Now, here is where I say ‘we’ but you all know that the real work is done by Bob.  I help as much as I can but Bob is the real doer and scheduler!  First we had to empty main floor area (the kitchen, living room, dining room and bedroom). Then we emptied and consolidated the 1st floor area to use for storage and prepare for dismantling the 1st floor mud room/ laundry (which would be completely torn apart for the new foundation work).  Next Bob tore out the sheetrock, carpet and interior wood trim. We hauled it all down the stair to fill many pick-up truck loads for the dump. This went on for many of our trips to Truckee starting after Memorial Day.

The pictures below will update you on how it looked, the demo and where we are as of July 7th, 2013.

Old wood stove

New wood stove

The first items was to replace the old wood stove with a new, environmentally friendly Quadra-fire stove.  This stove can hold larger logs, banks better and will hold a fire all night long for the winter months.

Next was the removal of items, tearing out carpet and moving the washer and dryer from the 1st floor to the 3rd floor for the duration of the work.  Below show the changes to the kitchen dining room area.

Dining & kitchen before remodel.

Dining & kitchen going

Dining opened to atrium

Kitchen wall which will come down

Below shows the atrium area becoming part of the main house.

Atrium looking towards existing main entry.

Atrium windows trim removed

Atrium windows and dining wall removed

Atrium opened fully and tile removed.

The wall you see in the last picture is structural hence it is still standing.  The contractor and structural engineer have a plan to remove this wall and this space will be open without any header beam showing in the ceiling.

From this point on we have had help while Bob continues to work each day along with the carpenters and contractors.  I am commuting from Hayward to and from Truckee each week to do what I can to help.  More later…