Kitchen demolition

Well, we've had more snow!  And a lot of it!  Our construction crew spent the week inside, working in the kitchen.  The pictures you're about to see will show you what a big job it's been.  Although the extent of the job was bigger than we had anticipated, we are glad they learned that a couple of the walls didn't even have insulation.  They are also moving pipes accordingly and finding a section of the underfloor that had rotted.  Our "new" kitchen will be built for the ages! 

The kitchen before...



The kitchen now!



Looking toward the pantry...



The recessed area where the refrigerator, cabinets, and
wall ovens will go.

Beginning to frame the new 1/2 bath...





What is this??  When the crew took away the plaster
in the small room off the kitchen, they found this
"hidden" window...



We never knew there was a "hidden" window in
this paneling in the front foyer...

Caleb at Monday's drum recital



Some of us are unfazed by all the construction...



Kids bathroom demo

Here are a couple more pics of the demolition process going on at the farm.  These are what will be the kids' bathrooms:

This is Caleb's room (the Bulge).  He will
lose the door just to the left of the radiator, and
a new door will go in where the radiator is located. 
That will be an entry into a 1/2 bath for him.

This is (was) the bathroom between the Bulge
and the Nursery.  It will be replaced by two 1/2 baths
and one shower room that the kids will share.



This is the old bathroom (Nursery to
the right through the door).  There was
a built-in closet straight ahead which was
removed to make room for Eliza's 1/2 bath.

The new doorway leading out of the kitchen -
it's been widened (looking at temporary
wall and door which will be open to family room).



Mudroom takes shape and kitchen demolition (1/20/11)

Hello friends and family!  Our construction crew has worked through snow, sleet, and rain this week and the result is a fully-framed mudroom and a demolished kitchen!  The electrician was here replacing all the old outlets and light switches, and the plumber has been here rerouting pipes (what a maze!).  Auntie Mouse (a.k.a. Annie Bartol) was here yesterday helping us with ideas for paint colors for many of the rooms in the Big House -- she was loads of help!  Lots going on here at construction central!



One wall going up on the mudroom...



Walls up...roof on!

Kitchen BEFORE demolition...



Demolition in progress...



Ger - demoliton with a smile!

Kitchen AFTER demolition!

Another dumpster filling up!  Note the old freezer
from the small room off the kitchen -- the crew used a
sawzall to cut it up!

We had a great visit with the Eckels family --
Christopher, Caleb, and Emily on the roof of the garage!

Kristin Beebe Eckels and Eliza (holding the Eckels'
new puppy Belle) enjoying a fire (in the driveway) on
a cold night!



Eliza, Belle, and Anna

Girl cousins!  Anna, Eliza, Emily...



Snow, snow, and more snow!

It was a doozy of a snowstorm!  Caleb and Eliza had two days off from school, many pine boughs came down under heavy snow, and two days of work were lost on the house; but as of today, things are mostly back to normal.  We just have a lot of snow...and it's beautiful. 



On Wednesday, we woke up to a blizzard!
This is the door to our basement apartment.



Looking out from the brick arches to Field House
(Scout in the foreground)...



A snow day for everyone (except Scott)!



Looking down the lane (Scout in foreground)...



Family room under snow...



Mother Nature's pruning job...ouch!



Thursday: after Carl and Chris dug us out!

Friday: supplies for the mudroom floor...



Mike measuring and cutting up insulation...Ger fitting it into
the new floor on top of the concrete slab.



Corner of the new mudroom floor...covered with a tarp
for the weekend.



The finished dormer on the new family room.





The dormer from the inside...



Caleb's update 1/12/11

Hello everyone sorry it's been so long since I have done an update but now I’m getting back into it. It’s a snow day for all the schools in Milton and Boston. This update is not going to be about the construction project but it's going to be about the wildlife that we feed right outside the kitchen window. Here are some pictures I took of the birds.

 a hungry black capped chickadee visits the feeder.

 two juncos scouting out from below.

 a blue jay having his turn.

a cardinal waiting patiently. 

a black capped chickadee waiting for his turn.

 a cooper's hawk pays a visit for a snack that's real "bird" food

but birds aren't the only wildlife that roam close by.

this black mangy mutt sticks close to the house.