Monday, January 11, 2010

Swiss Cheese House

We had accomplished so much on the house last week that we were both so tired and unmotivated this week. It’s difficult to work all day and still have energy to work on the house (plus it was Bowl Week).

Most of the tasks that were completed were because of the electrician. He fixed the garbage disposal, removed the old stove fan, moved the stove hookup, and connected the dishwasher.

Right around New Year’s we discovered that none of the exterior walls of the house were insulated. We got an estimate from an insulation company and decided to go forward with them. This work required 5” holes being drilled in each stud cavity so that they could blow the insulation in the walls (normally the holes are drilled on the outside of the house but our house is all brick). The contractor drilled all the holes on Monday and the insulation was installed on Thursday.

When we first saw the holes cut in the walls it was a little scary – like living in a house of Swiss cheese. We are going to be the ones repairing the holes in the walls and it will be a very large task. Below are some photos of the holes.




Over the weekend we only had a day and a half to work. Saturday we removed the tile floor in the foyer up to the kitchen. The backer board for this tile floor was the source of some of the dog urine smell in the house. The tile was also extremely slippery when it got wet – not ideal for an entryway. Fortunately, most of the hardwood under the tile was in very good shape but some of the wood in the pantry (soon-to-be half bath) needs a little work. Below are some pictures of the foyer floor.



Sunday we put on an additional coat of drywall compound upstairs. We also started removing the molding and radiator covers. The radiator covers (and screws) have been painted over several times making it very difficult to remove them. My dad has been generous enough to offer to remove all the old paint and repaint them for us.

Next week we have Monday off for Martin Luther King Jr. Day and we’re hoping that the three day weekend will allow us time to tackle a large project.

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