End of first week, file under "WHEW"

Wow, what a week it's been.  This post is rather pic heavy, so I apologize in advance if you are viewing it on a handheld device, blackberry or etch-a-sketch...

Below are 2 of the 3 guys that form the Commonwealth crew.  On the left that's Alan the production manager for the firm, he coordinates all thier projects and is the keeper of the project plan, he keeps things on schedule.  On the right is Dave, who's the master carpenter for the project.  M and I are really impressed at the professionalism and hard work these guys exhibit.  Both are very nice guys on top of that which makes working with them easy.   Not pictured is Steve, who is finishing up another project, he'll be with us next Monday.

This is my new entertainment center.  M and I got a whizzer-keen 46" Samsung LCD HDTV (m.o.u.s.e.) in December, but packed it up for the duration of this project.  I'll cover the other stuff when it the drywall starts.
My new pantry and dish cabinet.  I probably won't need all the items on the lower two shelves, but I was like Zsa Zsa Gabor deciding which hats to pack in the steamer trunk for a 3 month cruise...I couldn't decide, so I kept everything...you never know when tamarind paste or garam masala will come in handy. (le sigh)
The couch had to be moved 4 feet away from the wall, so they'd have access to the electrical box that's open on the wall back there.
New Dining space...it works but it's cramped.
This pic was from day 2, It was still wet outside, and Alan was by himself while Dave and Steve finshed other projects.  Alan made a site survey to let Chris and Dave know what to demo and how, and he put down that cardboard floor protector on our hardwood floor.  He warned us via email that it wouldn't look like much was done.
Day 3 the demo commenced in ernest.  This pic was taken from the old living room looking towards the old dining room.  You can see where the divider was removed from between the two rooms.  We were suprised that the ceiling support beam was wooden, in the attic and the crawlspace it's a steel I-Beam.
From the living room looking at the old kitchen.  Those grey conduits are for our HVAC.
Looking into the old Kitchen, from the old dining room.  That pink on the wall is an ancient wall paper.  It's pretty heinous.  
Outside day 3, they finished the demo of the deck and screened porch.  This was taken from the dining room window.
Another Kitchen shot, day3.
Kitchen shot day3.
Exterior, Day 3, all thats left of the porch is the concrete and brick base.   That's going either today (day 5) or early next week.
Exterior Day 3, the roof is still attached to the house, but it was actually removed on Day 4.
Day 4 interior.  Dave finished removing the drywall.
Day 4, another interior shot.
Alan said that they will begin digging and pour the foundation for the addition next week.  It was so wet for the first part of the week, but it was dry Thursday, and all day today and it's supposed to be gorgeous and very warm this weekend.  So, there should be no obstacles to that.

The Camp Kitchen is working out well.  M and I had a reaally long day on Thursday.  We left work around 4pm and headed for a meeting at Commonwealth with Shrutee, the building engineer.  With her we selected, composite decking material, and the color siding we are going to use on the addition.  We're using stuff called Hardie-Plank.  It's concrete based, and it's considered a green, it can be painted but we are going with a pre-colored composite.  It's guaranteed for 25 years, and supposedly never needs painting.  With a paint job running about $5K, that's a bargain.  We also selected where our outlets and switches would go, we will no doubt regret one or two of those decisions later, but now it seems like we thought of everything.

After that we made a trip out to Chantilly to our BJ's Wholesale Club, and bought provisions.  We finally got home a bit after 7pm.  I cooked out a steak on the grill, baked some potatoes in the Microwave, and heated up some sauteed squash I made last weekend.  Dinner was on the table in 15 minutes.  

Tonight I am going to try Pizza on the grill, I read an article about it and saw a demo on YouTube and I believe I can do it.  The doughs made and rising in the fridge.  It will either be a success or a horrible, tragic disaster and could end in tears and calls to 911.  Pray hard.

l8r,

CC