The entry looks a lot more inviting and a lot less claustrophobic without the brick archways that were a “feature” in the 70s. We can use the brick to bring the bay window at the front of the house to current code. See Suna’s post for some of the Before pictures.

There’s a truism in this business: “You never know what you’ll find when you open up a wall.” If it’s what you expect—healthy studs with adequate insulation—nobody ever talks about it. Since I brought it up, I guess you know where this is headed.

Our long-term contractor Ruben started demo on the Roadrunner house late yesterday. Since the air conditioning was off and the high temps are hovering near the century mark (closing in on 40° for our friends outside the US), he started by bringing down the arches on the front porch. That little bit of demo has already improved the looks of the house, and we found adequate support for the span. The arches weren’t supporting anything but their own weight. So, we’re happy about that.

Our new AC contractor for the region came by this morning and unclogged the drains, so we could turn the AC back on. The guys were really happy about that. He gave the rest of the system a clean bill of health, except for the code changes implemented since the units were installed. He’s preparing a bid to address those minor issues, which mainly involve upgrading the thermostats.

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