Basement Fireplace Demo

*sigh*

I'm not happy about writing this post.  At this very moment, K's sub-contractor is in our basement destroying the fireplace.  :-(   It's loud and I'm sad.

Here's the thing with the fireplace....  In my opinion, it was cool-looking!  It was original, 1950s pale long brick...  I liked it.  The people who built this house built that fireplace.

But the negatives...
-  It's HUGE.  It juts out into the room way more than is comfortable, especially once you include the thick tiled hearth.
-  It has never worked since we lived here.  It probably hasn't worked as a wood-burning fireplace in 30 or 40 years.   
-  Water has been leaking into it for all that time...  Water gets in through that little chimney stub out front when it rains.  We can hear it pouring into the chimney and fireplace.  K is certain that the whole thing is full of mold.
-  It would cost thousands of dollars to get it back into working condition.  And then what?  Neither of us actually wants a wood-burning fireplace in the basement.  If it was upstairs, maybe.  But that's not how this house is structured.

So, away it goes.... K is reclaiming the space.  And I'm pouting.  Can't help it.  :-(

This is what the fireplace looks like/ looked like when we bought the house.  We took down that smokey mirror right away.  There was an electric insert inside that looks like logs that glow when you click the switch.  No heat, just a little glow.  That stayed in there, probably until just yesterday!

And here's a picture from 4 or 5 years ago.  K mounted the TV over the fireplace mantel.  About 3 years ago she got a larger TV and put it on the wall opposite of the windows.  So then the mantel became a display shelf for lots and lots of Packer memorabilia.


So down it goes.  The space will be better used with it gone, I do know that.  It will create an entire usable wall, make for a better furniture layout, we won't have to worry anymore about the kiddo tripping on it and cracking his head, etc...

They are also pulling down the ceiling tiles.  Most of them are in good shape, but some were not and some were missing, so it made the whole ceiling look kind of junky.  K is not sure what she wants to do with the exposed ceiling, yet, if anything.  Possibly she'll spray the whole thing white, but we'll see.

Fixer-Upper Blues

Saturday cleaning, like many weekends.  And today I'm just...  over it.

Over trying to clean a fridge and walls with 10 years of caked-on yuckiness.  Seriously, the front of the fridge has a layer of something resembling rubber cement.  Very weird and won't come off!

Every room that we clean still looks dirty.  Because the floor is stained... because the walls aren't painted one solid color.  Because the ceilings are unfinished in various ways.

I'm over looking around the living room, and seeing it's in the same state as it was last December.  Only slightly more cluttered.

I need some more movement on this place.  This static mid-renovation state that we're in is not my favorite.  Even when we start and finish a little project, that still feels good.  But next up is a big project, and when it's done it will help us accomplish every other project.

Our summer was taken over by trees.  First the elm in May and then the other elm in August.  Those are finally complete.  The garage project has been pushed out and postponed, but now it's next in line.

Just wanted to vent.  I'm excited about everything this house will be, but sometimes my patience runs short.