Upstairs Remodel Phase 1

So I guess I think of the upstairs remodel in four phases:  (1) getting all our junk out of there/demo/insulating, (2) drywall, mudding, sanding, (3) priming/painting, (4) installing the floor and trim.  Then after these four phases, we will be free to decorate!  Usually the decorating is my job to plan and Kyle just helps me move things, but since I've agreed to allow the entire upstairs to be superhero-themed, he's given me much more input on what he wants in the room.  It's so sweet to see him so excited about doing some decorating.  I figure it's the least I can do since I was the one who's decorated the whole downstairs and veto pretty much anything he wants to set out.  Also, I promised him that we would decorate the baby's room in superheroes if it was a boy and he was super excited.  Now that we know we've got a girl coming, he's working very hard to get excited about the Audrey Hepburn-esque theme we're doing instead, but I can see he's not feeling it.  I mentioned today that we could move the mini-fridge upstairs out of the basement and put his hero magnets on it, and he's got all kinds of plans on what to put in it (diet Mountain Dew).  I also have planned to buy him more wallhangings for the upstairs for his first Father's Day, so I get the wife-of-the-day award.  And don't worry...he knows about the hangings.  I had to get his opinion on them before I ordered.

So, anyway, although I like decorating more than demolition, I like demolition more than any other part of the remodeling process, especially if it involves ridding ourselves of something ugly.  Of course, this project did!  Sadly (or gladly?) I wasn't able to help too much with the demo because (a) it's getting really hard for me to carry anything over about twenty-five pounds because I get pretty dang winded and (b) there was all kind of dusty black crud falling from behind the paneling that didn't look too safe to breath, so as soon as we knew that was back there, Kyle banned me from demo. 

Phase 1 of the remodel was officially complete Sunday and Phase 2 began on Monday with our Amish crew out to do the work.  I'm VERY glad that we don't have to drywall, mud, or sand!  It's very dirty, dusty work and I'm not very good at measuring anything.  Plus, Kyle got sick this week, so his illness timed itself pretty conveniently.  While he's down here recovering, Phase 2 is being completed.

I don't have Phase 2 pictures (I want to wait until it's done), but here's pictures from Phase 1:

Up the stairs (yes, it does just end with a wall...no landing!).

What you saw as you looked over the side of the steps.

Walking toward the white panel from the previous picture and looking right...

Then left...

Going into the small doorway/closet/very small room from previous picture.

The people who lived here previously did some horrible bubble insulation in random parts of the upstairs.  This was one side of the closet/small room.

Oh, and...here's the other side.

As you come out of the closet/small room, you saw this.

And this is leading back toward the stairs/semi-finished area/bathroom.

Tiger loved the pre-remodeled upstairs!  He was able to climb into the walls and sleep in the insulation.  What a brat!  He's going through some withdrawal now, I think.

Back door.

Bathroom.

Pretty ugly, right?  This is exactly how it looked when I moved in four years ago.  We didn't have the money or the time to fix the upstairs up right away when we remodeled the downstairs, and our intentions to do it last summer were sucked dry by having to re-plumb the bathroom.  

Wanna see what it looked like without the hideous paneling?

Did they GLUE that paneling onto the drywall?  Why, yes.  Yes, they did.  Grrrrrrrrrr....!  And as you can also see from the picture, some of the drywall was put on....BACKWARDS!

So as you can see, you sort of feel like you're in a toaster, but it was better insulated overall than we thought, which was a pretty good thing!

Without that weird paneling wall built around the chimney, this upstairs feels so much bigger and much more open!  I'm glad we decided to nix it!

Well, there you have it!  Phase 1 completed.  The removal of the paneling made SUCH a difference!  I told Kyle that if I had to, I'd almost prefer it unpaneled and exposed to the paneling.  Almost...didn't say it was safer...just feel like it's slightly prettier!

I'll continue to update with pictures just as soon as the other phases are accomplished!  Viva summer remodeling!