Day 3 -- Dec. 31, 2008

There was no activity today. The crew must have had the day off for New Years Eve. Chris and I tried to go to a couple of fireplace stores, but both were closed. And the stone place in Des Plaines was closed too. I guess we will have to table these things until Friday.

Day 2 of our remodel project -- Dec. 30th

Well, the equipment did not sit for a week like I wondered yesterday. They tore down the sunroom today and hauled all of the remains away. They also tore up out the old concrete patio without too much damage to the surrounding-- just a little to the electrical box and also the window well cover which Chris was able to repair. At one point they lifted up a concrete piece of the patio that was at least 10' in diameter in the air about 9 feet and dropped it back down, trying to break it up into smaller pieces. Now that really shook the house! And then they did it again, and again and finally it broke. Toby was quite nervous while this was going on!

The crew put plywood over our patio doors in the family room and the big window in the kitchen to protect them from the demolition which was a good thing. But there was about 12 inches open at the top of the kitchen window so Sarah was standing on a chair watching them work. I am sure they loved that we were all home today and watching their every move!

I spent the afternoon pondering over siding and trim colors as they finally dropped the samples off. I think I am pretty sure what I am going to do. I now just need to coordinate this with the stonework which I hope to go visit the stone place tomorrow. If I can get this done this week, it will be a huge, huge weight off my shoulders!

Tomorrow I think they will demo the slab that the sunroom sat on. The slab is at least 8 inches thick or more from what I can see. I wonder how they are going to break that apart? Hopefully not by lifting it up and dropping it like they did the patio!

Below are some pictures of the events for today. From the inside, it sure looks different without the sunroom on. The backyard looks huge now!

Day 1

Monday, Dec. 29, 2008

I think we are finally here! They have dropped off a skidsteer and a small backhoe in the backyard. And I believe the plan is that they will start tearing down the old sunroom tomorrow. Hopefully the equipment doesn't just sit there for a week or two.... I am so glad to finally get this project started!

Below are some "before" pictures.