It’s Demo Time!

HOUSE STATUS UPDATE

Isn’t it nuts what one weekend of hard work can accomplish?! Monday, March 15th was supposed to be our official closing day on the house. But we had asked if we could close a week earlier on March 9th since all the paperwork was lined up! Fortunately, they had agreed so that was exciting! Closing early gave us an extra weekend to get work done. And boy, did we take advantage of this extra weekend! HAHA

Our game plan going into the first demo day was to rip out the carpet in the upstairs living room, take out the wooden pillars everywhere, gut the entire kitchen, remove all the trim, and if there was time, remove the stone around the fireplace and gut the downstairs wet bar.

During that first day of demo we had the help of my in-laws which was great! The extra hands and strength were needed. We accomplished all of the MUST demo parts that day, then the next day (Sunday), just my father-in-law came to help Aaron and I. That was the day that we handled the fireplace and wet bar + the soffit in the kitchen.

Demo is fun, right? I mean most of us have watched Chip Gaines tear down some walls and gut rooms, and he always seems to be having a great time. However, what we don’t see are a lot of the small issues or tedious things that pop up during the process. Or how sore he might be the next day. Or even all the prep/planning that goes into the first demo. So let’s dive into those details now…

Starting off with prep/planning first, this is the time that leads up to the actual demo day. This is when you’re making sure you have all the correct tools to accomplish what you imagine you’ll be tackling.
Here is an example of the list we made prior to going there last weekend.

• ORDER A DUMPSTER

• PPE (Personal Protective Equipment)
  KN95 Masks

• Sledgehammers we had 8 lb + 4 lb
  (the smaller 4 lb one was very useful!)

• Regular hammers

• Screwdrivers / Drills
  (We use this Milwaukee Tool drill/impact driver set)

• Crow Bars
  (Have a few different sizes. Smaller ones for getting under small openings, medium for cabinets, etc. larger pinpoint ones for big areas like floors.)

• Saws
  (We used our hack saw)

• Tape Measures
  (This auto-lock one we have is great!)

• Tape
  (This is nice to outline your new design on the floor)

• Garbage Bags
  (You’ll want heavy-duty ones that fit a lot.)

• Shopvac

• Broom + Dustpan

• First Aid Kit

• Old Rags

• Cleaning supplies

• Ladder / Step Stool
  (This really came in handy for me since I couldn’t reach a lot of stuff.)

• MOST IMPORTANTLY SNACKS + JBL SPEAKER
  you see where my priorities are at haha
  (Side note: I LOVEEEEE my JBL Speaker and I encourage everyone to go get one! Also linked was the snack we were enjoying the most!)

Now that we have all the necessary tools listed let’s talk about those moments that aren’t always highlighted on those HGTV shows when it comes to demo. The unexpected finds and/or the tedious moments. Now, I’m not talking about those issues that are large and seem like they will change the trajectory of the episode given the client’s budget, because of course, they film those moments. That’s just great TV and builds suspense! I’m talking about the moments when someone is spending hours pulling back the trim around the floors. Or the excruciatingly long time that it takes to remove certain backsplashes or rocks from a fireplace. And especially those moments when you have to pull out all the individual staples left behind under the linoleum floor.

Before Demo

After Demo

Now, all of these examples are very specific, and that’s because these were a few of the tedious projects we had to deal with during our demo. If our demo was a TV show they most definitely would have highlighted the moment that I discovered there wasn’t any sub-flooring under the entrance landing that I tore apart. This was an absolute shock to us that when we pulled up that floor piece we could see right down into the basement below it. Talk about a booby-trap if someone tries to break into our house right now.

Nevertheless, these are all moments you experience when you take on a fixer-upper and need to demo. There’s no way to predict what will happen or what you’ll find. You have to roll with the punches and hope things go smoothly. This is also why you have an inspection prior to buying the house. Some of those problem areas can be highlighted by the inspector so you somewhat know what to expect.

Lastly, let’s touch on the soreness!! Dang, demo really makes you move muscles you’ve never moved before or rarely realize you have. Chip Gaines never seems to come off as sore. He just keeps on going each day. Is he probably sore? YES! But they won’t highlight that in the show and honestly, he probably uses those muscles so often that he wouldn’t be as sore most likely. But for “ordinary” humans who don’t demo every day, the muscles were hurting real bad haha.

Alright, enough of the “demo is fun” talk now. Let’s move onto how it feels when you have those first few demo days. It feels optimistic and invigorating to see the spaces open up and remove the old facades they held. I already had my vision for each area in the house, but once you see it empty out the vision takes a step forward and I began to really envision the new look and possibilities. Everything just felt bigger and welcomed change.

As for our continued demo, since we have the kitchen and living rooms emptied out now will be the time we start to build those backup and focus on those areas in regards to implementing their proposed designs. The bathrooms and bedrooms of the house will be demoed at a later date. As of right now, they are in good enough shape to use and we want to make sure when we do move in we have those bathrooms that work before destroying them all. The goal of this house was to make it a “live-in flip” The only reason we are not currently living in it is that we don’t have to start paying the mortgage just yet and we’d love to have the kitchen in working order with new appliances.

Stay tuned for future progress on the house and let me know if you would like to know more about the process of picking out appliances, selecting cabinet makers, paint colors, hardware, etc. If so I will make blog posts about that!

I would love to hear about any demo stories you have or if this post has given you a little urge to tackle a fixer-upper of your own (even if it’s a small household project)? Was the list of supplies and things to think about prior to tackling demo helpful? I’d also love to hear from those of you who have received the email with my kitchen design plans and what your thoughts were on my proposed design?

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