Gypsum, Mud, and Lots of Dust!

It's been a few weeks since we updated our progress.  Thanksgiving cost us a week of work to prioritize enjoying our children.  It is surprising how much we are missing on the weekend as we work feverishly on this project.  Much of our push currently was to get our electrical, plumbing, and framing inspections.  We passed them all, so we could begin to close up the walls with a good layer of insulation last weekend.

It's amazing what a Tyvek moisture barrier and a layer of R13 and R30 insulation will do for the inside condition of the home.  Unless you have tried to weather elements the other way, it's hard to fathom how cold it can be and how much heat doesn't help to warm the area without material to hold it into the house.  The insulation closed in the space for the first time since we initially tore out several months back.

In one weekend, Greg, the one-man-construction team hung, mudded, and prime-coated the walls in the kitchen. We brought back some wooden doors sitting in his dad's shop to make a temporary counter top pictured below.   We know that we are at least 6 months out in purchasing our kitchen cabinets, so setting up an ability for me to cook in one spot is appealing. We like to cook at home and tire of eating out. Greg's good friend and boss,Tommy has offered to come and assist him in finishing the sheetrock. We are thankful for the many good friends we have had who have contributed some time towards making our little Freedman's livable.

This small "temp" kitchen will serve us now until our final one is installed.  Notice our "door" counter and shelf.  Greg's dad made the suggestion to bring them back for this purpose over Thanksgiving and I was excited.  We spent one evening arranging the kitchen with appliances.  I am waiting for the remaining dust to settle from the sitting room sheet rock prior to filling them with things.  I have enjoyed sharing with you this long journey of fixing up our 1929 Charleston Freedman's cottage.  When you handle all of the materials, expect for the time investment to be extensive!  It's been so much more work than I ever thought!  This is not cosmetic renovation, this is stripping it to the bones and building back new.  I'll add the sheetrock picture of the sitting area below when it is done this weekend.

.As promised earlier,  this ceiling took Greg 8+ hours to finish doing it by himself.  The walls should go much faster.  The rafters ended up being a plus as far a holding the sheets.  The cuts were intricate even for a veteran hanger!