Amazing Raze

If you’ve been following this saga, you know that this house has duo personalities. The bottom floor has an Edwardian-era elegance about it, while the upstairs, which had been converted to a self-contained apartment, complete with bathroom, kitchen (that had been built over the inside staircase), and outside entrance via a fire escape, looks and feels more like Ike and Mamie’s servant’s quarters. If we could not bridge the generation gaps between the two floors, then we were at least going to join the two floors period.

The only way this could possibly be accomplished was through the combined forces of Brother Rob and DESTRUCO MAN.

Opening a blocked passageway in a house is, I would imagine, just about as pleasant as opening blockages in people. However, within 30 minutes of arrival, Destructo Man had performed the necessary "ectomies": bathtubectomy, sinkectomy, and, er…. you know. Brother Rob successfully slayed the dragon on the opposite side of the wall – the old kitchen cabinets. In 1-½ hours, both rooms had been gutted and the wall between them sundered. Once those were gone, they were able to get to the blockage – floorboards that completely covered what had been an open staircase.

Destructo Man used his reciprocating saw like it was a butter knife. Without thinking twice, he sliced off whatever was in his way: pipes, sheetrock, floorboards, toes (not really), 2X4’s . . . you name it. The huge floor joists were severed neatly at the stairwell walls, and for the first time in, probably, 50 years or more, you could see all the way to the top of the second floor ceiling from the downstairs.

Even with a break for lunch (which was catered!), Brother Rob and Destructo Man were finished in less than 5 hours! Amazing! They left behind an upstairs screaming with possibilities and a small mountain range of debris in the backyard that just makes you scream.

It feels like we have a whole house, now. No more having to brave the cold and fumble around for another key to visit the upstairs. We both agree that whoever did the original remodeling did a pretty good job. It was a very clever and economical use of space. Still, we’re glad it’s back to where it started from. Now we see some new options we hadn’t considered before. Even though the upstairs is part of the second phase of the remodel, it’s nice to know it’s ready to go anytime. That’s something we couldn’t have possibly accomplished on our own.