Renovation: The ATTIC!

Ah, the attic.  So many memories, frustrations, surprises!  But it's all been torn down now and it's on its way to becoming livable space.  Shall we?

Because the attic had never been used as living space, and had no kind of insulation or closures for the openings (ie: window openings had no windows), there was a door closing off the space from the rest of the house.  (The door is open in the picture, but you can see the frame of it)

It was amazing when the door was removed - it opened up the hallway and looks great!

The "stairs" that led up the attic were abysmal.  Crumbling vestiges of steps, really.  But today they got reset with cement and wood "nez de marches" (noses - how do you say that in English?)

A view from above, just to make you dizzy.

And, up to the attic itself: remember this place?  This was the what it looked like when we bought it.

This is what it looked like after we 1.  Filled it to the brim with stuff from the house and garage, then 

2. Completely emptied it and 3. Olivier (pictured) got to work ripped down all the shelves and weird metal structures.  In this pic he is uncovering the stone wall.

Oh yeah, the bunnies lived in the attic for a while.  

Cement makes a big mess.  and A LOT of dust.  

It was difficult for Olivier to install the rails to hold the ceiling board up because nothing in old houses is ever straight!  But he's awesome, so he made it work.  See the electrical lines on the floor?  That's the lighting and electricity going down to the other levels of the house.  They never intended to use the attic as living space, even when they updated the electricity 15 years ago.  So they didn't worry that the lines just go all over the place.  Yikes!  Don't worry, Olivier's got it covered.

Here you can see the insulation has gone in, and the windows are waiting to be installed!

OH MY GOSH!  I have never been so excited to see a ceiling.

Can we just ooh and aaah for a minute?  Because that is starting to look like a real living space!

In this picture, please notice the yucky roof tiles, and the big window.  The roof has been entirely replaced, and the window . . . .

Looks like this! (black bits to be changed out - factory error)

This funny little room, which held all the crazy clothes and linens and which offered a place to store the vinegar jars up high, became . . .

A big pile of rubble.

And then got a little light from above.

And will soon be turned into our bathroom, tucked at the back of our bedroom.  The dividing wall will go up sometime in the next week or two.  Can't forget to cut the drywall out to uncover the window! (Shower will be where the waterproof greenboard is-on the right)

I know that was a lot to take in, and it's not easy to imagine how everything is laid out . . . maybe I'll draw you a little floorplan so you can see what the space is like?  Basically, when you come up the stairs, you're in the "big" room, which we will leave open.  Kind of like a living room or play room.

See the stairwell on the left?  We will add a railing later.  We will also build a wall to make a laundry room where Olivier is standing with the water heaters.  

See the water heaters? So I am standing in the door to the bedroom.

Then, on the other side of a "mur porteur" (? a structure wall that you can't knock down)--you have the bedroom & bathroom.  In this picture, I am standing where the bathroom will be.  The big picture window is seen just barely in the right of the photo.  The doorway on the left leads into the living room.

Well, if you're not exhausted from all that, I sure am.  You can't even imagine how tired Olivier must be.