BIG BEAR COTTAGE RENOVATION – PART 2 – DEMOLITION TIME!
Do you remember this lovely living room?……
And this lovely entry?……
And this lovely kitchen?……
Well, we took a wrecking ball to it……
And a sledge hammer……
And a broom……
And a blower, and a rake, and a saw……
And we found really nasty stuff inside the walls because, after all, this charming, vintage cottage was built back in 1947, before I was even a twinkle in my mother’s eye.
We also discovered that the only insulation in this winter resort cottage was in the attic, where it had been laid on top of random pieces of junk wood. Naturally, we decided that it all had to go! “Ya think?”
So, nimble workers who had far more courage than I, braved the dead mice, and the cobwebs, and the 66 year old dust, and got it all outta there!
We removed the god-awful ceiling fan from the bedroom……
And relegated it to the front porch with a sign that read, “Free to a good home.” Apparently, the previous owners were quite cold in the winters sans insulation, but they enjoyed a cool breeze on hot summer nights from their lovely ceiling fan. Priorities after all! Well, we decided that the installation of new insulation would be a preferable solution when battling the effects of mother nature.
The plastic shower was the next thing to bite the dust……
Along with the toilet that went the way of the city dump.
The pedestal sink found a new home far, far away……
As did the old windows with their broken screens.
And the wall-to-wall carpet was sent packing……
We knew that the back room had been a fairly recent addition. We learned that it had been permitted by the City and that the walls were even insulated. What a concept! However, when the moulding around the door was removed, low and behold, I discovered some ancient buried treasure! When constructing the room addition, what had once been an exterior wall was covered with drywall. I guess there are those who would consider drywall an improvement over rich wood siding, but I would not include myself among those so inclined to commit such a folly. And, beneath that drywall also lay the discovery that in a previous life, the cottage had not been the hideous, bright yellow that it was on that day, but rather, once lived a life as a very pleasing teal blue.
Further demolition revealed that this pretty wood siding extended the length of the room, so I decided to rip off the drywall, in favor of exposing this vintage find. Demolition can prove to be quite rewarding at times, and it’s a great way to bring out your inner Jackie Chan too! It’s really quite cathartic! You should try it sometime;)
So, after taking out all my aggressions on that wall, I made my way home, looking forward to the next chapter in the cottage transformation.
Stay tuned for more fun and games as the saga continues………………..
IT GETS BETTER, HONEST IT DOES! And all right, if curiosity has gotten the better of you and you just can’t wait to see, go ahead and visit the completed cottage here.
I’ll even let you spend the night!
Do you have a renovation, demolition tale to tell too? Lets talk, shall we?!
All opinions expressed in this post are my own. All photos are the original property of Celia Becker @ www.AfterOrangeCounty.com and may not be reproduced without specific permission.
