Peter Hentges

One of the things we’ve been anticipating with our remodel is getting a photo Mary has had for a long time hung properly. With the major remodel tasks out of the way, we got the print professionally framed. Today, we got it hung as we intended and are super-pleased with the results. (The photo is the aurora borealis over the Milky Way.) We spent a chunk of yesterday and today curating some of our art and getting a few things hung, but this is one of the big ones.



(The white circles to either side are where the wall sconces are intended to go. They've been on back-order since November-ish, but are now in the possession of our contractor. They're to go in Wednesday. It appears that the glass shade of one of them has a bubble in it that doesn't meet with our designer's approval. So a replacement is on order. The flawed one will go in Wednesday and when the replacement glass comes in, it'll get swapped out.)

We have two photos by our friend Ctein getting framed now. Those are smaller in scale, so we've got nice places picked out for them. Mary also brought along her big painting of a Dalmatian sitting next to a fan and (thereby) getting its spots blown off. It's very whimsical and makes us both smile. A few other photos, including a couple from our wedding have been put up as well. There is a box in the garage of other art from Mary's townhouse waiting to be sorted and we have a few other things that we know we want to put up, but have to find the right place for. For others, there is still some organizing to happen before there is proper space to put them up.

Here between the campuses of the U of MN, we got 4-6” of snow. Did my neighborly job of running my snowblower the length of the block to clear the west side sidewalk. As I was doing the pass back to my house on the corner, someone else was doing the opposite side of the street. As I finished the hand shoveling, someone was running a snowblower to clear the driveway of the neighbor to the north and starting on that sidewalk. He stopped to come over and ask if I had done “his side” of the sidewalk. Turns out he typically does the east side, so was a mix of pleased and put out that someone else had accomplished the work. I have a pretty nice neighborhood.

With the floor refinished and stained and with two of the three coats of sealant on it, the work to install our new cabinets started today. This is when things really start to take shape in the new kitchen.

So here's what the view looked like from the back door when the project began:



And here is the view from the back door now:



The view from the hallway looking back to the back door when the project began:



And the same view today:



(Processing on the photos to get the cabinet colors represented better turns the walls warmer.)

Here's a closer view at the base cabinets along the outside wall. The far end has a space for a microwave, then there's a gap for the dishwasher and then the cabinet that will hold the apron-front sink.



A closer look at the cabinets that form the peninsula. The big gap here will be for the induction range. On the back side of these are two narrow cabinets that open toward the living room.



And finally, the two little cabinets that are in the mudroom under the window. At the opposite end of the mudroom is the coat closet and there will be two tall cabinets to the right-hand side of this view that will have the same finish as these. This finish will also be on the upper cabinets in the kitchen and is a relatively close match to the final floor stain as well.



Monday sees cabinet installation continuing as well as meeting to decide paint colors for the walls. Interior doors get delivered and installed next week as well. We're about 5 weeks out from having everything finished.

As part of the remodeling project, I secured a home equity line of credit from my credit union. One of the complicating factors there is that when Ericka and I bought the house, we created a life estate in the house for her. Which means basically that I've always been sole "owner" of the house, but that as long as she lived I couldn't sell it without her consent. This provided her the security of stable housing even I turned out to be jerk or, in the case of my untimely passing, my inheritors turned out to be jerks.

So the title to the house had Ericka's name attached to it and a search turned up two judgements against Ericka that were attached to the house. Well, not actually to Ericka. To people named Ericka Johnson. One had a different middle name, and one had an address in Brooklyn Park where my Ericka never lived.

So I sent the credit union an official copy of Ericka's death certificate. (In spite of the typical advice to get as more copies of these than you think you'll need, this is the first time I've used one in the five years since Ericka's death.) That cleared the way for the line of credit to get issued, which included the necessity of Mary signing the documents because Minnesota law requires such things to be signed by spouses.

Now that we're well into the project, I've spent out most of the line of credit to pay the contractors. I have the option to lock in the rate for the line of credit for free within the first 30 days, which expires this week. I can do it later as well, but it will cost me $50 to do so. So I figure rates are pretty low, the future is uncertain, saving $50 is saving $50, so let's lock in the rate.

