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A little more progress to report. Last Saturday Robb and I managed to get boxes and wiring in the kitchen. All the wire is there, and run back to the breaker box, although nothing is yet hooked up. We ran wire for the dishwasher, refrigerator, garbage disposal, microwave (required because our microwave is "large," i.e. above 1000 watts), small appliances (counter outlets), and the 120/220 line for the oven. The circuit for lighting will come later. Fun stuff.

Next up:

• Insulation removal


• New furring downstairs (removed the old/rotted stuff)


• Spray foaming the outside walls (4 inches for R28)


• Wiring the rest of the house.

As of last Monday (January 21), we have, installed and working, a beautiful new Buderus G115 four-section boiler unit. It's currently keeping the house about 30 to 40 degrees right now (so cold because of the lack of a front window, see below).

We've done our kitchen design, and the cabinets that aren't in stock have been ordered.

More than half of the old wiring is out, and we're almost ready to re-wire the house (and bring it up to code!).

Our front picture window is out, and the lumber around it (sill, cripple studs, headers, etc) that were damaged or rotted have been replaced. The new window (triple pane, argon filled) will go in Thursday.

Our flooring is purchased, and is sitting in the living room of the house. Glue, underlayment, and such still needs to be purchased.

So, what's left to do:

• Rewire (whole house)


• Plumbing (whole house)


• Repair rotted studs (there are a few)


• Re-do all insulation


• Sheetrock


• Painting


• Flooring


• Other miscellaneous stuff

So, progress, but still a ways to go. Please keep us in your prayers.

This past Saturday, June 2, Izzy and Beth Vonnahme helped me tear out more of the house.

The first thing Izzy and I did when we got there was move a 4.5 foot cast-iron tub out of the downstairs bathroom and up a flight of stairs. That will wear you out in a hurry. Shortly after that, Beth arrived and removed the counter, cabinets, and toilet out of the upstairs bathroom while Izzy and I finished removing the floor from the downstairs bathroom.

We then proceeded to the kitchen. Since these cabinets were built and installed on-site, there was going to be no elegant way to remove them, so we had fun with a sledgehammer. The counter itself, as well as the sink was saved, though because the Formica counter was simply set on the cabinets, not secured to it! And guess what! There was mold behind the cabinets that were on the floor! Surprised?

So, the "gutting to-do countdown" is as follows:

1. Rest of the kitchen (the buffet, closet, and cabinet over buffet)
2. Laundry room
3. Upstairs bathroom floor and walls
4. Laundry room (floor, cabinets, and probably walls)

We'll be working on the 9th, but taking the 16th off for our Anniversary (June 14).

Even in the midst of the, at times, rather discouraging process of gutting and rebuilding the house, God still supplies and provides. Last Saturday (May 26) Crystal and I "happened" upon our local Sears having a sidewalk sale. I say "happened" because we weren't planning on going there. We were at a store next door, and Sears was having a sidewalk sale, and a local church was doing a donation only hot-dog fundraiser. So, yes, the food was the draw. As we were wondering around the merchandise, after drooling over the very nice 1/2 price Kenmore Elite refrigerator, what should we discover but a brand-new five-burner gas cooktop. Did this gas cook top have a 25% discount? No, more than that. 50% maybe? No, amazingly enough, it was marked down to less than one-third of its original $990 price. $270, to be exact. Since we had to tear out the kitchen anyway (more on that in an upcoming post), we're already lined up for a kitchen remodel. And now we'll have a beautiful cooktop to go with it.

If you find any good deals on stand-alone ovens, let us know!