The Wrecking Crew's 15 Minutes Are HERE!

Yup, this is it. Our fifteen minutes have come. And we're pretty damn happy about how it all worked out. This morning a segment aired on NBC's TODAY Show that featured Humphrey House and the regulars of the Wrecking Crew doing what we do best: some serious demolition.

A few weeks ago (just after part one of the kitchen demo) we were contacted by producers at NBC's TODAY show, who were looking to film a segment on renovation parties. We were wary after the 'Three Martini Renovation" article, but several emails and phone conversations later, we started to get excited.

The day the crew arrived to shoot we had planned for about 10 people to come over. Sara got the flu, Brian got a job, and so it ended up being Jason and I, plus Kenny (daddoo), Scott, Julie, Mark and Amy. We ended up doing about 90% of the demo work for the kitchen, including removing the cabinets, the wall, the appliances and most of the interior walls. Jenna Wolfe, the correspondent for the piece, was lethal with the sledgehammer - she had some serious power going on. [I have to wonder, Jenna, could you lift your arms the next day?] I worried a bit about the two-person video crew as we were taking out the wall with them on the other side, but they never complained. And then once it was dinner time - we really did work all day - we used the last remaining light to chill in the back with Jay and Scott on guitar (sara, we missed you!) and Mark on the grill. All in all, a pretty good demo day.

Both Jenna and her producer Meredith were very cool to work with for the day, and we couldn't be more pleased with the piece that they put together. They kept the focus where it really belongs: on the fact we couldn't do this without the support and hard work from our friends and family.

View our latest progress since the Today Show

Humphrey House on the TODAY Show - 11/2

Our inadvertent media blitz regarding our home remodel continues this Friday, Nov. 2 when NBC's TODAY Show will be airing a segment they filmed a few weeks ago at our house as we demo'd the kitchen with the help of family and friends (and correspondent Jenna Wolfe).

There's some confusion as to the timeframe, but it looks like we will air during the "third hour of TODAY," which is the 9:00 hour all around, not the 8:00 hour as previously reported (did you know the TODAY show isn't live in any time zone but Eastern? I've been living a lie)

So check it out. If it's great, yeah, we rock. And if we look like amateurs - it's just the editing. :)

Selling Old Kitchen Appliances

Last weekend, we continued the demolition of our old kitchen - more details to come in a later blog post. But in the meantime, our old appliances need a new home.

We've found Craigslist to be an invaluable tool for recycling our building materials, so there's no reason to think people won't be interested in our old Kenmore Ultra Wash II dishwasher, 36" Tappan 5-burner stove, or the original cast iron farm sink from Humphrey House. Of course, this caters to Chicago-area residents.

I really like the idea of finding people that can find a way to reuse parts of Humphrey House as we work on it. Not only does this help keep our remodeling "green" by reducing our contributions to the waste stream, it also gives pieces of our house a second life. For example, there was a lady who took a bunch of the old bead-board that made up our original attic walls and told me she was going to make furniture out of it. Or artists that take old windows and turn them into canvases (you'd be surprised how many people use old windows for this purpose). And as a bonus, you can hopefully avoid having to rent a dumpster!

So if you have some old house parts laying around, give it a shot. You may be pleasantly surprised.

Kitchen Demolition Party, part 1

Last weekend we sent out the call for a demolition party and started to tear into our kitchen renovation by beginning to combine the space with the small bedroom that was next to it. Because we first went to Jim Gill's house for the Illinois Solar Tour, and we then had to set up a temporary kitchen/pantry in another room of the house, we actually didn't start tearing into the lathe and plaster until late afternoon.

Our Wrecking Crew was rounded out when Scott and Julie showed up armed with humidity controlling masks and OSHA-approved Chicago Bears hard hats. And much to the WSJ's chagrin, we followed our usual procedures of holding off on alcohol until after the work was done. Unfortunately, later in the night neither of these prevented Jen from accidentally getting knocked in the head with the handle of a sledgehammer - she didn't have her hard hat on! Luckily she was ok, but next time she'll definitely be wearing the hats!



Julie and Jen tear into the dividing wall.

We ended up doing a lot of work - tearing down all the walls in the "other kitchen" room. And there were a few interesting surprises, too. On the exterior walls, we discovered that Mark and I did a good job blowing cellulose insulation down our walls because there were no gaps or spaces in the loose stuff. Best of all, we weren't itchy! But Scott won the prize for best discovery this time, as he uncovered an old leather shoe in the wall, which looked to be a vintage woman's dress shoe!

Next up is to finish moving out the old kitchen itself, so we can tear down the other half of the wall.

W're rock stars ... WSJ Article Came Out Today!

Something we at Humphrey House have been keeping as a secret can now be told. We were one of several people interviewed by the Wall Street Journal for a story about people that host Renovation Parties, titled "The Three Martini Renovation" which mentions us and even our frequent reveler Scott.

