After spending our first night in the living room, the day started bright and early with the arrival of the lumber - which was probably the highlight of the day for the kids. Auntie Heidi arrived somewhat later than planned (ah, the life of a single gal - sleeping in!) and the kids were ushered out the door for the day just as we were finishing up the sealing of the living area from the work areas of the house. Then the real work began.
First thing we discovered is that moving the drywall etc. upstairs is probably not the best use of my limited strength so we moved into full-on destruction mode. In relatively short order our front lawn was littered with cracked and stained porcelain parts and a bright blue tarp ready to receive ceiling, wall and floor rubble. Destroying the tub surround was satisfying in the extreme. But who wallpapers the INSIDE of a tub surround with flowered paper and news paper? Someone living in 1959 apparently. We actually moved the tub out of the bathroom - just the two of us! But we had to remove the doorframe COMPLETELY to do so.
The next phase of destruction involved the controversial but completely justified RECIPROCATING SAW!! Steve went to work on the ceiling while I tried to salvage the door frame moldings by removing nails. The trouble with removing our ceiling is the damn messy stuff used to insulate it. That and the still functioning knob and tube wiring. The rest of the day was a slow scoop and cut and smash and scoop and cut and smash - with a couple of breaker switch flips thrown in for good measure. And REALLY LOUD music (when there was power). At some point during the day the beer supply for the reno arrived so it was all good.
Auntie Heidi had just turned our thoroughly exhausted kids back over to me at the end of the day (Undersea gardens, Whitespot, Finding Nemo) and I had began the tidying up of our hastily contrived living area (living room, dining room, kitchen, bathroom) when Steve called out that he needed SALINE and NOW! A quick muscle relaxing beer later we were all in the car and off to the clinic where they froze Steve's eye, dyed it orangy-yellow and fished out a bit of renovation-something-or-other. As we sat around the table consuming greasy KFC we agreed that it was better to work smart and safe than cut inconvenient corners - goggles from now on!
The day ended with showers at Heidi's - we owe that girl a spa day or something!! - and the kids falling asleep in the car on the way home. Tomorrow, one way or another, that damn tub has to make it down the stairs and out to Langford... It has begun!!
