Progress

Let's see, the last thing I wrote about was getting a wire from the panel to the outlet in the bathroom which will be used for the jacuzzi tub. I've made much progress since then, though you wouldn't notice by walking in the place.

I've been focusing on the kitchen, mainly because so many tasks are dependent upon the ones before them. I need to
> Tear out the old floor (done)
> Tear out the old cabinets (done)
> Tear down the old ceiling (done)
> Re-run or lengthen wiring that'll be in the way of the new ceiling (finished this week)
> Add the new outlets required by code and make them GFI (ground fault interrupter, very handy when touching a live outlet with wet hands. And required by code) (finished this week)
> Put up north-south beams to support the joists (finished this week)
> Put up the east-west joists (finished this week)
> Move the plumbing 12 inches north (finished this week)
> Tap into the plumbing for the new wetbar in the dining room (finished this week)
> Move the gas pipe to the correct location (finished this week)
> Put up the recessed lighting fixutres (finished today)
> Get the electrical work inspected
> Drywall the walls and ceiling
> Paint the walls and ceiling
> Install the hardwood flooring
> Install the stove, dishwasher and microwave
> Install the cabinets
> Install the granite counter tops

That's quite a sequence, hence my focusing on the kitchen to try and keep on schedule. Not really any adventures since discovering the old wires were in the way and the Ruth Requirements. Just a lot of careful work to keep everything level so the ceiling won't have ripples.

Original kitchen:

Kitchen with cabinets removed:

Kitchen with everything demolished. That's Frank the Handyman... a great guy despite being a Colts fan. You can see the ceiling in the nook, and where I've torn out the kitchen ceiling, there just a bunch of emptiness.









The crossbeams and new recessed lights. Oops, I forgot to take a picture, I'll have to edit this posting next week with the image.

Dooh!

In a previous episode, I mentioned that Ruth the Electrical Inspector wouldn't allow me to get electricity to the Jetted Tub (hereafter called the jacuzzi, even though it's a different brand). What I needed was a dedicated 20 amp circuit. Oh, and it needed to be 14 gage wire, not the 16 that I'd purchased. At $49 for 100 feet.

I figured how hard can this be? I'd just go into the family room cut some holes in the ceiling, run some wire between the joists, go around the brick fireplace into the basement and tap into the secondary electric panel down there. Piece of cake. So I made another hole in the ceiling. Whoa, I thought. All the joists run north-south, except the ones right by the wall, they run east-west. No problem, I'll just use the north-south ones and cut across when I get to the fireplace. But of course, the long runs have to have some short cross joists to give it all some sturdiness. I purchased a long 3/4 inch spade bit, poked a hole in the ceiling at the first cross joist drilled a hole and moved on to the next cross joist. Remember that first rascal, he shows up again in this tale.

I only had to make about 3 holes before I got to the fireplace and I started looking for a way around it (the basement electrical panel is on the other side of the fireplace). And discovered a cement foundation under the brick. Hmmmmmm. I wouldn't let this vex me too long, so I went to the living room and crawled under that fireplace ledge (have I already described the hours of breaking tile off of that ledge? And what that did to my hands? Ahh, another story in the making) and peeled off some wallboard from the living room (budget for wallboard in the living room = $0.00). I got on my belly and found a tiny space with a stud that might be attached to the family room. I got out the long drill bit and discovered that I could indeed make a hole through that wall into the family room. And another hole into the basement and I'd be set.
So my plan was set, I'd run from the fireplace east into the side wall, then south into the adjoining wall, then through it, then down into the basement. So I started drilling through the joists, ripping out huge chunks of ceiling at each one. I was almost through the last one when I heard something odd. A few more square feet of ceiling torn out later I found the culprit: A big red I-beam. Made of Steel.

After tearing out more wallboard on the wall, I found a big jackscrew holding up the I-beam, with just enough room behind the jackscrew to run the wire. so a hole down through the top plate, a hole across the double joist, a hole across the next double joist, a hole back up the top plate and I was in business. I must have drilled eleven holes in the last 6 feet.
I drilled the holes in the basement and started running the wire. Ever snake a 14 gage wire through a 3/4 inch hole?