We couldn't be where we are today with all the help our friends and family have given us. Whether it was from our New Years Party after first moving into our home, the many demolition derbies we've had, helping with out with all sorts of miscellaneous jobs, or just coming out to scare people, we owe them our sincere thanks and gratitude. Thanks everyone!

Back on the chain gang ...

After several months of (well-deserved) hiatus, we're starting to get ready to focus once again on Humphrey House. We had a gathering over Labor Day weekend, and it turns out some of our friends are itching to get back in the rehabbing action as well. After some lobbying by Mark, he and Jason are set to tackle the failed gutter system this weekend (I'm lobbying for bungee cords attached to their waists) as well as properly installing the rain barrel. My friend Michelle, who recently relocated to Chicago from downstate, volunteered to do some trim painting so we can cross it off our punch list, and her new boyfriend Kevin is a CARPENTER ... he offered up his skills for future projects as well. And since the next main project we're tackling is the kitchen, we're going to be scheduling another Wallbangers Ball probably close to the end of the month or the start of October to remove the wall separating the kitchen and bedroom and join the two spaces into one. We'll have to do some investigating as to how that should happen since it's a supporting wall and will have to be replaced by a header, but at least we know we've got volunteers! As Sara said, "Who the eff doesn't like to smash things once in a while?" :)

Attic Exposure

We've moved completely downstairs now. Last weekend Mark, Sara, et al helped us prepare for Monday's start date with our contractors.

After a brief mishap to start the day when their dumpster people said "No way this will fit in your backyard," things got moving once they contacted our previous dumpster service, JL Rolloff (how can we not go with a company that has our initials?) Then our backyard filled up with building materials. And then debris.



After several hours of sawing, ripping, and prying our entire second floor was, in fact, floorless. All the old subflooring was stripped out exposing the ceilings (and electrical runs) from the first floor.

Also, the contractors recommended we install a window (since we ended up moving back the dormer to comply with zoning), so last night we went Window Shopping. After an eventful evening criss-crossing Chicago and Western Suburbs (Lowes, Home Depot, HOBO, and Menards) we finally found one we liked.

And to cap off the day, Jay figured how to get the old mortise lock working so we can lock the basement when we leave for work. Phew!

Starting off on the wrong (left) foot

While awaiting estimates from contractors to frame our dormer, we've begun to take advantage of the still-cool weather to work with the unpleasant work of demolition. Actually, this was planned for a couple of weeks, but we first had to relocate many of the things being stored in our attic. I forgot how much stuff we had up there, so we didn't really get started until this past weekend.

Where would we be without Scott and Julie? They came over Saturday afternoon to lend a hand... and ended up contributing a foot! A foot, you say? Yes indeed, a foot. And a leg too!

Let me explain. Shortly after their arrival, Jen and Julie went to pick up some supplies, while Scott and I removed the carpeting stored up there. After about 5 minutes, we were almost done with this task. On the final trip, we walked across the floor, and suddenly I heard a bursting crash behind me. When I turned around, Scott was about 36 inches shorter, as his left foot had found one of the spaces without any subflooring, and gone straight through our dining room ceiling!

Fortunately the poor guy managed to come up unscathed, which is no small feat. Also fortunate was that this did not happen 10 minutes earlier, when Julie was sitting in the dining room closely under the soon-to-be extra skylight.

We actually covered the whole with an extra piece of drywall and cleaned up before they returned from the store. I know, i know. I should have taken a photo earlier. Oh well - maybe we can recreate it.

Honestly, I figured that sooner or later, someone (most likely me) was going to poke a hole in the ceiling since we have to redo the entire floor up there, so it's probably a good thing we popped the cherry and got it out of the way. Poor Scott felt pretty badly about the whole thing though.

I think he worked extra hard once we got past the unintended demolition and started working on parts of the second floor we actually planned to demo. :)

We managed to get a fair amount accomplished once we covered the floor upstairs :) What will be the master bedroom is completely gutted to the point we need it, except for the floors. Julie even ripped into the wall with a sawzall to make room for some built-in storage! So by the end of the day, we not only increased the ventilation between the first and second floors, but also got some things done!

Getting By With A Little Help From Our Friends

Sometimes Jay and I just sit and marvel at the willingness of our friends to help us on Humphrey House. It's really amazing. You know you have the best friends and family you could ever want when everyone is ready to pitch in like this. I'm more than a little moved by their generosity and goodwill, if you can tell.

Either that, or everybody just wants that trip to Jamaica REAL BAD. :) Seriously, tho, this weekend we had just an amazing WEEKEND WARRIOR TEAM.

