Remodel tour - weeks 3 & 4

Remodeling in the dead of Winter has its challenges. Turns out that a roof full of snow makes it pretty impossible to tear off the roof and go up with the framing for a second story. And as the house is essentially open to the outside at the level of the roof, it makes for a very cold work environment. Brrr! Not to mention the ground is frozen, making it difficult to get started on new deck columns or any other exterior work. Of course we knew this was going to be the case when we missed our November 1 start date and began in early December instead. But this is Kansas, and there are warm days in December. But not many in January...

Unfortunately, there is not much to report from the last tour. However, they did begin framing the new stairway and the landing is shown in the picture above. The stairs will create a natural entryway off the front door so you are not immediately in the center of the space upon walking in.

The only other thing that was done in the last few weeks was finishing the framing for the new windows. This is the new space for three large windows in the master bedroom, with smaller windows above and to the left.

The back door will still be in about the same position, shown here. And just to the left of the back door, you can see the location of the new sliding glass doors and a floor to ceiling window. This will all open up to a new deck on the back of the house. I have visions of sipping a cup of coffee in front of those windows, or on the deck on a summer morning. Someday...

This is the location of the new kitchen windows, above. There will be one long counter in front of the window that will include the range top. I can make dinner and wave at neighbors walking by down the street.

These two windows (straight ahead and a smaller one to the right) will be in the master bath. There will be a giant tub in front of the large window. I can feel the relaxation already...! This tub/window is in the front of the house (see the large panel to the left of the front door in the picture of the outside of the house). Neighbors beware!

When we toured the house this week, no one was there working and the dumpster was empty minus some tree trimmings that Ryan added over the weekend. Not good. We expected a holiday slow down, but the combination of holiday, snow, and cold brought everything to a stand still. I know we need to be patient, this is a long haul. But when we've just begun the process, every delay feels monumental.

Next week is supposed to be warm and I'm hoping they will make up some ground. Stay tuned!

Need to catch up? Week 1, week 2 and some 'before and during' pics here.