Walls and Windows...

The house got a little face lift. New windows! They are so shiny and clear, ahhhh. Our old windows were the 1961 originals and a set of storm windows on top of that. I guess in some one's mind two sets of single pane windows equals a double pane window. It was impossible to clean and always looked dirty. The front windows came with the white grid in them, which we didn't want, so soon enough they will be replaced without that.

And here is our drywall. Ready for the texture. It's strange how you can forget what your house actually looks like. Obviously we knocked down some walls and had oak paneling so things will look different, but instead of the shell of a house it's starting to look normal again.

Keep your fingers crossed.... our kitchen cabinets are suppose to be delivered and installed tomorrow. It will be so nice to see them!

More Progress...

We have walls again!!!!! We have been waiting and waiting for some real progress. The contractor said once things get started, it moves very fast. Bring it on!

The outside of our house looks so sad. Poor house, poor windows, poor yard and poor port-a-potty.

Slowly Getting There...

So not much has been changing that we can see. All the work up until now has been new electrical work, new duct work, and then passing inspection for all that. But then this week.... things began. Yipee! The attic rafters have been treated (so they don't smell like smoke) and the new insulation has been put in the exterior walls. And yes, that is our drywall sitting in the dinning room. The next step is to drywall, texture and paint.

Hopefully things will move quickly now. We talked to our project manager today and he seems to think we will be in the house in 4 weeks. We are SOOO ready to get back into our house. Fall is my favorite season and I really want to start decorating, but it's a good thing that it's still 90+ degrees here and no hint of fall is in the air. Hopefully we will have many happy trick or treaters in our newly redesigned house.

Special Delivery....

So, we got our clothes delivered yesterday.....

Supposedly, we have over 2000 pieces. Tops, pants, socks, shoes, sheets, towels, etc. Every single thing has been tagged and numbered. Yikes. So far out of the 3 boxes and 3 bunches of hangers, I'd say 10% didn't smell of smoke. So we are not off to a good start.

So you all know what we will be doing for the next two weeks. Smelling everything we own and cutting little yellow tags off. Then we send back what still smells and do it all over again when they return it.

Changes Have Started...

Work has really been happening inside the house. Notice the walls are gone! We decided to open things up and take advantage of the damage from the fire. The last header that is going in the ceiling is the board on the floor. Once that is in, the last wall between the kitchen and the living room will be a half wall.

Looking back towards the front of the house. 

We have been BUSY making choices for the house. New floors, new lights, new kitchen (everything), every room is getting painted, new windows, new AC and heater. It will be a new house to us when we get back. Here are some of our recent choices.

The new flooring in the living area, kitchen and halls...

The carpet in the bedrooms...

Sign of Progress?

Here is the newest addition to our little house. Yes, a port-a-potty. Our poor neighbors that have to look at this as they walk by and our poor neighbors who are selling their house!

The workers are making some progress inside. The drywall in the living room and the kitchen is down, including the ceilings. We are changing the wall between the kitchen and living room to be a half wall...

The wall between the dining room and the kitchen will be gone, AND the closets on the right side of the picture will be gone too! One nice side to all this chaos is the changes we get to make.

Figuring things out...

We stayed with my brother and sister in law for a couple of days, then the kids started getting sick and I didn't want my 4 month old to catch it so we moved into a hotel until we could get temporary housing. We ended up being there for 2 weeks! Yuck! But my 2 1/2 year old loved swimming in the pool and riding the elevator. We had to shuffle the kids around at night time. My son would go to sleep first in the bedroom, then when it was time for my daughter to sleep we would wheel him out (yes the hotel crib had wheels) and put her to sleep in a pack and play. The remainder of the night was my husband and I sitting in the dark, watching TV with no volume. Needless to say we were ready to get leave!

Workers were super busy at the house. They removed EVERYTHING we own from the house to be cleaned and took out the carpet (because it cannot be saved). This flooring was under my daughter's carpet. Who knew! I have no idea why this would be in a bedroom, but the house was built in 1961.

During this time we also found a contractor that we liked and he started getting a team together. The first thing they did was test for lead paint, which of course we had. Most houses in our area would come back positive for lead paint, but they say it's fine unless its disturbed. So last week they removed the affected area and then set up filters and cleaned the air. No one could go in for 3 days. The demolition was suppose to start today and we cannot wait to see what it will look like!