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Farmhouse 1820

DIY, Home and Garden, Food

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The Den Demo – Part One

den-demo-part-one

UGH!!  Those squirrels!!

You know, they’re really rats with cuter outfits…

But the havoc that they cause is far from cute.  They moved in and made themselves at home.  Pair those puffy tailed rodents with a few power outages and poor construction, and we have a major den remodel on our hands.

But not so fast feeling sorry for us.  Our den has the biggest potential to be a comfortable and well designed room, and with the help of Mother Nature and some destructive rodents, we now have our chance to make this room right.

Burst pipes and scratching squirrels are now a thing of the past.  We’ve started gutting our den, and we mean business.

As we were pulling down dry wall, these things rained on our heads.

walnuts

We uncovered an abandoned yellow jacket hive.

yellowjacketnests

And what little (and I mean very little) insulation we had in that room, the squirrels had chewed and burrowed nests – to the point where that tiny bit of insulation was riddled to dust.

C’est la vie.

den-demo

This den demo and remodel is becoming a series.  I’m documenting (of course) every step of the way.   So far, we have removed all the dry wall, hundreds of dry wall screws, and copious amounts of black walnuts.  We plugged up what rodent holes we found with concrete mixed with shards of broken glass, and have filled up two 16 gallon wet/dry vacuum bags with rubble.

vacuuming-the-den

We’re down to a clean slate.  Those beams that span width-wise across the room will be removed.  The ceiling beams will be reinforced.  Electric will be relocated.  Wifi will be installed and all the cracks and spaces will be covered with plywood and filled with silicone calk.  And…..I might just be pulling in some Joanna Gaines mojo and adding some shiplap.

Can I get a Hallelujah for insulation!!  We’re partnering up with ROXUL Insulation which is the industry leader of insulation, and our den is going to become fire and soundproof, and those wicked varmints are going to be a thing of the past.

den-demo-part-one

So stay tuned.  Next week, I’m going to bring you the latest and greatest of the den demo and remodel.  A few days around here will bode ample progress!!

Until next week…

Click here to learn more about ROXUL Insulation.

 

Comments

  1. CoCo says

    Brooke, oh my word, I don’t even know what to say! I didn’t even know that squirrels could cause so much damage. You’re such a trooper and taking it all in strides. I confess, I would have probably been freaking out and wanted a donut. Sending you hugs during this reno, CoCo

  4. Jeanine Macintosh says

    Wow looks like a lot has gotten done! That is very cool, I love demos and renos and looking at photos when people are in the middle. Can’t wait to see more!

  5. Katherines Corner says

    it is a huge undertaking, but I know you will make it all look fabulous. I fear if we did something similar in our upstairs rooms we would find some serious hornet nests. We have to have our home soprayed every year. We have soooo many of those nasty stinging monsters. 🙂 Thank you for sharing at the Thursday Favorite Things party, xoi

    • Brooke Fedigan says

      Katherine, I love the Thursday Favorite Thing Blog Hop. We knew about the squirrels but not the bees. We will be adding a lot of chalk to fill any gaps. Buy even that doesn’t work all the time.

      xoxo,

      Brooke

  7. Ashley Steer says

    I am a huge HGTV nut, so this is right up my alley. I can’t wait to see what to see what this looks like when you’re done! I am sympathetic to your squirrel problem; we haven’t had anything this serious, but the stupid things get into our trash and drag it all over the yard… So irritating!

  13. Peachy V. Adarne says

    Maintaining your home could be troublesome it’s nice to have some pointers along the way. Please keep updating us I could definitely use the pointers for reference.

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