Call the credit union. To get my request recorded and processed, they have to verify my identity. Ask me for my member number (I have it). Ask who direct deposits into my account (my employer, with new name since the merger in June). Ask for the name of other persons on the account. Umm. No one? Wait, Mary signed the line of credit is it her? No, hold on. Ericka was listed on this account, her? Yes, that's who they were looking for. I inform the person of Ericka's passing and that she should be removed. Representative is apologetic, expresses formal condolences, works to get me to the right person.

Get to my loan rep, they draw up the documents and send them to me to sign electronically. I will then have to bring a printed and signed original for their files.

First attempt to access requires a password that I haven't been provided. Quick email and I have the password. Access the document, go to sign and this is where I sigh. Then I send this email:

Hi [representative],

I was able to access the document today, but the signature line has my name and Ericka Johnson’s name. The box next to Ericka’s name is checked to indicate that she’s signing and that is the space that is available to be signed.

As we established when setting up the home equity line of credit, Ericka is dead. (You should have the official death certificate on file.) Thus Ericka will not be signing this document. In fact, her name should not appear on the document as she is not (and due to her deceased condition cannot be) party to the agreement.

So can we get the document corrected and re-issued?

Also, if we can get references to Ericka removed from my account, I’d appreciate not being reminded of her passing every time I interact with [credit union]. Thanks.

The representative was apologetic and re-issued the document, without Ericka's name. We plan to roll the various loans into a refinance of the mortgage once the remodeling is finished and my credit union is actually really easy to work with and has very good rates. I'm hoping we won't have to bring Ericka into that process.

Having moved into the basement and removed all signs of occupation in the rest of the house, work has begun on the rest of the first-floor remodeling. Some sheetrock work was done previously, but it was all minor patching and covering where an extra door had been cut into the garage when the ramp was installed there.

So now the first fun part of the full refresh of the first floor as begun: refinishing the hardwood floors. When I came home from work after the first day I couldn't believe my eyes. The floor looked so much better after just having the first sanding completed that it was astonishing. I knew the floor needed some love; years of two large dogs takes a toll on even the best-kept floor and I've never been the best floor-keeper. But the transformation has been more than I could ask for.

Here's a photo (larger behind the link) of the living room after that first day. Also visible is the fireplace that is lacking the mirror that filled the space over the mantle. We discovered upon removing it that it was apparently original to the 1950 construction as it appears to have never been painted behind. The circular holes above the mantle will be for new sconces going in there.



In kitchen news, the cabinets have been delivered and are sitting in protective boxes in the garage waiting for the kitchen floor (which extends the existing hardwood foor a bit) to be installed. That should happen in the next week or so. We picked out the stone slab that our countertops will be cut from, a lovely soapstone with a pattern like flowing water. I have a sample of a similar soapstone that I've been carting around because I love the feel of it. I've told Mary that she may very well find me wandering the kitchen just petting the countertops.

After the cabinets, the next thing on the schedule is getting the new interior doors installed. Then painting begins the week of Thanksgiving. We're looking foward to picking out colors for things. One idea is a dark blue on the living room wall with the fireplace. Mary has a nice print of the aurora borealis to hang above the fireplace and we think the color will really let the stone of the fireplace pop as a focal point for the room.

But all of that is speculation for now. So further updates as their are updates.

I've been home the last two days. Monday I was too sick to work and Tuesday I worked from home. (Tuesday was partial recovery, partial waiting for an appointment that never arrived.) One of the side benefits of this was I was able to oversee the installation of the sheetrock on the portions of the remodel that had been demolished. Things look like actual rooms now!

Many pics follow ( after the cut showing progress… )Next up for me is moving into the basement. They'll be ready to start refinishing the floors by late next week so everything must go! (I explained to our contractor that after my father retired from the Navy, he built the house we lived in until I graduated high school. It being a sweat equity sort of job meant that once the outside was closed to the weather, we moved into the basement. I lived in the basement of an unfinished house for about a year and half. One month and change won't bother me.) Mary closes on her townhouse sale in November, right before Thanksgiving. Then she'll be moving in and will have to suffer with basement living for about three weeks until we can move back in to a completely fresh first floor.

