Renovation Update: Electrical and Kitchen Wall

So we are now moving into week 3 of this renovation. The contractors continue to make swift progress and are now working in both the basement and the first floor of the house. We finally got around to starting the basement bathroom project.

Them:
We have multiple teams working in the house now. An electrical team has been in the basement adding outlets and recessed lights everywhere. They are also moving the fuse box upstairs so that we can have access to it once a tenant moves into the basement. The old box was really small and seemed to be the source of a water leak, so replacing it and moving it upstairs is a very good thing.

new recessed lights in the bedroom

lots of new lightswitches in the living room

a tangled mess of wires

old leaky panel was on the left, new sub panel going in on the right

before (left) - old entryway, now (right) - new panel going in

A second team also starting working on the demolition on the first floor. We are removing a load-bearing wall between the kitchen and dining room, which means that both rooms are now a total mess and completely unusable. But it's exciting to see such dramatic progress. It already feels more spacious and bright. They built a temporary wall to hold the weight.

before: view from the kitchen towards the dining room

now: view from the kitchen towards the dining room

before: from the dining room towards the kitchen

now: from the dining room towards the kitchen

Us:
We finally got started ripping out the basement bathroom. If you remember, this is the only project we are actually doing ourselves in this phase of the larger project. What's nice about that is it gives us a place to make our mark, feel like we've contributed, get our hands dirty, etc. What is obviously not nice about it is that we move at a snail's pace by comparison.

now: basement bathroom is mostly demolished. 

Most annoying thing so far:
The lack of laundry. On the first day the contractors got started, they removed our washer and dryer. That was about three weeks ago. We've so far managed to bother both our siblings who thankfully live nearby to use their washers and dryers, but it's a little awkward and annoying to be peddling our dirty clothes around town. Plus, there's a miserable heat wave right now, so everything smells. The new washer and dryer won't go in until near the end of the project, so we still have like another 4 weeks to go.

Next Steps:
We will finish the demo in the basement bathroom and start prepping for new materials. They will finish the electrical in the basement and new panel on the first floor, and then start the plumbing. They will also finish the kitchen wall and replace the temporary supports with a massive new beam.