Introduction Continued

While I was inside dropping ceilings, the old slate roof was being ripped off, the first floor bath was being ripped out and reframed and the electric was being updated.

The first day the contractor arrived, the first floor bath was gutted and it really felt like we were making change at that point.


The roofers arrived a couple weeks later and they began to remove the old slate tiles off and the old box gutters and rotten wood. The first week seemed a little slow going and suddenly stopped. After a couple days of no roofers, I made a call to the contractor. The roofing crew apparently walked off the job. A new crew was scheduled to start the next week.

Even though the old homeowner told us he rewired the house, I was more than skeptical. In fact, there was obvioulsy still knob and tube in use, so we decided to rewire everything from the pole on. The first electrician came and started the job. Early on, I noticed he had done some not-so-preferable wiring and I had to again call the contractor to find out the deal. He was planning on putting a junction box in the wall to run the old (but not knob and tube) wire from there to the new box, which was above it. Even I, an amateur, knew that it was not only dumb, and half assed, but illegal.

A new electrician was sent out. later. In the meantime, the ceilings were down and I had to move on to the 2nd floor bath, as it would be the only tub/shower in the house when we move in.

I wasn't exactly sure what I wanted to do with the bath, but I knew the ceiling was low, it was dark, and a bit cramped. I started ripping everything out, so I knew what I was dealing with. In the ceiling, there was duct work as well as a flue for the furnace and water heater. I realized that would all have to change. Beyond that, there was another roof limiting the height of the ceiling. The bathroom was apparently an addition to the home at some point and had a shed roof. The new addition was built over the top and the old roof never removed. After a little investigation, I decided it would be best removed and it would allow me to go up another 2 feet, the height of the other ceilings. I also decided to move the back wall out 2 feet to meet the exterior wall of the house and to put in a window and an alcove for a tub.

The total rip out of the bathroom, including the ceiling and wall, was about a week. That is almost every night after work and weekend. With a blank slate, I was able to layout what I thought was a perfect bathroom. We got inspiration from a Kohler ad on the finishes, which came much later. The bathroom took about 4 months to complete, with other jobs going on as well.