Theory of Chaos

My basic theory on Chaos is, that apparently I have a very hard time avoiding it. I seem to go from one chaotic undertaking to the next. The current form Chaos is taking in my household is in the form of renovation. A major undertaking has been started in the last few days - going from a 4 bedroom, 1.25 bath house to a 3 bedroom, 2.25+ bath house. Lots of noise, dust, and debris everywhere. Not to mention having to pack furniture for 4 bedrooms into 2 for a bit. The goal is to have a fully functioning clean house in 3 months. We'll have to see if we get there.

Day 0.5 (Wednesday)We found out today that our remodel was starting the next morning at 9am. This meant that we needed to deconstruct the 2 bedrooms that we are starting with, and also pull off the old acoustic ceiling tiles in the master bedroom. The deconstruction went off with no major hitches - finished in a few hours. The removal of the ceiling tiles took about 1 hour, as they were starting to fall off of the ceiling on their own prior to this project.

Day 1 (Thursday)
Today was a day of surprises. This should be expected, seeing as the house had its 100th birthday in 2008.

It began with having the dumpster delivered at 7am! The service had said that we should be expecting it before noon. We were thinking that this meant closer to noon, as these types of statements usually do. Not so. At 7am, the phone rings, and there is a man with a truck holding a giant dumpster sitting in our street. We need to get the cars out of the driveway so that the dumpster can be put in. Now we are truly awake.

The next surprise was hiding in the walls of the master bedroom. Or maybe I should say not in the walls. The bedroom has always been a bit chilly, as has the entire 2nd floor. When a hole was made in the plaster of one of the exterior walls, we found just air - no insulation!! In fact, there is no insulation in ANY of the exterior walls! This explains alot.


After poking a head and a flashlight to look down between the wall studs, we find out that our house is of rather unusual construction - a style called "Balloon Framing". This means that there is an open cavity from the roof all the way down to the foundation in the exterior walls. So, over the last 100 years, our insulation (being of the old cellulose type) has fallen and compressed itself such that it only insulates to about 1ft below the ceiling of the first floor.


Day 2 (Friday)
Today it was time to finish removal of any leftover wall parts, and also the baseboard trim. The bedroom got vacuumed, swept, and then swept again to get up all the plaster. The initial insulation was stuck in for the weekend, but we will have to get a big insulation blower to fill all the cavities down to the first floor. That will be for next week.


We also had a rather sizable hole pounded into the concrete in the basement. Our basement, such as it is, has no drain. Generally not a problem. Unless one's Small Town happens to get 2-100yr rains in under a week. This causes EVERYONE to have a flooded basement. Not a problem if you have a floor drain! BIG problem if not. This happened to us this past summer. It is an experience I do not wish to repeat.


We have had the hole put into the floor in order to put in a drain. And a shower. When doing a bathroom remodel, it is good to have a backup plan for cleanliness.

This new drain will also let me have a laundry sink. This is something you don't realize you use frequently until you cannot use it. Now I have to fill the bathtub in order to wash something quite small - like a pair of my mittens.

Tomorrow's Task: Purchase a 36"x36" shower. Complete with bottom, sides, drain, rod, curtain, and shelf for soap. And figure out how to get it home and in the basement.