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Continued..
This shot shows how I pealed back part of the roof to slide in the new ceiling. I was afraid to rip it all off due to weather. You can see here that I used full 2x10 lumber. I plan to build a large master bath on the kitchen some time down the line. Man do those cheap $2 tape measures really glow in the twilight.
The walls were packed with insulation. It took ten trips to the dump to get rid of this debris pile. A full plywood floor went down before the roof trusses went up. Until we build the master bath, this attic space will be used as storage..
The roof continues to get "skinned" with half inch plywood, roofing felt, and 5V roofing. You can see how I used the tractor to hold up the power pole to the meter box..
You can see the overhang created by the 16 foot rafters spanning the entire kitchen. This made for a very solid roof and self supporting overhang. Later I added two columns for architectural reasons..
Another shot of the back door. You can see a finished wall to the right. Also some of my handy brick work. And as usual, huge piles of debris.
Tearing down the old ceiling was nasty. A lovely mixture of insect waste, blown insulation, mouse droppings and asbestos continually rained down on me. It was really interesting to see the upper ceiling coming into view.
More and more debris came down exposing all the retrofitted wiring that had been laid in the ceiling over the years. Rerouting these wires was a logistical nightmare. When you're living in the house you're renovating you just can't cut the power to half the house.
The timbers had been hanging here for a hundred years and I go and rip them out. But don't worry, I saved every one. I have a 40 foot steel shipping container that keeps all the reclaimed lumber nice and dry for use later in the project.
Removing the last beam in the main kitchen. You can really see the height gained by raising the roof. Seeing the low ceiling dark kitchen brighten up and gain a spacious feel was awesome. It was now more in line with the rest of the house and also placed the upstairs future bath at the right level.
I can really pack in the insulation! I hate heat bills and a noisy house. The insulation helps me with both. I am even insulating the interior walls. Combine this with the fact that all interior walls will be made from half inch plywood and plastered over will make for a much quieter home.
The change in the floor plan. We dropped the non-load bearing wall between the kitchen and laundry room to make a huge kitchen. This also required dismantling an old brick flu. The bricks were barely holding together and the entire stove chimney came down without tools. The good news is that these bricks will all be reused in some nonstructural capacity. My only problem now is what to do for a laundry room. That is a a battle for another day.
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