Remember the rascal from earlier in the story? By this point I had invested about 6 hours in stringing that one cable (including the first illegal attempt) when I got to one last east-west joist in the north-south passageway. I drilled through it cleanly and then "tink". "Tink" I thought? "Tink"? Yep, another steel I-beam. There was only one solution, tear more holes in the sheetrock in the ceiling and in the wall. After much pondering, I found a little gap at the end of the beam and managed to run the cable past it. And back to the other side of the north-south passageway. I got the end of the cable up into the master bathroom and attached it to a GFI outlet. Wednesday an electrician will attach it to the main breaker panel and that task will be done.

Who said this business would be hum-drum?

RUTHless

On Monday the electricians came and replaced the main breaker panel, for a mere $2200. It doesn't add to resale value, but the old one was bad and would seriously lower the resale value. So while they did that I patched the ugly brick in the fireplace.

On Tuesday I began installing wiring for the jetted tub. I found an old unused 15 amp wire and figured out a way to tap into it, and I ran it to a new GFI receptacle. Only had to drill 5 holes in the floor, and tear two holes in the family room ceiling. Then I attacked the kitchen ceiling- it had a dropped ceiling with very illegal flourescent light fixtures. So down it came. And was horrified by what was left (see the post entitled "Kitchen Progress" for the details). But in addition to all the other stuff, it had miles of wiring from one end to the other. Very haphazardly arranged. And below where the new ceiling was going to be.

On Wednesday Ruth the Denver electrical inspector came to approve the electricians' work. She was very nice, but is known for being a hardnose. She got grossed out by the kitchen and told me I needed to have outlets every 4 feet, and that I needed to get rid of unused wires. Then she spotted the jetted tub and asked to see how it was wired. I was all proud of myself until she said that it couldn't be 15 amp and it HAD to be a separate circuit (ie: have a dedicated breaker). In other words, change what I had done.

She also helped me with the ancient alarm system. I mentioned that I couldn't figure out how to open it which she took as a challenge. She got out her tools and ripped into it and began moving wires around. Which set off the alarm horn. She then proceeded to snip wires until it shut off, and announced she had to leave for the next inspection.

Oh yeah, she also flunked the new electrical panel.

So on Thursday and Friday I worked on the wiring in the kitchen, and installed the new outlets and tried to raise as many of the old wires as I could. But the circuit is 20 amp and I could only find 15 amp Al-Cu receptacles at Depot and Lowes. After a morning trip to a specialty store, I learned that a 15 amp is OK in the kitchen because 20 amp kitchen devices use a different kind of plug. So I continued to work on it.

Friday at lunch I got sick and tired of working on the kitchen wiring and I reached the limit of my electrical competence, so I called the electrician. They will come next week to bail me out. As usual, that's not in the budget.

Good news: Harlan the haul-away guy got rid of all the debris. And since he also does flea markets, I gave him a ton of junk that the previous people had left behind. He has cost $440 of the $500 debris budget, and there's still plenty to go...

Debris

I was going to get a dumpster, but a 20 yard dumpster costs $500 for a week, so I just created piles of debris and get rid of it all at once. But I couldn't stand the piles of debris any more, so I contacted some guys from Craigs List and someone is coming on Monday to haul it all away for $300.

The three piles include debris from the family room and the downstairs bathroom (left), the kitchen (center) and the master bathroom (right). Not shown is the pile of slate from the entryway.

Once this is all carted off, I need to finish the kitchen demolition, remove the wall between the nook and dining room, remove the old bar in the dining room, and completely gut the second bathroom upstairs. I can't do the last one till I get at least one of the bathrooms rebuilt so I can clean up at the end of every day.

Kitchen progress

I paid for the kitchen cabinets this week, over 7 grand. That price also included the bathroom vanities and the bar, but it's still a lot of money. But a nice kitchen is what sells, so gotta do it. The appliances and granite counter top will be extra, of course.

I mentioned before that I had torn out the old kitchen cabinets and the tile. Nate has been helping me in tearing out the 1970s parquet floor in the kitchen. And today I started with the ceiling.

We decided that the ugly fluorescent lights had to go in favor of recessed lighting. And the lowered ceiling in the kitchen had to be raised to the same level as in the nook. Since the cabinets need the 6 inches that the lowered ceiling took away, it was obvious that I needed to tear out the old soffet and put in a new ceiling. So today I started with the crowbar.

