With a project house, questions continually arise.  What project do I tackle next?  Where does one get parts for seventy-year-old windows?  How do I fit in my washer and dryer?

Initially, we thought the last question had been answered; the mudroom next to the breakfast nook already had water, gas and electrical connections for a laundry room.  Then I got out the tape measure.  Washer - twenty-seven inches.  Space - tweny inches. 

Obviously, it was time to tackle a small project - moving the interior wall next to the breakfast nook.   There shouldn't be any difficulty moving  wallboard and studs, right?  Not right.

The first indication I had miscalculated came when I realized I'd have to remove the breakfast nook.  No problem; my main nickname is Demolition R Us.  With hammer, crowbar and circular saw, I transformed two-thirds of the bench into fire barrel fodder.  My regrets were few.  Although attractive, the bench was uncomfortable and designed to obstruct all access to the window next to it.  The remaining third, I figured would be a handy resting area for while, but its days were numbered, too.




Oops.  Forgot the floor.  Upon this discovery, I figured pulling up a few layers of vinyl tile on chipboard would be easy.  After all, I did the same thing a couple of months earlier.  The job would be messy, but I had the technique mastered.  I  grabbed my trusty scraper, pried up a few square feet of flooring and encountered a plywood subfloor.  Plywood doesn't come up in nice chunks like deteriorating chipboard. After indulging in a few choice words, I set my circle saw to a very shallow cut and scored the plywood,  effectively adding a  "Tear on dotted line" feature.

About this time, Mick moseyed in and asked, "Where are you planning on putting your Chambers stove?"

I thought a while.  "Against the new wall."  I sat on the remaining section of bench and realized it had to go, too. 

Scope creep was beginning.