Where's Westy?...

After working non-stop for 15 weeks, Dave finally had this past week off for vacation. Instead of hopping into the Westy and heading for the mountains or the beach, we decided it was high time we gutted the living room and insulated it - in hopes of being slightly more comfortable during the winter months here.

Hey, guys, I'm lonely...

If it's true that a picture is worth a thousand words, enjoy the photo essay and I won't bore you with excessive words...

Doesn't everyone carpet their dumpster?

Chicken wire nailed to drywall, covered with 1/2 - 3/4" thick layer of plaster. 

It's like tearing down a concrete wall.

'nuff said.

The decision was made early on that we were NOT taking the ceiling down!

I'm not sure but I think he may have been cursing the wall at this point.

Deb tearing apart the stairway leading to the 2nd floor.
 Fortunately these walls were plain old drywall, no plaster.

My first thought, "Did someone bury a sheep in the ceiling?"

There wasn't a speck of insulation in any of the walls; however, I did find this lovely wool-like substance packed into the ceiling in the stairway. It was jammed up against the roof with no vapor barrier of any kind. 

Consequently, it was like ripping down a pinata from hell.

Dave discovered an old fireplace chimney linked to the furnace chimney. There were bricks stuffed into the opening, no mortar, no firewall. 

It takes a crowbar...

HARD work.

Dumpster Dog

"Oh my aching body."

"Before" view of archway looking from living room into dining room.

"After" view, living room to dining room, no more arch.

How much metal does it take to construct an archway?

One 12x14 room, 3 days

~ 4 walls that contained 2 standard-size windows, 1 picture window, and 3 doorways, 

plus the walls & ceiling from the stairway ~

nearly filled a dumpster.

Vacation is over, Westy is still in the garage, and we have lots and lots of work to do.
See ya 'round.