To my horror, someone in the past had removed all the joists in the ceiling and replaced them with new joists about 6 inches lower. So I not only have to get rid of the old drywall, the old fluorescent lights, the old and very dusty pink fiberglass insulation, but I must also tear down the 2x4s holding everything up and replace them with new 2x4s in the right place. And put in new insulation. And new ceiling drywall. Of course, none of this was in the budget.

Here's some pictures of the kitchen. On the left is the kitchen as I purchased the house and the right is what it looks like today. I still

need to finish the demo, then I can begin replacing the framing and drywall in there. And finally the recessed lighting.

Depot, depot, depot....

I believe it's a truism that every project requires two trips to Home Depot. Well, doing the investment project requires many more than two.

The jetted bathtub is a case in point. On Monday I went to Depot to pay for it. Elysia told me to get the 6' one for $699. When I got there, I saw that the $699 ones were marked down to $629... whoo, hoo I said to myself, realizing the money I would save. I ordered it and found two guys on Craigs List who would help me unload it.

Tuesday I went to Depot and waited for them to pull it. I went to the truck, and saw it by the door, so they helped me load it up. On the way back to the IP, I got a call from Depot asking where I had gone. Turns out I grabbed someone else's tub, a 5' model. So back to Depot I went and swapped it for the one I had ordered. The guys had no trouble unloading it at the place, and I paid them $40 plus an old six pack of beer.

Wednesday I looked at the label and realized I had purchased the 5-1/2' model. Yikes. Kathleen helped me load it back into the truck and off to Depot I went. I exchanged it for the 6' one ($750, but with a 10% discount) and brought it home. Kathleen helped me unload it into the garage.

That evening I went to a different Depot to pick up the drain assembly, as "my" Depot was fresh out.

This morning, another Craigs List guy showed up to help me move it up the stairs. Nice guy, but he brought his 2-, 3-, and 4-year old kids. "Sitter crapped out on me" he said. So we put them in one of the rooms with Nate standing guard while we dragged the tub up the stairs. My lord, I've never heard three kids scream and cry so much. Talk about serious separation anxiety. I though Nate was going to have a heart attack. Luckily it only took 5 minutes, so the kids were out before they suffered serious trauma.

Frank the handyman came over and we started to build the frame to support the tub. Alas, the unit was missing the installation instructions, so yet another trip to Depot where some nice employee opened another one and photocopied the directions for me.

Frank and I continued to work on it... plumbing needs to be re-arranged, frame needs to be built and an outlet installed. Then the mid-April blizzard started, so I sent Frank home.

As with everything else, the tub will take twice as long as planned and involve endless trips to Depot. I can't wait to post the before and after pictures!

I'm dreaming of a white Easter

It's snowing. Easter and it's snowing, been snowing since Friday. Gotta love Denver.

The snow has not caused any problems though and it's a good excuse to procrastinate with the lawn. I really do need to get it aerated and fertilized and figure out how the sprinklers work. But as you all know, I can't stand lawn work, so I've been ignoring it. But I must deal with it before I fall behind.

Ahhh, the schedule. I believe I'm on track. My accomplishments against last week's goals are:

> Clear out the stuff the previous owners had left- change in plans. We'll just sort through the stuff and bring it to my house and have a big garage sale someday. I don't need yet another deadline, so we just need to get it all dealt with by the time the IP goes on the market.

> Get bids to update the obsolete electrical panel- DONE, contract has been signed and the electrician will comence work on the 16th

> Repair float valve on the swamp cooler- DONE

> Get a remodel permit-DONE

> Demolish the downstairs bathroom-DONE

> Finish demolishing the family room- DONE

> Finish the roof work- The original guy bid $1400. The second guy bid $700, but it turns out he doesn't have insurance and he's not returning my calls. I'll have to get some more bids, so that is still on the list.

