and I both worked longer hours today, but Tyler came this afternoon and mowed the lawn for us. Then this evening, Dave and Tyler worked together to open the walls where the new studs need to go to hold up the beams for the roof.  Dave found more mold in the wall between the fireplace and the screen porch.  Hopefully we have all the mold out now.  Dave uses a cutter and Tyler holds the vacuum cleaner under it while they both wear masks to keep the dust to a minimum and to open the smallest amount of wall possible.  Next up...moving all the wires in the way of the beams.   

  More Floor Patching Today was the day that I finished grouting the shower--it is done. It took several hours and several water changes, but it looks so great. This week the plumber is coming to hook up the shower and I ordered a shower curtain and rod today to complete the look.  Once Dave chalks the shower and sink and puts the trim in, the bathroom will be done. I, for one, cannot wait to take a bath.  Tonight, Dave and his mom took a giant load of drywall, metal studs, bags of plaster, and disgusting green carpet to the recycling center. Then he worked on replacing the boards around the fireplace before the wood floors get redone next week and he repaired one of the tiles.  I am not sure what we are going to do with the tile yet, but at least it will look good while we decide. 

  Cleaning Out the Chimney (sort of) There is no day 170 post--we took the day off and went up north. Today Dave realized that the structure supports for the beams might need to come down inside chimney area, so he climbed in and dug the debris out of it.  Then Dave and his mom worked to starting taking the carpet out of the living room and then Lauryn began to remove the nails and staples. 

  Opening the Walls Dave started the morning by taking all the nails out of the all the ceiling from taking it down yesterday.  There were nails about every inch on several boards. Then he put up vapor barrier .  While he worked in the house, his mom and I finished scraping and priming the windows in the front of the house. Mary also painted to side of the screen porch.  The windows are ready to be painted with exterior paint and to put the storm windows back in. Then Mary and I helped him hang drywall on the ceiling. We are pretty great at climbing ladders while carrying drywall--no need to rent a drywall lift here.  Since we have to put several beams in the attic to support the sagging, Dave opened up the walls on either side of the fireplace to put supports down to the foundation.  We also took the wood out of the fireplace and found...nothing inside there.  It looks like the damper is rusted. 

  Surprise Tenets Tyler and Dave worked really hard over the last 2 days to get the 2nd moldy ceiling down in the living room. On Thursday, Dave and I had to work, so Tyler spent the day getting the metal studs off the ceiling.  We have a trailer to put all the materials on to take the trash and recycling center, so he also loaded all the drywall and metal.  That evening, Dave started removing the drywall over the fireplace. The first layer revealed a lot of mold and hidden damper.  The 2nd layer revealed more mold, structurally issues, and our first live mouse nest. Dave reacted well and bonked the little guys over the head. Time for mouse traps and peppermint oil before those little buggers get into the house.  On Friday, Dave hung the beverage station cabinet in the living room. With the ceiling down, he was able to patch and fix the ceiling in the corner to get the cabinet off the living room floor.  Then Dave and Tyler worked all day to bring down the ...

 And One to Go Tyler is back today to help for a couple of days. Tonight he and Dave cleaned out the living room to bring down the ceiling. They put the island in place and instantly the kitchen did not feel so big.  Then they worked together to take down the dropped ceiling in the living room and exposed all the mold, mess, and metal strips.  Tomorrow Tyler will work on getting all those metal strips down.