The remodeling has been proceeding, but there hasn't been much to share in way of pictures of the progress. For the last couple of weeks the plumbing and electric were getting roughed in and there were some minor additional bits of demolition and framing that went with that. In addition, I hired the guys at Junk 360 to haul one more truck-load of stuff out of my basement in preparation for additional construction activities (getting the plumbing and electrical beyond the rough-in stage) and for temporary habitation when the floors are being refinished and the walls painted. Next basement step comes Friday when a cleaning service comes to give me an estimate on doing a one-time deep clean of the basement.

We've been busy with other things in the meantime as well. There was the initial exterior door hardware configuration decision. Then the lighting fixture shopping and decisions. We also picked out the laundry counter color and laundry sink. That meeting also had us picking out the flooring color for the entry/mudroom area. Next up we pick the specific hardware for the exterior and interior doors. Then there is reserving the slab of soapstone that will be cut into the kitchen countertops after the cabinets are installed. So there's a lot going on without a lot to show/share.

Today, however, a major step was taken: we have windows! Tomorrow insulation gets added and then that is inspected and the drywall can be installed. So here are likely the last photos of the framing that you'll see (links all open larger photos):

First up the view from the entry, looking through the new mudroom toward the new kitchen.


This is from the corner by the hallway (back left of the previous photo) showing the newly-installed windows. The double window is over where the new sink will be (centered beneath them) and the single window is in the new mudroom.


This shot is also from the corner by the hallway, looking back toward where the old kitchen used to be. Where the bench sits is approximately where a banquette starts and runs along that wall and turning the corner.


And finally, this photo is from the corner by the window (back right of the first photo), looking back toward the old kitchen. The little bit of green on the right side of the photo is where the entrance to the living room is.

In addition to the remodeling, we're also integrating Mary's young cat Grady and my elderly cat Domino. They've been sharing the house for a couple of weeks now, initially with Grady segregated to the back bedroom, but now sharing the space not taken over by construction. Domino is about half Grady's weight, but she has about three times the fight. She's been terrorizing the punk who has learned to run from her quickly.

They are kept in 2' x 3' x 4' cages in the bedroom while daily construction activities are going on and I'm at work. Pheromone diffuser has been deployed so there is hope that the hostility will tone down over time. They can at least be in the same room now, as long as Grady doesn't do much more than sleep on a chair far away from Domino. Movement or proximity trigger growling and then he usually slinks under the couch or bed to avoid her.

The demolition portion of the remodeling project is largely complete. There will be a little more in order to provide access for the plumber and electrician to provide connections for the new laundry and some additional lighting and outlets in various areas, but those will be relatively small disruptions.

Now things have moved on to framing. I thought it would be interesting to show some pictures of a couple of the angles from before/destruction/framing.

First up, the view from the entry, (links open larger versions, "before" images aren't links):





Then the view the other direction:





In the second set of photos, the last shows how the original window over the sink has been framed in and the opening for the new window that will be in the mud room prepared. The exterior sheathing is still in place until the windows are delivered, then that will be cut back and the new windows installed. (Less need to protect against our recently raining weather that way.) In addition, you can see that the short wall from the entry to where the pocket door was has been removed. A shorter wall we be framed in there eventually. Similarly, the wall to the garage has been removed to allow for reframing that door. Between those, straight out from the back entry door is where the floor has been raised so there will no longer be a step from the entry to the kitchen. This means the back door has been reframed as well, raising its threshold to the level of the original kitchen floor.

We also have confirmed the final two parts of the package of things that are financing the whole project. It wasn't in doubt that they would come eventually, but having them down to actual dates when the money will be available is one less thing to worry about.

Started the actual demolition of things today. (Yesterday was "mobilization," which basically amounted to "what are we wrecking, and where does it go after?")

So here are photos of the work in progress. Today was about getting the existing cabinets and appliances out of the kitchen and starting on getting the rest of things down to the studs. (These are all links to larger versions this time.)

First up, the view from the entrance.



Then the view from the hallway (covered by the plastic in the back-left of the prior image.



And finally, a view from where the windows are, just in front of where the cabinets were on that wall.



Cool things to me include the framing on the pocket door that's by the entrance and the amount of metal conduit used to bring the electrical wires in. (These days, the wire would be visible and routed in roughly the same areas instead of enclosed in the metal tubing.)