For demolition of the old master bathroom and closet to continue, I needed a friend or two to help. Mainly there were some tasks I needed to do, that at the very least, I needed someone to catch or guide something being removed. Therefore, I asked a bunch of friends if they might help me do some demolition, and I would pay them with beer, wine, and pizza. Turns out, I have a bunch of friends who were so excited about destroying parts of my house, they probably would have done it without the food and alcohol payment. So yesterday, I had a demolition party. I got confirmation of what I already knew that I have some wonderful friends who did not disappoint and put in a lot of hard work. I also learned that when my friend James has a hammer, he is really good at demolition, and it is probably best for your own safety to leave the room. I am lucky enough to have a friend, Danielle, who is a whiz with all things home repair, who along with Aaron disconnected and removed the whole house fan. They disappeared into the attic, and next thing I knew, they were was a big whole in my ceiling where the fan had been. For hours, some were demolishing, some were cleaning up the debris, and some were transporting the debris downstairs. Erin and Mark did so much demolition that according to Erin, the next day when Mark pulled out his wallet, drywall came out of it. At one point, Renee and Brandi decided that there were too many people in the destruction zone (there were) and that they should make bread using a leftover can of beer of a brand that no one liked. I had people in my kitchen making bread and later cooking the pizzas, people in my attic working on wiring and removing things, and people in my construction area destroying things. I, in general, tried to stay out of people’s way, directed them to things, removed debris, and did a little deconstruction. I have no idea if this makes a good host, bad host, or just a laissez faire host. I know I thanked you in person, but to Danielle, Aaron, Erin, Mark, James, Brandi, and Renee, thank you so much. You are wonderful friends and a wonderful help with my renovation, and I hope you had fun.
Demolition is not fully complete, but a great deal of progress was made. It is amazing how much bigger and better the space looks after removal of the interior walls, particularly the shower walls that were blocking all the light from the window. In my opinion, the space was designed really badly before. I mean really, why would you put the toilet right in front of a large front-view window and then build a wall in front of the window that blocks all the light? Some photos are below, and more photos have been added to the Phase 3 page. The shower’s glass wall and door removal did not go completely as planned. The door was removed in one piece, but the glass side panel broke during removal. However, the glass was safety glass, and this actually ended up making it easier to remove. It also was kind of good because I can keeping all the metal to sell for scrap, and this will make it easier to sell the metal frame. We generated a lot of debris. I have been able to get rid of some of it, mainly the lumber and the vanity top tile using Freecycle and thus keeping it out of the waste stream.
Tile and mortar from the old shower floor
All that is left of the shower, the pan and drain
The exhaust fan. I didn’t really need to see this.
Removing the old shower glass door and wall
What safety glass looks like after being broken.
The whole house fan after the cover has been removed
A large hole is now in my ceiling where the whole house fan used to be