Construction and Destruction

Ok, so the Marcilliat family has decided to do some remodeling on the house. There are things mom's been wanting to have done for years. Then, with Ivan hitting, we had so much damage that we really couldn't wait much longer. So, it started out as a pretty big project. First, we were going to replace the water damaged ceiling and walls in the living room, replace the kitchen cabinets, and replace all the flooring in the kitchen and living room. That alone would have been a pretty big job. Then, Dennis hit. We then got new, much worse water damage in three bedrooms, the foyer, the attic, the garage, and one bathroom. Our construction project was growing daily. So, now include new ceilings for all these places, as well as new floors for the entire house. Quite a load, but still manageable, right? Then the termites were discovered. We actually had a pretty good amount of damage, but thankfully the termites had left a while ago. Apparently some enterprising ants came up through a hole in our foundation (a big thank you to the negligent builders there) and ran off the termites. But the damage, and the ants, remain. So, we had to basically go around the house tearing out walls until we found the end of their trail, and then remove and replace all the damaged wood. So, at this point, we have no walls in the living room, no wall separating the kitchen from the rest of the house, nothing but concrete for most of the flooring, a couple of doors had to be removed, as did some cabinets, amd pretty much our entire laundry room will have to be. It is a Mess. We've got almost no furniture inside the house anymore. We did set up our couch in our kitchen, so we'd have somewhere to sit. I really think the "kitchen couch" is going to become a big hit in coming years. My parents are really hoping to have the house done by the holidays, though even with my dad working like a maniac, like he has been, I still don't know if that's possible. I tell ya, it's an interesting way to spend my last month at home, in the middle of a construction zone. It's Ryan's last months home too. Funny how change always seems to come all at once.