What Delays to Expect When Remodeling

Walls being torn out, beams being put up, electrical being moved, stairs being put in, 32,000 pounds of gravel being dumped in my backyard, and even a stolen 7 foot tree from my front yard. I've been remodeling the duplex I bought in Roy for about seven months now... seven months without a kitchen. I'm a professional fast food eater. Here is the process you have to look forward to when you do this type of project for yourself. I started by removing a baring wall upstairs, opening up the kitchen to the living room with the help of my friend and handyman, Ernest. The kitchen was an awkward little space with practically no room to seat anyone. I also removed an awkward pantry in the middle of everything. We decided when we were removing the pantry, it must have been the original entrance to the basement home built in the 40's, partially because we were pulling up shingles as we went. I put a 20 foot long 6X14 inch rough-cut beam up across the ceiling to support it. The first attempt consisted of a beam that was 20 foot long 6X6 inch rough-cut. But when we took the rest of the supporting wall out, we heard a snap, and quickly realized that the center of the beam was bowing by about 1 inch in the middle. Needless to say, I had nightmares about my roof collapsing that night, until we were able to fix the problem. I also didn't let anyone up in my loft above the beam for obvious reasons. Ernest was kind enough to quickly help me rectify the situation, even though he probably shouldn't have been lifting anything due to a recent surgery he had had. But luckily he did not injure himself. He is a good man. After rebuilding a fake supporting wall, and with much effort lifting and maneuvering and pounding that huge thing in place, we got the new beam in position. The beam also required us to go into the basement, tear out drywall, and support the vertical beams (that are supporting the large horizontal beam) all the way down to the concrete in order to keep things from falling through the floor. One other element of labor consisted of all the electrical that had to be removed and worked around as we put the beam in. We played a fun game of guessing which way the electric wires were running, and what they were powering. We cut into everything from lights, to electrical sockets, to even the power for the furnace. Lots of fun, and lots of work. The beam is only the beginning. I’ll tell you more tomorrow.