Jason's maternal grandpa, "Grandpa Duck," is a tough old guy who runs a handyman business in the city. He came out to assist in some serious window construction, and will be guiding us (who am I kidding, he'll be building it) in the reconstruction of a new stairwell. Grampa Duck rules, and guess what kids, he does one helluva mean "Donald Duck."

Props to Marsha for making the five hour train ride (10 roundtrip) from Carbondale to refinish our front door (among other things). She's my soulsisterfriend from WAY back - the person I've known longest in my life! - and a bit of a slavedriver to boot. It was 97 degrees in the shade, and this girl was outside, in full sun, with JEANS ON, slathering stripper on our new front door (which we discovered had been painted tan, yellow, burnt orange and fugly babyshit yellow before you got down to the beautiful oak [?] beneath) for over FOUR HOURS. Actually, I lost count after that. But it looks AMAZING.

Scott continued working on his "dirtiest guy in da house" reputation by removing the remaining plaster and lathe walls around the staircase, thereby making it the most dangerous space in the house! Scott was, as usual, covered head to toe in black soot. I think I'll start calling Scott "Burt" ... I think that was Ms. Poppin's boyfriend's name in "Mary Poppins." You know, the chimney sweep? :)

It's a long fall from the 2nd floor to the basement ... it's so creepy now walking upstairs and seeing the floor of the basement with every step you take. I think we're making a ban on treks upstairs till further notice. At least until we get that waiver Julie was talking about....

My brother Matt & his fiance Erika also came up and joined in the fun this past weekend. Matt worked on installing the windows, while Erika (a self-proclaimed victim of "project add (attention deficit disorder)" took on a few jobs in the course of the day: stripping with Marsha (woo-howdy!), then stripping the table with me, then peeling off the hideous great-great-grandma-died-in-her-sleep-in-this-bedroom-20-years-ago-and-we've-never-touched-the-room-since blue wallpaper in the bedroom/family room area.


All in all, an incredibly productive weekend. THANKS TO YOU ALL - we'd still be running in circles in a panic in the basement without your help.

SEE THE PHOTOS FROM THE WEEKEND HERE!

Destroyed

[VIEW PHOTO JOURNAL]

We've been feeling a general lack of progress lately since our main efforts have been structural repairs (sistering basement joists, pouring concrete piers, etc.). But all that changed last weekend.

After Jen sent out a blanket email recruiting friends for help, we had a few people take us up on the opportunity to work out some anger management issues on our walls. It was the long awaited Wallbanger's Ball, and boy did things come down!

To begin with, Scott and Julie showed up Saturday. Jay took advantage of Scott's height to do a sister (double-up) a few joists in the basement while Julie and Jen chased each other around the yard with our old-fashioned manual push mower. Yes, we can be Luddites when we want to be, although Jen remarked that it will be gas-powered if I eat a burrito beforehand.

After a few hours, we decided to move on to the fun stuff-- the Demo. [insert maniacal laughter here] We realized we needed to get a handle of how to rebuild the stairs, and without taking all kinds of measurements on the existing wierd angles, we decided to get rid of the walls to make things easier.

What began as a simple task evolved into destructive mayhem on Sunday when Mike, Sandy, and Sara came by and brought out the sledgehammers. I almost felt sorry for the poor old walls as their evil grins peeked out from behind dust masks. Almost.

Mike, got any feeling in your arms yet? :)

On Monday, Sara took a little progressive therapy and finished the destruction in the closet and bedroom, and even cleaned up afterwards. ROCK ON SARA!

All in all, it was a WAY productive weekend, and we even have photos to show for it! Thanks to all who helped out.. We couldn't have done it without you! :)

[VIEW PHOTO JOURNAL]

Originally posted by Jay, edited a lil bit by Jen. All apologies, hon.

Take 2: Demolition Derby - 2nd Floor

After clearing away basement lath and plaster for 4 hours (covering only 150 sq. ft!), Jay emerged from our dusty dungeon to discover what Jen and Ken had done upstairs. Assessing the state of the walls in the de-panelled future bedroom, I got a very creepy feeling. Underneath was a greenish fern/floral print on the ceiling and some kind of wavy yellow-brown organic pattern on the walls. It looked like a nightmare. Frankie later remarked that it looked like someone was trapped or held captive in the room. Remember that movie, People Under the Stairs? Yeah... Not at all encouraging. It begged to be destroyed.

So, late on Sunday night, we did just that. After removing the hideous drywall, we discovered yet another layer... old (and in nice condition) wood wainscotting installed horizontally [View Image]. Maybe this was part of the original attic? If not, someone really liked dark wood. While we won't be keeping this in our future bedroom, perhaps we can salvage it and install in the basement at somepoint (3, 4, 5 years from now...)

A few other interesting discoveries were made up here too. Such as a concealed electrical junction that was probably a light fixture at one time, leaving an eyeball-shaped design. We haven't gotten the circuit tester out to test this yet (project for a rainy day), but tracing the path of these wires will be interesting. We also discovered the remnants of an old closet in this room.

