Remodeling Our Hut Part 7: Destruction Begins

 Here it is, the first of October, and where have I been?  Well, we're finally in the midst of the much-talked about whole-house remodel.  And, wouldn't you know, we picked a record year for rainfall to do it.  UGH!

We moved from our house to Carl's parent's home on July 10, 2019.  I'd been writing post drafts in bits and pieces as I have time here and there, trying to document each day as this slow-moving tornado moves forward. 

One last look at the house before the demolition began, June 16, 2019

When I last left off with the goings-on around here June 15th, the national hosta convention was in the rear view mirror.  We'd managed to get the weeding done in the seemingly never-ending rain and the conventioneers toured the gardens without a hitch. Many thanks to my friend Ann for her incredible help getting ready for the tour, hauling mulch and helping wherever needed in the rain and cold.  

And what would I have done without my friend Brenda for helping us with the weeding and providing me beautiful flower pots for the garden.

 After all the weeding and beautification efforts, the garden really did look fantastic for the June 15 hosta convention tour, but it's been all downhill from there, sadly.  I haven't had time to weed even once since June.

After the convention was over, I didn't think I'd ever be able to walk upright again after too many hours on my hands and knees weeding, but there was no time to whine about it.   The very next day I received a phone call from our contractor telling us the power company would be shutting off the electricity on July 8.  

The remodeling project was about to begin.



We had to get ready for Charlie, our excavator, to come in and dig the frost wall and basement for the new mudroom addition.  This meant all the flowers and trees in the front of the house had to go. 

One last look at the way it was.

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 Ernie the Urn was the first one to be moved.  We were lucky our new 1000 pound capacity two-wheeled cart could handle the weight as we rolled Ernie to the backyard on June 16th. 

 Next up, the pedestals that hold up the driveway urns were hauled to the Riverbed for safe-keeping.  They are very heavy cast iron pipe-bending parts and weigh over 200 pounds apiece.  Thank goodness for the Super H.

 Frank the Urn was next.  We hooked him up carefully and took him in two pieces to the Gazebo bed.

 We both were happy to see Frank back on the ground.  The urns from the front of the garage were also relocated to safer places in the garden, too.

 The stained glass tree grate window had to be moved from the backyard so we could move the garage, so it has found temporary housing behind the gazebo.  We may end up leaving it there as it makes a nice backdrop.

Once all the urns were moved, we turned our attention to the plants and landscaping.  While Carl worked on cleaning out the garage to get ready for the move, I started digging plants to save.

 
 I had about forty hostas under the tree by the back porch which found new homes in the Formal garden.  

Because we were bumping out the front of the house a little bit and adding a porch, all of the landscaping in the front yard needed to be relocated, including stone walls and Carl's Ball Fountain.  (Someone backed over it with construction equipment, so it may be history now.)

 We were digging as fast as we could as time was flying.  I called family, friends and neighbors to come get any plants they wanted. 

While I was working on the plants, Carl was cleaning out the garage and trying to get it ready to be moved off the foundation before July 8.

 Ann came over on June 29th,  and with Joel's help, we managed to get several tons of stone out of the front garden and onto pallets.

 We had to move all of the tufa stone out from the front of the house, too.   Just when we started to panic a little (ok, a lot!) because we were running out of time, our friends Cody and Briana and their little girls and Jerry and Terry came the next day, Sunday, June 30 and gave us a tremendous amount of help.

 Jerry brought over his mini excavator and started moving out the smaller shrubs and trees we hoped to save, while Briana and I dug out hostas.

 The shrub went to Joel and Abby's house where it is flourishing.

 It seems to take forever to develop a garden, but demolition is much quicker.

 Cody and Briana's daughter, Grace, was digging hostas as fast as she could.

 In a few hours, the garden was nearly gone.

 Carl, Briana and Clara, digging out plants as fast as they can.

 Removing the blue spruce on a standard by the back door.  (This was the only tree that didn't survive the move.)

 Digging out my white pine on a standard went well.

 With the plants out of the way, Cody started to dismantle the old front porch.

 

One of our favorite trees, a blue beech, was right in front of our house and sadly, it had to go as there was no room for an excavator.  Luckily, I called our tree spade friend who has moved trees for us in the past, and he said he could dig the tree and replant it at Joel and Abby's house for $250. 

We were happy that the tree would have a new home.  

Stay tuned......tree moving, up next!