So Close...

We are so close to being DONE with demolition.

There was talk in our ward last week of organizing a big work party 

to help us take out the basement floor. 

After pow-wowing with Bill, our next door neighbor and proprietor of Classic Remodeling, 

we changed our minds about completely removing it. 

Our reasons for taking out the entire basement slab were: 

* digging 2 inches deeper for a bit more ceiling height in the basement

* insulating beneath the new slab

* installing radiant floor heating

* replacing the almost 60 year old cast iron drain (sewer) pipes

Seems it would cost an unnecessary small fortune.

So, we have a new approach for ductless heating, but I won't go into that now.

We're now planning to hire a concrete cutter to take out the parts of the slab
where we need to replace the old cast iron, but the rest of the floor will stay put. 

Despite this change in plans, we still had a big task to tackle: the old basement fireplace.

 The thought of breaking it out and removing all the debris
by ourselves was nothing short of daunting.
Sure, we could have and would have done it, but what a blessing it was
when several of our ward brethren showed up early yesterday morning to help.
Brother Fawson showed up with his backhoe which was an additional blessing.
Before lowering the bucket of his backhoe down into the basement,
he yanked the old window frame out of it's opening.

 

The men filled the bucket, Brother Fawson lifted it up and out and, easy as pie,
emptied it into our masonry dumpster that's parked right next to that basement window.

It took only about an hour and a half to get it completely cleared out and cleaned up.
WOW!
 Previous to and preparing for the removal of that old fireplace, Dean had removed a few of
the floor joists to make it easier to toss the debris out. We didn't end up tossing it out
because we had the backhoe, but it was convenient access for the backhoe bucket.
After the fireplace removal was complete and all the brethren left,
 we moved on to removing more joists.
Before long, we had most of the bearing wall free of joists and Dean took that portion down.

We didn't get everything done that we'd planned to, but we never do.
We had several people stop by to visit and some are just curious about what's going on.
Those visits are welcome and nice because those are about the only breaks we take.

And what's the deal with that old saying,
"Dog tired"?
Cuz I'll tell you what...
this girl doesn't do much of nothin' 'cept follow us around or nap in the shade.
 Every once in a while she will come and check on us, though.
I guess to make sure we're still workin' hard and gettin' ourselves all
"dog tired".