And so the work begins....

This should have been written a long time ago, but we're behind in every aspect of the project, so why not here.  The first challenge (other than just visualizing the whole thing) was pulling together the drawings that would be used for the project.  Realizing they are the basis for all the communications with the permitters, the contractors, the suppliers and friends, we knew they were important.  I have extensive hand drafting experience, but couldn't pass up using a computer program to do the drawings.  Mmmmmmmm, maybe not such a good idea.  If it was something I was planning on doing regularly for the rest of my life, it would have been great, but for a single project?!?!  It took a fair amount of time to learn the program we used and it is more than  little finicky.  It likes to change the location or size of items periodically, etc, etc, etc.  It was helpful in visualizing things in 3-D, but.....  I think drafting by hand in this case probably would have been better!  (If you have no drafting experience - hire a professional to help out!) Oh well, 'lesson learned' as our friend Bill Sanford says.

So, one of the primary reasons for the drawings is to get the proper permits.  The permitting process here in Bellingham wasn't nearly as bad as we had been lead to believe.  We know they have been doing a lot to streamline the process and be better communicators at the Permitting Department and I think it has helped. We went in before hand, asked for the proper paperwork to guide us through the process and visited again with questions before actually submitting the drawings and paperwork.  The staff was very helpful and while it took a while, we were pleased with the process.  Yes, there are fees for the reviews, etc., but that's to be expected.

And then started the fun part!  Demolition.....  :-)  Out with the orange carpet and the rough cedar walls, the popcorn ceilings and hundreds of screws....... What was that about?  Down with the grass-cloth wallpaper (yeah, we know it is back in style, but we'll let that be in someone else's home - who said we were stylish?), out with the orange tiled fireplace, bye-bye narrow, dark kitchen........  Here are some pictures where you can see the progress - we'll add more in the future.....

Bill and opened up the fireplace wall and found this!  We were hoping
for some metal, easy to remove setup!  NOT!

Time to remove all the nails and stack the cedar for future use.

Okay, so the cedar came down pretty easy, but the firring strips!!! Our theory
is that someone got a new pneumatic stapler and decided to go crazy with it.
These firring strips were attached with, literally, 4-6 3 1/2" to 4" staples at every stud!
We weren't saying a lot bad words!!!!

Yay!!!!  We're done with the wall!

So much for the wall between the kitchen and the living room!  Let there be light!!!!

Bye bye orange carpet!  Imagine this -while our recycling stores are interested
in the other items - lights, cabinets,  sinks, appliances -no one
wants this lovely orange carpet!!!!  

Nice oak bathroom towel racks and toilet paper dispensers - too
bad we are fans of oak!

More about things we learned and processes that worked in a future blog.  Time to take a break!
Tomorrow is the exciting day - the contractor is starting the addition!  There's no turning back now - and yes, there are moments when we are still thinking "wthwwt"!!!!!!