DEMO DAY

I got the attention of the men out there, didn't I?!

This day was certainly fun. It actually took 1.5 days, but who's counting?

Items that were removed:

1. All baseboards from upstairs, so the electrician has easier access. (Note: All outlets in the house are currently located ON the baseboards. Some are vertical, some horizontal, some slatnted, some higher/lower than others...super shotty job. The electrician will be moving them - with updated electrical - onto the walls. Because I'm "classy" like that. ;)
2. All 3/4" baseboard "trim" downstairs, so the hardwood floor refinishers can have access clear to the baseboards. That and the trim was downright ugly and needed to just go away and die a quick death.
3. All closet units. They were mostly made of cheap particle board, and someone had a sale on cherry wallpaper because that shit is EVERYWHERE. I would rather have no shelves to store my crap than cheap/ugly shelves. But that's just me.
4. That ugly-as-all-hell "wall" or whatever you want to call it that stood at the entry and qualified a makeshift foyer. You walk through the front door and ta da! I think the previous owners built this atrocious structure so they could mount their giant TV and X Box system. Only in 'Merica!
5. Crap from windows, like old blind/curtain attachments and random nails. A sign of major laziness in the past.

Baseboards
Stew took the lead on #1 and #2, of course. He loves to pull shit apart. What made this scary however is that upstairs, the nails used to secure the baseboards were pulling out big chunks of plaster in areas. Yikes! My mom and I will do the repair ourselves in a week or two. She's good at it and will teach me her ways. The 3/4" trim downstairs came off in about 30 minutes, if that. Stew's that good. I also got my first lesson in the "sawzall". (P.S. Please don't call OSHA on the second photo...)

Closet units
You've all heard the saying, "a picture is worth a thousand words".

Enough said? The closets are now empty, all clean slates. Oh what a feeling...and notice the removed baseboards behind the sledge hammer. That was a clean removal. It happens on occasion.

That "wall" thing or whatever...
Currently, the front door is glass. Not rain glass, but clear glass that anyone can just see through. So, if you consider that, perhaps there was a minor use for this "wall". But in general, it was an ugly piece of crap that cut the living room in two and did not gel with the style of home at all. Unanimously, anyone who had seen this "wall" in all its glory took one look at it, made a questionable face, and said, "I think that has to go". A gigantic (50"?) TV was still attached to it. I made a deal with Stew: You remove the "wall" and you get the TV for your man cave. That wall was out within three days. He even pulled in his brother, Zack, from Oregon to help.

Here are the before pics. Notice said front door. Super secure, eh? Of course, I never mentioned all the NRA stickers I had to remove from the windows before I even went to Peru (yes, that is called a "priority"). Perhaps it was assumed they work better than ADT signs? And see that open space below the TV? Another WTF?! Seriously, my cuss quota is so through the roof right now.

Here is what you saw when you walked into the house with the "wall" in place. Seriously? This is such a bad feng shui infraction I don't even know where to start. Chi tries to get into this house and it's like "Ouch!!! WTH?! I just hit my head against this retarded wall thing...screw this house, I'm gonna leave!" Yeah, no chi flow in this house. Shame on you, previous owners!!!

And then Stew happened...

Hear the angels singing?

New view when you enter the house. The room felt like it doubled in size. But now this means I need a new front door. No worries, I have one picked out already...and it's BLACK! ;)

Window crap
The prior owners proceeded to added curtains, blinds, you name it, to every window in the house without removing prior hardware. Every time my mom walked in the house, she said "OMG that has to be removed. I'll remove it next time I come over." I did her a favor and took care of it all. Here is an example of before/after. Just small stuff, but what a pain.

Tools of the day, as follows (there were actually three tools that rocked my world; the wrench is missing, which helped immensely with the stripped screws). Note, this is my grandpa's drill. I inherited it when he passed. He used it for his plumbing and holy shit (no pun intended), this thing kicks serious butt. Cordless drills be damned! Stew said a couple days ago, "You shouldn't be using this drill. It has too much power". Music to my ears.