Day 73: March 29, 2011

Started on the kitchen electrical. Found lots of goofy wiring from years past.

Mark completed drywall in the west bedroom and removed more of the bathroom floor, which should now be ready to plumb.

Day 72: March 28, 2011

Got the three-way switch in the hallway and the outlets in the living room working, Got a good start on the dining room electrical.

Mark finished the drywall in the south bedroom.

Day 69: March 25, 2011

Because of the huge mess created by the blown-in insulation, we spent all of our time today in clean up. Although it didn't advance the remodeling of Martha at all, it felt as if we accomplished a lot. The old girl looks better now than she has since the project began.

Here are some photos:

Day 68: March 24, 2011

In the morning, Mark and I finished drywalling the ceiling of the west bedroom closet.

In the afternoon/evening, we conducted the first session of blown-in insulation. Old Martha took 19 bags of the stuff, and we figure we're only half done. The difference should be huge. I already noticed that when upstairs, outside sounds seem muffled.

Day 67: March 23, 2011

Ran out of drywall, so worked on a bunch of little things today. I got virtually all of the electrical lines run in the living room. Mark removed the bathtub and the wall behind it. (The wall was hiding a strangely-shaped space created by the dramatic slope of the dormer roof.)

Day 66: March 22, 2011

A milestone has been reached: Moved the scaffolding downstairs!

Started work on the living room electrical and may begin drywalling the ceiling tomorrow.

Am also considering doing blown-in insulation in two sessions, rather than one. This would allow us to finish drywalling the upstairs and yet leave the attic open for changes until the very end of the project.

Martha is taking on elegance as the blemishes disappear.

Day 65: March 21, 2011

Finished drywall in east bedroom closet (except for outside walls). Finished ceiling in the bedroom and got a start on one wall.

Put up drywall in the hallway.

Talked about plans for the bathroom. I told Mark to make a list of things he'd like to put in the bathroom and then we'll present the plan to Dave and Betsy.

Day 62: March 18, 2011

Got electrical in east bedroom finished. Put up drywall in that bedroom's closet. Ordered window for bottom of stairway from Menard's.

I've been delinquent in posting photos, so here's a few to catch up:

Day 61: March 17, 2011

Put drywall up in hallway down to landing. Can see the first floor from here. We're making progress.

Got three-way switch in hallway wired.

Day 60: March 16, 2011

Put up drywall in hallway. Worked on electrical in east bedroom.

Day 59: March 15, 2011

Met at Leslie Remenschneider's office in Fort Wayne and signed a sales agreement. I was surprised at how official it was. We're committed now.

Day 58: March 14, 2011

Worked on electrical in east bedroom.

Day 55: March 11, 2011

Big day. Mark's father, brother and friend stopped by to help. We got a lot done.

The south bedroom closet now has new drywall, except on the outside walls. It also has a working switch, light and outlet.

The west bedroom is also ready to mud, except the outside wall.

The bathroom is now cleaned up and ready to be renovated. Mark seems to have settled on a plan that will keep the plumbing in virtually the same place, making that part of the job easier.

The basement is now clear of debris, which makes it a lot nicer to navigate.

The biggest change, though, is in the dining room. Mark's father and brother widened the doorway in both directions. The difference is striking. It makes the flow much more natural between the two rooms. One pleasant surprise was how much light now comes into the kitchen from the south windows. The feel of the both rooms has completely changed.

Mark and Jessica now have the bank's pre-approval in hand, so we can set up a meeting to formalize our sales agreement next week.

Mark and I have discussed several trade-offs. In exchange for my finishing off the wider dining room doorway, Mark will fix the stucco on the outside foundation. In exchange for my framing in and drywalling an extension of the downstairs closet (for eventual use as a bathroom), Mark will install the walk-in door in the garage.

Day 54: March 10, 2011

I got the circuit for the west bedroom hooked up, so there is power and light in the room. Mark and I finished drywalling the bedroom (except for the outside wall). There's also now a working light and switch in the south bedroom closet.

I took down the trim around the doorway between the kitchen and dining room. In exchange for Mark taking on the responsibility of fixing the foundation stucco and the side door awning, I said I'd widen the kitchen doorway. Now is the time to do it: when Martha is a mess and the walls are receiving new skins.

Day 52: March 8, 2011

Mark and I finished drywalling the ceiling in the west bedroom. Later I got some wiring done and filled the dumpsters for Thursday pick up. (I'm working in Indianapolis tomorrow.)

Day 51: March 7, 2011

I did some electrical work and marked the ceiling for receiving drywall in the west bedroom.

Mark and I put up drywall in the south bedroom closet and the first two big pieces of the west bedroom.

In the afternoon, I got the south bedroom electrical circuit hooked up. There's now light and power upstairs!

Day 47: March 3, 2011

I just realized that if Martha's renovation is really a 90-day project, then we've passed the half-way point. Lot of work still to be done . . .

Mark and I installed drywall on the south bedroom walls. The only wall left bare was the outside wall, which will receive blown-in insulation before it's zipped up.

Because the walls are so thick with plaster, lathe and now drywall, conventional remodeling electrical boxes won't work, so I have to buy some extra-long screws. Once I do, then I can get the south bedroom circuit hooked up, and we'll have our first working electrical outlets and lights upstairs.

I insulated the south bedroom closet ceiling, so it is now ready for drywall.

I'm out of town on Friday, so that's it for posts this week.

Day 45: March 1, 2011

We found a realtor to create our official sales agreement: Leslie Remenschneider. She gave both Dave, Betsy and I and Mark and Jessica a couple of small steps to take care of, then we'll meet with her at her Fort Wayne office.

Day 44: Feb. 28, 2011

I rewired the west bedroom today.

While up in the attic, I noticed that there's a nice new fan for venting the attic on hot days. Right now, it's hooked up to a switch that is located inside the funny half-closet in the bathroom. While at Menards, I got a temperature-sensitive switch made specifically for these fans. I'll install it in the attic and set it so that the fan kicks on whenever the temperature gets above 100 degrees.

Venting the attic reduces cooling costs and makes the roof last longer.