> Clairfy electric panel scope- DONE

> Get the lawns areated and fertilized- Soon

> Check the sprinkler system-Soon

> Order the jacuzzi tub-Done

In addition to all those, I've

> Demolished the kitchen, less the ceiling

> Removed the tile from the entryway

> Ordered the cabinetry

So for this next week, the plan is

> Install new subfloor in the masterbathroom

> Meet with Elysia to resolve the remaining design features

> Install the jacuzzi

> Find an new roofer

> Get bids for the lawn

> Get bids for the cracked step

> Plan the wall between the nook and dining room

I also accomplished a major milestone yesterday, I did the first step in adding back to the house (everything to this point has been demolition): I began plastering the wall in the living room. At some point a previous owner had plastered over 95% of the brick wall in the living and master bedroom, but left a bit of exposed brick. I suppose they were going for the Mexican restaurant look. I'm going to go back to the sleek and clean look and will fill in the spots and paint it all white.

Slate

Did I mention that I removed the old black slate tiles in the entry? What a chore that was, whomever put them in back in 1969 used an ultra strong adhesive and the grout between tiles was hard as concrete. So as I chiseled them apart, it was usually the slate that broke apart instead of separating from the floor. And slate fragments are very very sharp... no wonder the native americans used them for knives! I figured out the best way to remove them: Bash the grout lines with the sledgehammer, then use the pry bar to get the tile up.

About half came up in one piece, the other half required repeated blows with the hammer and chisel.

Only took an entire day remove all the tiles. Now I have a mountain of tile and tile debris. I really got to get around to renting a dumpster and hiring some laborers to haul all the stuff out.

Getting close to end of phase 1

Today I finished demolition work in the family room and the tiles in the entryway and began demolition in the kitchen. I'm taking my time in the kitchen as I'm saving the old cabinets to put in the garage. I figure the prospective man of the house will appreciate a place to put tools and such. I also ordered the cabinets (kitchen, baths and bar)- geesh that's a lot of bucks. I also went to Home Depot and bought the jacuzzi tub, and some OSB to replace the floor in the master bathroom. I'll be putting down new tile and getting all the old adhesive off will be too painful, so I'll just tear up the subfloor and rebuild it.

Gumment

Yesterday I was at city hall getting permits. I figured that being legal about things would be a good idea, so I got a permit for the changes I'm going to do to the wall between the nook and dining room. The very friendly clerk also had me list things like the french doors and the various bits of drywall. A permit is not required for kitchen cabinets and flooring.

I also got a permit for the minor plumbing and electrical I need to do. Since I'll be doing the work myself, I had to get a homeowner's self-renovation license. The electrical test had 30 questions, the plumbing has 20. What's interesting is that they actually give you the book of code, so it actually becomes a test of how well one can figure out the index. I suppose they just want us to know that there is such a thing as a building code and where to find the details.

The whole thing took about 3 hours and cost $134. Unfortunately, I didn't manage my time well and I got a parking ticket. Did you know you can pay parking tickets online in Denver?

Downstairs Bathroom

Yesterday I started demolishing the downstairs bathroom, and finished it today. Tore out the vanity, sink, commode, tub, floor tile, and the tile around the tub. Check out the before and after pics:

Learned that it's a good idea to remove the tub early in the process, then it can be used as a container for the mountain of debris that follows!

Collateral Damage

I do my best to be safe at the IP. I always wear steel-toe boots, safety glasses and today I purchased a respirator (I got tired of the cheapo dust masks which just directed the dust straight into my nose).

In this picture I'm properly equipped with my eye and lung protection, and I'm holding one of my favorite tools- the sawzall. A sawzall is like an electric knife, it has a big serrated blade which drives in and out very quickly. It'll cut through a wall faster than an electric knife can go through a turkey breast (my other favorite tools during the demolition phase include the sledgehammer, the crowbar and my cute little electric screwdriver).

Anyway, I've been pretty safety conscious. Well, most of the time, last week I used my circular saw over my head to trim some ceiling drywall. With the trigger guard locked out. And the blade cover locked out. I knew it was dangerous, but I made sure to be extra alert and careful.

Battle damage so far has included a scraped and bashed forearm when it wandered between the hammer and the prybar, and a bruised shin when the sledgehammer went clean through the cabinet and glanced against my leg. That cheesy little piece of wood in the way didn't do anything to slow down the blow, it splintered like a toothpick a few milliseconds before the hammer whacked me.

