It feels good to be starting to get drawings and to be progressing with the architect but we are both a little stressed at how long it took us to get here. I wish we had done the survey and as-built plans while we were deciding on a builder which could have saved us over a month. I thought i was clever getting the energy audit out of the way but that was just 1 of many details.
With the shingles off i started to get antsy about the chimney which when we last talked to the mason was going to come down “in May”. Taking down the top of it is the only demo job that i can’t do myself and i am a bit nervous about the lack of contract, deposit, or any communication from the masons. On Tuesday I sent a polite enquiry and got a quick response that he could arrive next Monday the 17th! I wonder what would have happened if i hadn’t emailed!
To prep for the chimney demo we emptied our closet upstairs in the library and sealed it with tape around the opening and stuffed in towels along the bottom. It wraps around 3 sides of the chimney so we anticipate dust. We also cleared access to the attic and moved a bunch of stuff in the offsprings old room that now does multiple duty as home office and general storage. After draping our bookshelves with drop sheets i crawled in to make sure that rafters had decking on them. The last thing we need is for something to go wrong and have the chimney crash through into the kitchen and living room. It is going to be a nasty job taking down the chimney in there as it gets super hot with the sun on the roof and weather improving. That was why i had originally hoped to get it done in March. After only 30 mins in there i was drenched in sweat.
Outside, to give them easier access to setup their scaffolding i rearranged ladders and took down a really sketchy scrap lumber crib i built down the side of the shed. It had a shelf of garden stakes, a shelf of pots and buckets for plants and a hodge podge collection of trim ends from various projects. It has everything from spare siding from when i did the front porch 2 years ago, a bundle of cedar shakes, some pieces of a loft bed i built the offspring 20 years ago.. you get the picture. I just have a huge issue with throwing out “useful” bits of lumber. I still haven’t thrown most of them out and they are sitting in a stack on the driveway.
I did manage to get another hike in which is likely my last for a bit as i figure it will take a couple of weekends to bust the chimney down through the attic.
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