First day - Demo!

Last May, we decided to move from Channelview Rd. and find a new home away from an aggressive neighbour and closer to Andrew's work, where we could handle the yardwork as Hugh and Neil moved into lives of their own. It's the beginning of a whole new chapter in our lives, the Bicknell Crescent chapter. Adjacent to Andrew's job, the house sits on a large suburban lot and offers plenty of space for indoor and outdoor entertaining, family time and R&R. We're looking forward to more convenience, a respite from neighbourhood conflict, and room enough for a family stage that ebbs and flows with visitors, friends, and kids returning to the nest from time to time to recharge their batteries.

We put a deposit on this house last June, anticipating renovations to begin when we took possession this winter. We got the keys to our "new" house on Tuesday, and today Andrew and Hugh headed up a crew of friends and hired teenagers to demolish the basement! Cam gleefully ripped out painted panelling while Mike O'Neill disassembled electrical boxes, preparing for new steel studs, blown-in insulation, drywall and ducting for the new furnace and a/c. Most of the acoustic panels from the hanging ceiling will be reclaimed and sold or donated for re-use. I carefully removed all the ceiling tiles from what will become Neil's bedroom. Eric Vreeken took apart the T-strips from the ceiling and two teenagers Eric Milan and Elliot Perkins took apart old cupboards and hauled debris up the exterior basement stairs. Andrew sorted materials into reusable or dumpster piles. Pizza helped keep us on track, and I left them to finish ripping out insulation and studs. What's the opposite of a barn-raising? Basement-razing? We've started!