But both injuries have been very minor, no purple hearts here.

Sunday wrap-up

I think I'm on track. My goal last week was to accomplish the following:
> Take title to the property- DONE
> Take tools over-DONE
> Re-key the locks-DONE
> Clear out the stuff the previous owners had left-IN PROCESS
> Get bids to update the obsolete electrical panel-IN PROCESS
> Repair float valve on the swamp cooler-DELAYED
> Decide on cabinetry-DONE
> Tear out tub in master bath-DONE

The roof work didn't get done, but I can't do much about the weather. I got bids from three electicians to replace the obsolete panel, and they range from $1500 to $2500... I think they all saw a vastly different scope. I'll need to clarify that next week.

As to the stuff that was left, Kathleen and I are slowly going through it and we'll have a garage sale sometime in April or May. No big hurry, as there's a lot of stuff.

In addition to those tasks, I also tore out carpet in Master Bedroom; began removing tile from entry way and began tearing out paneling in the family room.

My goals for the week ending April 8th are:
> Get a remodel permit
> Demolish the downstairs bathroom
> Finish demolishing the family room
> Finish the roof work
> Clairfy electric panel scope
> Get the lawns areated and fertilized
> Check the sprinkler system
> Order the jacuzzi tub

I will keep y'all posted...

Master bathroom

I think I mentioned earlier that I was going to start with the master bathroom, as I want to get the whirlpool tub installed quickly so I can enjoy it at the end of every day. This is what the bathroom looked like when I started:

I started by carefully cutting the silicone-sealed seams and prying things apart. After being careful for a while, I got out the sledgehammer and started bashing. Amazing, within 30 minutes, the entire tub was out and in a pile in the bedroom.

Here's the "after" picture:

(you can click on this and all blog pictures to get an bigger version on your screen)

Next I started with the tile floor. I had to go to Depot to get a chisel, and started working on it. I soon discovered that there were two layers of tile in the bathroom. It was originally done in 1 inch square tiles, and a subsequent remodeler simply applied 5x5 inch tiles over them. So I spent hours and hours getting rid of the first layer, then more hours and hours chipping out the second layer. No problem, just made my hands tired. I really wish I was ambidextrous like my mom- have you ever tried to use your left hand to hammer? It isn't easy, you have no strength which is OK as you have no accuracy either!

Finally I removed the glass shower door. No sledgehammer there, just unscrewed the thing (thank goodness for my nifty electric screwdriver) and took it apart. It soon joined the ever-expanding pile of debris in the bedroom:

After this, I also began removing the carpet in the master bedroom. I learned my lesson a few years ago when we put Pergo in the California house and this time I wore a dust mask. No sinus infection this time!

Roof

There's a bit of work to be done on the roof: replace a few shingles, and replace the float valve in the swamp cooler. I don't like working on roofs, so I lined up a roofing company and Frank the Handyman to do it. Imagine my surprise when I woke up on Thursday to discover a Spring snowstorm:

I called both and told them I didn't want them on my roof while there's snow up there- last thing I need is someone getting hurt.

The snow also put the kabosh on checking out the sprinklers.

But it was a typical Spring-in-Denver snowstorm, by Saturday all traces of snow were gone.

In There!

Wednesday the 28th at Noon, I signed enough papers to keep Weyerhaeuser in business for a few years and the IP officially became mine. No surprises, though I did gulp a few times when I saw the monthly payment for the mortgage!

As is my practice when moving into a place, the first thing I did was get the locks changed. I had gone over in the morning and removed the deadbolt locks the front door and garage entry, and had them changed for $12 each. Getting them back into the doors was a challenge, though. Whoever originally installed the lock in the front door had not done a good job of measuring so the hole was off-center and the wrong size. After an hour of struggling (and cussing), I finally got it to work, though it doesn't meet my quality standards. But that's OK, I'll be replacing it with a lock to match the decor eventually.

The lock between the garage and the kitchen also took too long, but that's because I didn't pay attention when I took the old one off, and I had to figure out how it went back together.

There's a door leading outside from the garage. There's a bunch of junk in front of it, so instead of re-keying the lock, I just screwed the door to the frame. More than one way to skin a cat, if you know what I mean....