Remodel: Day One

We survived the first day of construction! I had been apprehensive, not knowing what to expect because the schedule was vague: prep and demolition. Larry, our contractor, and two other guys arrived punctually at 8 a.m. and promptly taped heavy brown paper on the stairs and over various pathways through the house. And, then they cranked KQ92, the classic rock station, and started ripping up the bathroom.

First the toilet and sink were removed. 

The CMU (right) was once the house's exterior wall

The tub was cut in half to ease removal and to get it through doors. One half went out to the dumpster today; the other half will go tomorrow. Manageable chunks of vinyl flooring and wallpaper-covered drywall left the house in utility buckets. A few weeks ago, my friend Rose said, "It will be interesting to see what you find once you get into the walls." And, indeed, among the wall detritus were many safety razor blades. At some earlier point in the bathroom's history, there would have been a slot in the wall where razor blades could be deposited. A little internet research showed pictures of slots built into medicine cabinets and even tiles. 

The wall above the sink was framed for a medicine cabinet once upon a time ago.

When Simon and Winston arrived home from school, they were assaulted by a chemically, burned smell. So, we asked, "what is that smell?" and were told that it was a combination of the tub's plastic coating and the demolition saw's coating.

The animals fared well. August was contained in the den all day and only occasionally curious about the bumping and thumping and clanging. Nancy appeared in the den at some point during the day and proceeded to use a cardboard box as a litterbox. She was certain about not wanting to leave the den. Trixie was missing all day. I had dark fantasies of her being sealed in an open space so that the next person who renovated would find a cat skeleton in the wall where we'd found razor blades. She finally appeared just before 9 p.m. Phew.