April 22, 2010 · filed under: Projects by Geoff

Well, its been a crazy spring, and being far behind on pictures has been the name of the game.  Here’s a quick update on the fireplace.  Although it has taken a back seat to the gorgeous weather and springtime fun with Grace, we’re still whittling away at it on those rainy evenings.

Subscribe No Comments »

April 20, 2010 · filed under: Projects by Geoff

It’d been 30 years without a touch. Let me just say it needed to be updated pretty darned bad. You can use some of these original pictures as a guide to help you determine whether or not the overhaul was warranted:

So, Greg decided to plan everything out, and Jill and I joined him for a fun-filled 5 days of overhaul.  Let me say it wasn’t the funnest 5 days I’ve ever had, but in the end the result was worth the work.  So here we go, the demo:

With the demo completed, it was now time to start putting everything back together.  Considering demo only took 4 hours, we were on a good schedule.  Unfortunately, the vast majority of the work encompassed putting things back together…. 

First, the plumbing, electrical, framing, drywall and painting.

Next comes the tile:

And then the finishing touches with the floor tile, toilet and sink base cabinets.

And the final product, apples and oranges compared to the original:

Subscribe No Comments »

March 9, 2010 · filed under: Grace Evelyn, Projects by Jill

The last several weekends, Dad has been busy with construction work–or more accurately, “destruction” work. It started with a trip to Minneapolis to help Jess and Bryan with their basement project. A lot of concrete work later, Dad returned home for a few brief days before going to Creston to help Matt and Jeni with their kitchen remodel. After 3 long days there, it was home again with renewed energy for his own project.

Uncle Greg arrived last weekend for another long weekend of work. This time the task was beginning our project to add a fireplace to the basement. Although the chimney cavity was built for two fireplaces, the house currently has just one and an extra set of old chimney pipe. After a tremendous first day of work, the existing chimney pipe was all removed and 3/4 of the new pipe installed. Then came more destruction as holes were cut in the drywall ceiling to run venting pipe. With holes already in the ceiling, the next step was to remove the florescent lighting and put in recessed lighting instead. By Sunday, a grand total of four holes in the ceiling and a giant, open, chimney cavity were waiting for the next work weekend to be patched.

More pics in the gallery.

Now, what does a 10-month-old do during all of this? She plays with her cousin and friends, accepts her first flower from a boy, distracts Uncle Greg from working, goes to visit Grandpa Paul and Grandma Darla, and does her best to get into everything carelessly left out during the projects!

Subscribe No Comments »