Demolition-A Work In Progress

This is where my valentine will be tonight!
He really does love me :)

Eight weeks of work on our little house has worn us out!

We decided to get as much remodeling done as we possibly could before moving in.

I'll be honest, it's been rather exhausting and stressful.
JP is up at the crack of dawn to work on the home for a couple of hours before work, then quickly eats dinner and heads back over to work late into the night.

But, we keep on keepin' on!

It will all be worth it in the end.

Sport spent a day doing touch up paint with dad before the appraisal.

It's not the color we want. We will work on that this summer!

This was just to get us approved for the loan.

Scraping and painting!  He's daddy's little helper...

We decided to open up the kitchen and tear everything out!

The cupboards were cracked, falling off their hinges, and worn...

That back-splash did NOT want to come off!

Sport and dad had to put all their muscle into it...

Uncle Pete was awesome to give us a hand.

He has spent many hours helping us out!

This is where Sport has been spending his Saturdays.

His buddy C. was a big help in tearing that kitchen floor out!

Such tough little workers!

They were so proud of this chunk...

JP, Seth, and Pete measuring out the kitchen for cabinets...

We moved the fridge, and Uncle Pete framed out a pantry...

The boys had a lot of fun removing that wall and opening up the family room.

It is so much brighter now!

The popcorn ceilings had to go.

That was quite the project, because there wasn't a room in the house without it!

JP came home covered in white for days.

But, the ceilings looks amazing now!

We were so happy to find sheetrock and insulation hidden behind these wood walls!

They had to go...

Doesn't the family room already look brighter?

Yes...we removed the bar. 

Check out the original retro carpet!

After stewing for days over what to do about the rock wall fireplace,

we decided it needed to come down.

We would have done it eventually, so we figured we might as well do it now while we were already in a mess! 

We plan to build a mantel and insert a wood burning stove within the next year.

We'll see! 

I've always wanted one.

The fireplace is in need of repair, so we'll have to pinch our penny's and save up for it.

It's going to be beautiful and cozy...in the near future (I hope)!

 Before:

 Some of the Young Men in our ward spent their Wednesday night hauling rock for us!
They are pretty awesome boys...

We were in a real rut when some amazing neighbors pitched in to help us frame out the family room!

I don't know what we would have done without them.

After:

Next came the insulation and sheetrock...

The children picking up trash with their masks on...

They are awesome helpers!

I couldn't find my picture of the master bath, darn it!

But before the demolition, there was a shower and cupboard.

We took out the cupboard and shower and added a bath.

It seems so much bigger now!

Thanks to JP's brothers, we also fixed the plumbing and added a new bath to the children's bathroom.

The plumbing was absolutely disgusting.

I'm so glad JP's brother's talking us into replacing it.

Thanks, guys!

Even baby T. got in on the work.

He helped mom haul lumber to and from Home Depot :)

Taking out the solid rock in the entry way was a "man's" job.

All the guys took a turn showing off their muscle by taking a whack at it!

Even Sport wanted in on the action!

He was so excited to help Uncle Pete pull up the rock and cement...

We couldn't believe how deep and solid that rock was!

It's going to be replaced with tile and wood floors...

JP and Uncle Pete worked late into the night installing can lights throughout the house.

They add so much light and height!

 

Sport helped scrape off all that wallpaper!

When we got our new windows installed, I was beside myself!! 

They just brightened up the house and made me so happy!

I could actually see out our living room windows.

Aren't they lovely?

There's still so much to be done!

But, now we are getting closer to the fun stuff.

IE: Carpet, wood, paint, cabinets, appliances, bathrooms... 

Only two weeks left to get it all done!

I'm trying not to panic. 

Thanks to all our family and friends that have given so much of their time to help us!

You've been an answer to prayers.