Frame of Mind

JH came over on Thursday and we had a power building session. It was intense, complicated by the fact that S&MG, the previous owners, were so hardcore about building that their attention to details made it that much harder to break things down. Then again, this process was also made more difficult by the fact that we wanted to save the doors and windows. It would have been much easier, not to mention faster, if we could have just ripped everything out and bought new stuff.

With greater challenge comes greater reward, as the saying goes.

With a lot of the framing already done, we could focus on the job at hand, which was to remove that darn door. Let me tell you, on more than a number of occasions, I wanted to quit and call a contractor, it was that hard. Now I'm no expert, but from past experience, I assumed you framed a RO so that it was bigger than the door, and this made it possible to lean the thing in, or out, depending upon what you're doing.

This RO was tight to the door, almost as if they set the door in and then built the frame around it so that there was no space. I couldn't believe it. Again, if we could have simply knocked the thing out with a sledge hammer, it would have been much simpler. Also, because it was so hard to remove, I assumed it had been nailed in on the top and the bottom, which is unorthodox, but you never know.

It turns out that was not the case, it was just in tight. We ended up spending about 2 hours essentially tapping the door out, millimeter by millimeter. When we finally liberated it and the door frame popped out, I felt like I'd just given birth. I think JH and I bruised each other's backs from patting them so much.

However, it wasn't over yet. We now had to remove the side windows. Again, these things were so tightly installed that I swear they framed them after installing them. Then again, that's what they invented Sawzalls for. We basically cut and pounded out the framing to get that thing out. To add to the challenge, they used some sort of industrial strength glue to hold the thing in, which we had to rip out.

By the time we had removed everything, 8 hours had passed. BTW, kudos to A&N for being so patient and not making a stink about being holed up at home while we worked. To aggravate the situation, it was one of the hottest days on record, but we were working in the shade.

We slid the door into the newly framed RO, and it practically brought a tear to my eye. I really wanted R to see it so that she wouldn't think I'm a total loser when it comes to home improvement, but it may be too late for that. Whatever be the case, we had to remove the door (more tears to my eyes) because we can't install the thing until the sheathing is up and it's covered with housewrap (i.e., Tyvek). Such is life.

At least we've tasted the fruits of our labors, and for now, that will do.

Until the next time, thanks for reading.