Rowhouse Reno: The Demolition

The last two weeks of the reno have really amped up. All of the permits are finally in place and we are ready to tackle the biggest part of the reno, phase #2: completely rebuilding the back of the house! (If you missed phase #1, click here.)

The back of the house is well underway. The demo crew had to order in a special air drill to get through all the layers of concrete. Underneath that second floor balcony was another tar and shingle roof with nine layers of shingles! It badly needed a roof replacement and install the proper roof ventilation to avoid unseen moisture or mold! It was a good thing we found an expert residential and commercial roofing contractor who can provide roofing services immediately.

The kitchen has been stripped away and that back wall has been opened up. There’s so much more light filtering through now — especially when we put in the 9′ by 9′ windows and french doors.

The blue bathroom is gone! We’ve also taken the left wall down to make the space larger, and expanded the window.

Well, it’s quite overwhelming to say the least. A lot of decisions and planning took place before we even discussed demo. My husband and I certainly aren’t interior designers or architects, but because we’re both graphic designers, we decided to tackle this the way we would a print design job. Before we started the process, we came up with a creative brief and a visual mood board of inspiration. We also hired some expert help for the difficult stuff like the bathrooms and kitchen. Well worth it!

In my next blog post on July 17th, I’ll share our design plan of attack so you can see where all this rubble is headed.

For another inspiring reno, read Catherine Sweeney’s blog posts.

Photo credits:
1-7. Mandy Milks