It Started!

This is really exciting --- reconstruction has started! It's going to be great to get everything out of the house and get a fresh start. Since everything has just been sitting in the house 'marinating' in all its smokiness, one step forward - a BIG step - is to just be able to go in an not be faced with everything (furniture, clothes, shoes, personal things). Should take a day or so and then it's time for a deep breath and to focus even more on the new vision for the house.

Downstairs -- severely charred area  is where the fire started

Main level; stairway will stay opened up

Looking up to the 3rd floor; railing will be preserved

Plaster and lathe; created enormous rubble as it all came down

This is looking into my bedroom; before all the furniture and contents could be removed. Piles of personal items waiting to be removed. 

Similar view; this is after one day of demo, but no removal of things yet. You can see the burned out ceiling above. 

This is the guest bedroom upstairs. Wall and ceiling removed. The opening is to where a hall closet used to be, and now will be my laundry. 

Piles and piles. 

View looking down the hallway. This wall will stay out, and I'll be using this area as an open style sitting room/office area.

Living room; this is pretty much how my carpets and furniture looked from the day after the fire until mid-January. 

View from the kitchen to the front door.

This is the storage area downstairs. 

A complete mess.

View into the storage area from the family room. All that black on the walls shows where the fire plumed out on this level. The ceiling has been pulled down at this point.