3 Weeks of Stuff!

I've had all sorts of email, asking for new posts to the blog.  Sorry it's taken so long, but I'll catch you up today.  It's May 24th, Bermuda Day, so only the tiler is working today - so far.  The painter and electrician may show up at some point, but we'll see.


The major renovations are just about finished and the contractor wanted to be out of here by the end of this week.  However, I think a couple of the guys will still be around for part of next week, finishing up some of the little things.


Although I didn't post to the blog, I continued taking pictures of the daily activity and will share most of them today.  After this, the only other major construction will be when the guys channel out the driveway and install water pipes, which will be attached to the pit in the front yard.


At this point, all of the new doors and windows have been installed.  The initial plan was to put a French door on the wall along the current driveway, but it was decided to put it at the front of the house instead.  This meant the outside access to the water tank had to be chopped down and the tank top cover now resides on top of a new outside step.


The inside walls of my previous office were chopped out and steel beams had to be inserted to take the load of the upstairs structure.  This resulted in a larger area for the new living room and an open plan to the new kitchen from there.


Okay, here come the pictures.  Enjoy!

Johnny, John Sr., Chris and Tony move the 18ft steel beam

Father and sons are all smiles as they move the steel beam into the house

Tony begins to block up the wall at the bottom of the steps, leading from upstairs to down below

The wall is halfway built

Almost done

The previous access is fully blocked

Ceiling supports are in place prior to the walls being chopped out

Chris demolishes one of the inside walls

Johnny removes rubble from the wall demolition

The rubble is loaded into the truck

The wall is mostly removed by the end of the day

Chris trims the edges of the larger wall, while Tony begins to chop out the smaller wall

Tony uses a maul to remove some of the block

Johnny and Tony jack hammer the wall from opposite sides

The guys clear the rubble after the wall is demolished

It looks like Ryan is waiting for an order of Tina's scalloped sweet potatoes at the kitchen take-out window!

Johnny digs around the outside water tank access

A closer look

Johnny has to use the jack hammer closer to the main house wall

Most of the block from the outside tank access cover is removed

The outside steps to my new office and radio room, before the railing is installed

After the railing has been installed

A front view of the railing installation

Johnny loads the truck with unused materials, prior to project completion

Starting to chop out the lower front windows

The lower front windows are removed

Framework started for the new front door

Using the bobcat to remove the old windows from the parking area

Loading the old windows into the truck

The new front entrance is boarded up for the night

Chris removes the last level of block from the tank access

Victor chisels the outside door entrance wall to prepare for plastering

Tony begins to remove one of the side windows

Chris takes out one of the side windows

The window is removed

Chris does some final chiseling of the tank access area

The old side window will be replaced with a door

A sliding glass door is installed for the master bedroom

Getting ready to install the new front door

John Sr. secures the new front door frame

The new front door is installed

John Sr. and Chris install the new side door

John Sr. and Chris check the door alignment

The new side door is installed

The old door has been removed and the area is prepared for a new window to be installed

The new window has been installed, at left, and another new window is being prepared for installation

Preparing to pour concrete for a front entrance step

Last section of the front entrance step being poured

Victor and Tony level off the front entrance step

The new front entrance step is complete

The new side windows and door installations are complete

Tony finishes plastering around the front entrance step

Now, you're up to date with the renovation progress.  I'll do my best to post the remaining outside work on a more timely basis, so keep checking back!