I thought it might be time for an update. I have to tell you that some days it is hard for me to visit our house.
Jim and I went up to the house last weekend. He wanted to do some work on removing boulders so that the workmen would be able to concentrate on digging crawl spaces. Apparently, it is code to have a crawl space of some sort under the entire house. This space will allow for the vents to be placed, piping to be installed and room for ongoing/future maintenance under the floors. At some point even a horizontal HVAC system will be installed in this sprawling space. This area did not exist in our current home and so it is now being made.
The crawl spaces will need to be hand dug at least 3 feet down, deeper in some areas. In our existing bedroom a boulder foundation is in place and this is what Jim wanted to remove. Honestly, I think he just likes to work on the house. I know our contractor had plans to do this....but, Jim decided he would do it and thus enable the hand digging to commence.
I found the entrance to our kitchen from our basement! We are now wondering if a trap door can be put in, what will be the mudroom, so that we might have access to the basement from the inside of our house. As it is drawn up now, the existing entrance will be covered with the mudroom floor leaving only outdoor access to the basement.
That is a question for Sam, our contractor. This sweet man always gives me that "Are you kidding me?" look whenever I suggest a new"idea." But, he usually comes up with a way to make it happen so why not ask??
Our roof should be on this week. The shingles sit up on top of the house and on Sunday, when Jim went up alone, the roofer and his men were spreading a water barrier on this roof without shingles, to ward off the 3-6 inches of snow that was expected but so far has not materialized. Hopefully, the weather will break and the shingles can be placed this week.
I struggle sometimes at the house. So far, progress has been in the form of demolishing parts of a house that I had grown to adore over the past couple of years. When I go, I have to admit that all I can see at times is dirt! Not that I expected anything different when we started this project. I am just anxious to see progress in the form of rebirth and not in demolition. I cannot wait to have my kitchen floor poured and to have the roof built above it. It will be fun to watch walls go up and new rooms formed. But for now I will be happy with hand dug crawl spaces and know that they pave the way for better, more exciting and less dirt-filled things to come.
As the Christmas season begins I find myself really missing my old home more than I thought I would but then, as always, there is Nora, who with just one little smile, can turn any sad day into a happy one!
Stay well,
Laura