Of course there is a hurricane at the exact moment that the demolition crew has completely opened up the back of the house!

Since the house is not in a flood zone, we weren’t worried about the coastal surges but we were very concerned about excessive rain and wind.

The crew had put a tarp over the debris in the back yard and the openings to the back of the house were boarded up but there were lots of gaps.  The four foot pit test (a giant hole leading into our basement) was our main concern but there was so much debris on top we thought it would block most of the rain.  We added an additional tarp to direct the rain away from the house.

The day after the storm we headed over to have a look.  The tarp had blown off of the debris but the house was dry and the basement had a few damp areas but otherwise unscathed.

We feel very fortunate.   Our apartment is on the edge of Zone A and we had no damage and did not lose power.  So we are going to count our blessings today–and save the renovation gripes for another day.

More accurately, an extension made of doors.  The demolition crew recently started taking down the ramshackle original extension on the back of the house.  They removed the old veneer wood paneling inside to discover that underneath there was no wood framing.  Just doors.

From what we can gather, they collected old door paneling, some even with glass panes, to construct the core of the extension and then covered it on the outside with siding and on the inside with thin paneling.  No insulation.  No drywall.  We would not have been surprised if it had been duct taped together.

What is even more extraordinary about this construction is that it is two floors.  We theorize that cousin Vinnie came over one day and said I have some extra doors that I don’t know what to do with, and I’d hate to throw them out.  I know, let’s add two rooms to your home.

The second floor of the old extension housed a bathroom with a very heavy cast iron tub.  We marvel that it stayed intact for such a long time.  It might also explain the termite damage that was located under the floor near the extension that was found when we had the home inspected prior to purchasing it.  Who knows where those doors came from.  It certainly makes us glad we decided to replace that extension.  It also brings into perspective that building codes, as annoying as they are, are a good thing.