Week 3 - The space where the fireplace was...

February 21 - 24, 2023

And the base of the fireplace comes down!! It was a very solid fireplace I have to say! The fireplace needed to be removed so that there could be a new doorway into the suite that wasn’t in the middle of the room, but also, it would have been removed in the second phase regardless as it was sitting in the middle of where the new kitchen will go.

The door on the far side is where the fitness room is!

The fireplace took up a space of about 4 feet by 6 feet and the base for it was solid concrete! There is now a hole in the floor in the middle of the room, and I can’t believe the difference in how the room feels. It gives a sense of the space where the new open concept kitchen/living room will be in Phase 2.

Framing

Now the rest of the framing for the bathroom can go in...

And the framing for the kitchen/bar area has also been framed in, so it really defines the space that will divide the living area from the sleeping area.

The chimney on the outside of the house is being taken down as it is no longer needed. In addition to not being needed, there had previously been a chimney fire in it, and every once in a while, on a humid or wet day, the house smelled a little bit smoky. So hopefully by removing it, this won’t be the case anymore! I am also pretty sure that along the sides of the fireplace where the brick met the siding was one of the mouse ‘highways’ that the mice used!

In looking at the ceiling of the basement, it is visible where the original house/cottage ended, and how the wrap around porch was incorporated into the house. There are 3 posts that support the original house in the suite part of the basement, and steel beams supporting this structure. However, the beams don’t actually connect to the outside wall of the house! So, there is structural work that needs to be done to be able to make sure this is going to be safe and secure long term. There are also a lot of existing beams that have been cut into, or that are cracking and need to be replaced to be able to support the house. This framing of the ceiling structure began this week.

And a floor was built where the fireplace was.

It's amazing to see how much more open the main floor seems (even looking through plastic!!). The larger post on the left in the picture will remain until Phase 2 when the roof is reconstructed for the cathedral ceiling.