November 4, 2007
Moving day. It’s time to start the demo in the old kitchen. We’re packing up and temporarily moving into a friend’s townhouse until our rental is ready. Move No. 1.

November 5, 2007
Here’s a look at what the inside of the new addition is looking like. The new windows are being installed in the kitchen. This will be a sunny stretch of south-facing light. We’ll center the kitchen sink under them. The other view is toward what will be the pantry, powder room, and mudroom.

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+ click to enlarge photo

November 6, 2007
The fiber cement siding is going up. Fiber cement combines wood pulp and cement that is poured into molds to give it the look of real wood. We chose the James Hardie (www.jameshardie.com) brand, which is rot- and mold-resistant and really tough-living for our four-season climate. Tip: check out the ColorPlus Technology that bakes the color right into the siding so you’ll never have to paint it. I wasn’t ready to commit to color just yet, so we’ll have to paint our siding once the project is completed. But if you know what you want, it’s a great cost-saving feature. The old kitchen is gone. The white fuzzies in the image are dust particles that my camera captures. It’s not fun to breathe here.

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+ click to enlarge photo

November 7, 2007
We’re ready to roof the addition. Inside, the demo continues. Here’s a peek at the skeleton of our former powder room, which was part of the old kitchen. It was always a weird and unfortunate place for a bathroom.

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+ click to enlarge photo

November 14, 2007
We salvaged brick from the original façade to fill in around this small casement window on the second story. A coat of paint will unify all the materials. Kevin is pushing for a paint color because winter is knocking on our door.

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November 15, 2007
We move from the townhouse into our rental house closer to home to keep an eye on the progress. Move No. 2.

November 18, 2007
We went to Sherwin-Williams (www.sherwin-williams.com) and bought paint samples today. We got a bit of great advice in the store. Buy the least expensive interior paint in 1 quart containers when testing exterior paint. Each cost about $5. The coverage will be a lower quality than that of exterior paint, and you’ll need to paint over all of them when you’re done. But it’s a great way to look at the color without spending a lot of money. Choosing a color is perhaps the most difficult decision so far. Our top 5 contenders: Burlap, Sawdust (how appropriate!), Gray Matter, Universal Khaki, and Intellectual Gray. I love the grays, but with the color of the roof, I’m going to have to pick something a little different so the house doesn’t look like one great big gray blob. Here are the color swatches on the house.

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+ click to enlarge photo

November 21, 2007
It’s the day before Thanksgiving and it’s snowing! We’ve been really lucky with the weather this fall. Since that last bout of rain, it’s been completely dry, which has allowed the team the days they need to frame, side, roof, and install windows.  I spent three hours this morning with the electrician walking through my gutted house, imagining how I might use each room and what kind of fixtures I’d need in each space. Everything is possible when you can look through your walls. At the end of our meeting, we discover a potentially complex error. Once we measure for flooring, base cabinets, and counter, there is no wall space under the window, which means we can’t install our electrical outlets where they need to go to meet code. We make several emergency calls to the architect and keep our fingers crossed that she’s not in Tahiti for Thanksgiving. Santa sets up shop in our mall, so we make a stop. Lele asks for doll clothes. Donovan wants a soccer ball. And I ask for a new kitchen before our baby is born.

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November 22, 2007
We have no gutters, and the icicles have grown long!

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November, 24, 2007
Here’s our first good look at what our newly imagined kitchen and dining room will look like. The demo is done and the rooms are cleaned up.

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+ click to enlarge photo

November 26, 2007
We received the new back door from Pella (www.pella.com) today. Kevin called to say how gorgeous it is. We ordered from Pella’s new wood entry line and chose a walnut door with touches like beveled glass lights and wear spots that give it authentic old-house style. It’s a splurge, but will really be the star of the rear elevation. The finish I chose was Chappo, which has a grayish tone to it. I’ll need to factor the door finish into the color scheme.

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November 28, 2007
Work stoppage. The subs pull off until a plumbing question can be resolved and the question of resetting the kitchen window can be dealt with. I’m seeing the entire schedule unravel before my eyes. Lesson learned: When you remodel heading into the month of December, you need to be prepared for this. Stores close for holiday breaks and a lot of manufacturers have plant shutdowns that make getting your materials on time a real challenge. Factor into those delays that the rest of the world is shipping care packages and holiday gifts. This makes getting my deliveries even slower. We’re competing with the Christmas holiday, and nothing gets in the way of Christmas.

November 29, 2007
Bad news. We have to spend an unexpected $500 to raise the window and have it reset in order to meet the city code.