Week 2

The second week with actual real carpenters at the house has gone by. And of all the weeks that have passed since we bought the house, this has been the busiest, by far. Everything kinda all needs to be done at once.

The guys are trying really hard to get at the new basement section so that the concrete can be poured. However, they had to remove a section of the old stone basement wall to open it all up. Plus we could see it wasn't very sturdy in that section. So they've been really busy trying to remove the very large stones. And then supporting that section of the house with new beams and a wood wall. It's been a lot of work for them and the guys have been at the house late every night.

This is looking down into the new basement from the kitchen door.

In addition to working on the basement, they also have to remove the siding and outer walls of the house, one at a time, for the carpenters to build up again the next day. So the front (south) wall is done, as well as the west wall and part of the east wall.

The carpenters told us today that the little stained-glass porch on the east wall is pretty rotten.

So now we've got to tear that down too so that they can build it up again properly. The whole house is more rotten than we hoped. But like I mentioned before, we expected the unexpected in this old house. I'm thankful that we had already planned to more or less gut it inside and strip it outside. Easy to find and replace everything that needs replaced. Essentially, we're going to end up with a new house.

And....drum roll please........the windows arrived!!!!! Yes!! And they're just as nice as I had imagined them.

This weekend will be very busy as well. We've got to clean up inside so that the carpenters have room to work. They're not coming back until later next week, after the siding finally arrives. We've got to tear down the stained glass porch and the upper part of the east wall. And get moving on the basement.

Because after next week, Sindre isn't going to be here. I haven't mentioned it yet, but Sindre got a new job in August. He had to give 3 months notice at his current job and next week is his last week. It's going to be strange. He's been working there for a lot of years and it's only up the street. His new job will be 30 minutes away. AND he will be travelling offshore for his new job as well. Which means I'm going to have to get used to doing the "single mom" thing for 2-3-4 weeks at a time. And it all starts with a 10 day course far from home. So I guess I'll get a practice run before he starts going offshore. I'm a little nervous. And I'm going to miss him desperately. But it was the absolute right decision for us now. And Sindre is really excited about this job as well. Change is hard, but also very healthy. We figured since we've turned our lives upside down this year, we might as well go all the way. ALL THE WAY!!  We've been soooo blessed and we're very thankful.

And a little shout out today. Hurrah for Roy, Markus, Tore and Karsten for their very much appreciated help! And also to the always positive and very helpful Elin for watching the girls and making meals while I'm at work so Sindre can be at the house. We couldn't do it without you all! <3