Just because we haven't written doesn't mean that things aren't getting done over there on
Gunnison. Perry has really been busy. First he started in the kitchen area and put in the new header. After having the walls gutted he discovered so much damage and rot on the East exterior wall that we have decided to open up and completely rebuild that wall. The seal on the bottom is bad and much of the frame work. We have called in someone to pull in and straighten the basement wall on the East side. While looking over the situation it was discovered that the chimney that Chelsea and Josh had hoped to save would have to be removed as it sits on the seal that needs to be replaced.
One thing has led to another, if the chimney is removed than there will be some changes in the bathroom on the second floor so Chelsea got right on line to find a potential buyer for the Tennessee Red Marble sink in that bathroom. As much as they would like to keep the sink, the idea of being able to maintain it in a growing family home is a bit scary. The value of the sink could go a long way in upgrading the bathroom. So taking it off the wall without damaging it will have to be a VERY careful job.
A new furnace and central air has been installed. We were lucky to find someone who wanted all of the old radiators and piping. We let them have them for taking them out. The duct work took some creativity. Not wanting to lose the spaciousness of the attic we had to find ways to get to all of the second floor rooms without running duct work all over the attic. The result was two runs going up through the first floor, one in the living room and one in the future common room. Perry has been busy building around those runs and he, Josh, and Chelsea have been designing a way to make the structure built around the run in the livingroom a unit that will hold DVDs and video and sound components for the TV.
Perry as also been working on straightening out many of the settling problems that have developed over the years. In the future dining room the floor there was a raised area in the middle of the room that ran the length of that room. We have discovered that this house was once a smaller one story house that was built into the now 2 story home. The builders expanded the basement to fit the bigger home so we have older stone walls in the basement that were the foundation of the smaller house. These walls are giving us some problems as in the dining room where the floor is raised where it rest over the old stone wall of the old foundation. We were all scratching our heads trying to figure out how to lower that wall when Perry came up with the solution: He took up the floor boards that were resting on the support beams over the stone wall then routered about three quarters of an inch off of those beams. He is close to having that floor level now!
Also the the door opening between the living room and common room has been narrowed and raised to match the opening from the front hall to the living room. During the construction of the opening it was discovered that there was no header built above the old opening so Perry built and installed a header. The installation of this header and bringing it to level took care of the settling that had occurred on the second floor.
After taking care of the dining room floor it was discovered that the single door there had once been a double width entry into the common room. Chelsea, Becky and Perry tackled that and in no time had the old opening exposed. The difference is amazing in the flow of the house now having these 3 double width doorways. It just looks right.
We are now trying to figure out out to bring the bay window area up on the exterior wall. It is settled down about one inch. This bay window area is built over an enclosed crawl space that cannot be accessed from the basement. So last night Perry and Becky decided to remove some of the exterior boards to try and expose the frame work of the bay window. In doing so Becky pulled lose one end a board directly below the windows at face level, and Perry had pulled up the other not realizing that Becky had loosened the other end he pried hard on it and it popped out and struck Becky in the mouth. Her lower lip now looks like she has been sucking on a grape pop sickle. Perry felt very bad.
Looks like this weekend we are going to get serious about the livingroom walls. The kitchen will have to wait until the foundation people show up.
Gunnison. Perry has really been busy. First he started in the kitchen area and put in the new header. After having the walls gutted he discovered so much damage and rot on the East exterior wall that we have decided to open up and completely rebuild that wall. The seal on the bottom is bad and much of the frame work. We have called in someone to pull in and straighten the basement wall on the East side. While looking over the situation it was discovered that the chimney that Chelsea and Josh had hoped to save would have to be removed as it sits on the seal that needs to be replaced.
