photo by Russell Kaye

It seemed like demo was by in a flash. By my count, three 30-yard dumpsters filled up by two weeks, accounting for kitchen, library, laundry/bath room, bedroom, porch, and basement demo. Next up was a filming day on a Monday.

First, we had three trees taken out for various reasons. The spruce at the front of our property was dying, the maple next to our carport was too close and we were concerned about the roots, and a final tree was rotting. We completed a tree exemption mold, which basically stated that we intended to live in the home. Apparently, whether we were renovating with the intent to sell, replacement trees totaling the total circumferences of those removed would have been mandatory.

Next, we removed the stained glass windows.

Jim Anderson, of Jim Anderson Stained Glass, pointed out the areas
of damage that he was going to repair for our 4 windows. by moment,
expansion and contraction cracked some glass and key features of the
leaded design had fallen off. Jim is generally going to remove the
glass from the leading, clean up or replace the glass, and next reset
in new lead patterns, matching the old. Hopefully, they will shine like
new!

Finally,
forms were set for spread footings at the rear of the home. A concrete
truck backed in, and the construction officially began with the first
pour. These footings will support the foundation for the deck and
stairs. Once the foundation is poured and ready, the support for the
rear corner of the home will be moved to these. that will allow the
ground to be excavated at the rear of the home, since we will want to
have the porch at a level lower than the granite foundation. We will
need to build a support wall to hold back the rubble footings
underneath, and we are lucky it will plus serve as an appealing bench
at the back of the home, on the patio.

With plans completed and materials on order, it is only a matter of
day before the framing goes up and we start to see our deck come to
life!

Original post by Paul Friedberg