the contractors have finished

We are thrilled with the new open space! It's still a mess and we now have tons of work to do, but getting rid of this wall really helps us move forward. Here's what we're looking at:

We can't believe how much of a difference it made! The kitchen will mostly be the area where there is currently carpet (it may spill out a bit into the living room). The walk-through will be to the right of the column and to the left will be cabinetry/appliances. We've only made preliminary layout decisions, but now that we can really see the space we're going to get serious about the plan.
In the following picture you can sort of see how the ductwork is all tucked as high as possible and grouped together:

The next steps are to:
come up with the basic design;
decide where plumbing and electrical will be going;
and start the framing and drywalling process.
We'll also be drywalling the living room ceiling and the master bedroom ceiling (both are just exposed joists right now).
There are lots of other random jobs that will continue - speaking of, we installed doorknobs on a few closet doors. I basically followed the directions and they all work perfectly. These were doors that had no previous knobs, so there was chiseling and hole-sawing involved. Be careful, because this picture is about as exciting as hunting moose:

Also, upon request - here is a picture of the doors-as-headboard. There are going to be quite a few changes... actually everything will change, except for the headboard. Remember the wallpaper we were indecisive on? It's going on the wall behind the bed. The linens will certainly be changed; new side tables; the ceiling will be a solid surface - yeah, yeah, you think we should keep the beams - they look interesting in the picture, but they're a mess in person and they have to be covered. Also, the sound travels 100% through to the upstairs bedroom and that is less than ideal.

Gratuitous dog picture - ole blue eyes:

contractors; wall removal

The contractors have started working to remove the wall!

First of all – selecting contractors, spending money and negotiating is my day job. I follow strict regulations on a regular basis to increase competition and ensure we receive quality crap at a fair and reasonable price. I assume I can use similar methodology for our personal venture.

We called six different contractors – most upon recommendation. That seems good, right? Five of them called back. Still good – competition is up; these guys are wetting their pants with excitement at the mere notion of working in OUR house. After each one leaves I tell Craig how he reminded me of my Dad and how, "that one there, he's good, he's got the job - he's even willing to let us help with the work."

Then – mostly silence. I take personal offense. Why don't these fools want our money? I consider listing bank account numbers along with their mothers' maiden names, cities of birth and favorite foods. I also avoid begging for quotes – if this is indicative of workmanship, then they're already behind.

One guy continued to call back. I felt really good about him from the first visit, but feared his professionalism and fancy business card translated to cash; money; records. Seriously – his business card is two-ply maple. This gave him a significant advantage in this competition. All you guys with one-ply maple business cards, suck it.

From 9.19.08

The original quote was pared down quite a bit because we are saving a bunch by doing the framing and drywall work ourselves. After that, I negotiated and knocked off a chunk of cash from the bottom line. I can't stress this enough, people – if you don't ask, you won't get it. Negotiation feels rude and cheap at first; but fatter pockets are sexy and more fun. I also suggest that when you ask for something, offer something. In our case, I pointed out that we already had done most of the demo work and would finish the remainder prior to them starting. He liked it and we signed the contract.

Before - a few things to note, the drop ceiling was put in at some point because when they upgraded plumbing in the past, they placed all the pipes below the joists. This lowered the ceiling by about eight inches - idiots. Also, the bulkheads (i.e. those big drywalled boxes taking even more of our precious ceiling space) were built around a very strange mess of HVAC ductwork. We considered living with the multiple leveled ceiling, because we thought it'd save money. Although, because of the way the contractor has to work and re-support the structure, these items all needed to be moved. So, the ceiling will be all one level and quite a bit higher.

The plumber came out first and moved the pipes into the ceiling.

From 9.19.08

Here, you can see more of the pipes as well as the steel beam and bricks.

From 9.19.08

This is the workzone. See those large, solid looking vertical wood columns? Those are the temporary supports that are put in place to hold the structure while they're working on re-supporting the new opening. There are a few more on the other side.

From 9.19.08

Today they are finishing the wall removal and the HVAC guy comes out Tuesday to finish his part. We're so excited that this is moving so quickly!