After two long days of work though, our mission was accomplished: We had completely filled a 10 cubic yard dumpster. Extra thanks to our Demo Team helpers, Ken and Frankie! Obviously, since it took 2 weeks to put these posts up, we took some much deserved rest. :)

Take 2: Demolition Derby - Kitchen

It's been awhile since an update here, but I wanted to wait until we got some photos developed. I know, I know. How can someone with a blog not have a digital camera, right? Well, we are accepting donations if you're interested.

Anyway, after pleading with friends and family, we got some volunteers to help us do as much as possible to fill the dumpster we rented before they took it away. Kenny came up from Peoria, and helped us set to work on dismantling the kitchen and master bedroom, while Jay planned to finish tearing down the rest of the basement ceiling.

We found out that people can hide a lot of things with paneling! Once the paneling came off in the kitchen, we discovered that the standard 1920's subway tile we were hoping to find underneath had been removed in the past. Too bad. :( In the breakfast nook (behind Ken), we did find covered up electrical outlets (how safe!), and discovered that the nook was probably not an add-on as we originally suspected but original. The construction of this was lath and plaster, which wasn't used after the War (WWII).

Also, when taking out the paneling behind the stove, Ken and Jen discovered an old flue for the the original stove that was tied into the chimney. When replacing the stove and paneling over this, someone had deftly covered this up with a.. Paint Can Lid! [View Closeup image]

Definitely going to keep the Paint Can Lid in our souvenirs box. :) Too bad it didn't have a Mfr or date stamped on it. I doubt we'll be able to use the flue for our new stove based on our plans, but it's good to know we have the option if we need it!

Demolition Derby

Fear of mixing alcohol and power tools prevented us from having the demolition derby on New Years Eve as promised. Or perhaps the alcohol just prevented it from coming up in our minds. In any case, today was the rescheduled date, and Scott and Sara helped us set to work on destroying the basement's original wood lathe and plaster ceiling.





This was harder than it first seemed. Not because of strenth required, but because:
a) it was overhead
b) all electrical was attached to this (we had to remove and reattach to joists)
c) decades and decades of FILTH

We were outfitted well with safety gear - gloves, goggles, masks all around - but it was no match for the decades of dirt collecting above. Shortly after the first swings the air was laden with a gray hue of plaster and dirt. Within an hour, all of our masks, originally white, appeared as if they were dipped in charcoal. Opening the windows and door and turning on a high powered blower had only a mediocre effect. There was nothing we could do but grin and bear it.



We ended up working hard from about noon until 5 and got 2/3 of the basement done. The other part is the tool room / utility area, and we need to wait to move stuff out before doing that area.

One thing we did discover to our delight was that the dumpster has a door that opens! Allowing us to just walk in and load it up. Yay! Lots of buckets were emptied there today.. it's probably 1/4 full already.

After the dust settled, we could see that the first floor wall that is under part of the master bedroom (thus carrying a lot of the weight) was resting on a floor joist over the main beam that had been CUT OUT. Not a little, but a lot. Some Prev.Owner had destroyed all but 2 inches of the 2x8 joist to add a heating duct in the wall above. Doh!

No wonder the floors sag so much! We'll definitely be turning that wall vent into a floor vent and fixing that hole (more sistering).

After working, we all broke in the shower and tried to wash off the grime from every crevice. It was moderately sucessful. I still showered at the condo later though. :)

Thanks for your helps Scott and Sara!!

The Trash Man Cometh!

Jay arranged to have a dumpster unloaded in our backyard today, and elected me to let the guy in and pay him. We have a 10 cubic yard dumpster for as long as we need to fill it up for $275. Probably won't take long though once we get all that ugly panelling removed. Lookit this ugliness in what will be our office:


Interestingly, you can see in this picture that some Previous Owner's love of arches. These things get carried throughout the whole downstairs area - to the point that they even built one in front of this door frame, so when the door is closed, you see an arch from the dining room!

NYE 2004 evite

From: Jason and Jennifer
Location: Our New House
When: Friday, December 31

We know many people might already have plans, but if you still don't know where you'll be on New Year's Eve, come on over and help us break in our new house!

We'll be taking possession just a few days earlier, and since we are planning to remodel the house anyway, we're up for some fun. Possible events to include:

- Wall decorating contest
- Demolition derby
- Lose your baggage - write it down and watch it burn

We'll be providing Harvey Wallbangers and wine, plus some champagne and some nibbles. BYO anything else. If you'd like to contribute to the food (which you are ever-so-welcome to do), please email Jen at zelda@zeldajstudios.com.

Since the place will be sparsely furnished, if you have the means and can bring a beanbag, folding chair, table, etc., it would be much appreciated! :)