This house is small.
We wanted to downsize because the house we had in Ohio was just far too large for just the two of us. With our son away in the military there was no reason to have a 3,000 square foot house.
So we cut it in half when we moved.
Every room, even after framing new spaces, was not that big. And in EVERY ROOM, there were at least two windows.
Let me break this down for you, in Florida terms.
Windows=Heat.
Florida is HOT.
We don’t want heat in our house in the summer!
(Plus if you know us you know that we never open windows because my allergies are terrible and Joe is part mole and wants to live total darkness.)
Decisions were made.
It was time to remove windows. And skylights.
We did not have the skills for the skylights so we hired the roofing company that originally came to inspect the roof to remove those skylights. It took them 3 times to get it right. (Later on in the story you’ll hear of the last time they got it wrong). The first time, they didn’t put some underlayment down beneath the shingles so you could see a dip in the roof where the shingles were not matching up to the others. Joe called the company and the owner came out to look at 7pm that night and workers were on our roof at 7am the next morning.
At least they have great customer servic. You’ll learn another contractor we used does not have that skill.
You might notice that there is a joist that simply stops up against the skylight. It may look odd to you. You'd be correct. It should not have been sliced and not had the weight redistributed. This issue was actually fixed during framing, but I thought I'd show you this fun little House from Hell treat in this post.
So the skylights in the living room and above the sink in the kitchen are no more. Yay!! One part of heat gone. On to the windows.
The house is cinder block. Joe had never dealt with cinderblock before. He is very skilled at many things, but when he does not have a skill he also has zero patience. The curse words that flowed through his lips in the four and a half hours it took to block up one window still zoom through my mind from time to time.
If cursing was a contest, my husband would take first place.
Window in bedroom #1- aka wet foundation room. If only it were as simple as these 6 pictures.
Have you ever realized that your entire purpose was just to cheer someone on? That was me during this project. I was just reinforcing how proud I was of Joe, how good I thought he was doing, and listening to him teach me how to curse like a true sailor.
He told me when he was younger his grandfather used to get mad really easily and would curse so fluidly it was almost art.
Joe was passed down this trait. I can assure you.
Anyway, we made it through that window. Now only 6 more and 1 door to go.
I am telling you, this house had windows EVERYWHERE. Plus on one side of the house there was a door every 10 feet. It was a stupid layout.
By the last window, he was a pro.
Pro tip: Do not care what the inside looks like when stacking cinder block. Make sure it is level and there is enough mortar to hold it in place. The inside is getting covered up anyway.
Pro tip: Adding beer to masonry makes it go much smoother. Joe never did clarify with me if he meant adding beer to the mortar or into his own system. I guess some things we will never know!
Non pro tip: When the pro starts cussing, just starting cleaning things so eventually you are helping even though you are not necessarily helping the current cause.
Non pro tip: Keep beer stocked in the fridge.
Circling back for a second on this fridge. When the electrician pulled out the electric, he left us with 3 breakers that had no wiring in them. Joe ran construction outlets to the following extremely important things:
1) In the carport for the power tools.
2) In the center of the house for 3 LED lights.
3) In the living room for the fridge. That held the beer. Priorities.
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