There’s no better cure for a case of the Mondays than swinging a sledgehammer. It must have been a particularly slow Monday because yesterday we tackled four separate demolition projects around the house.
Demo Day 2007 began with demo project #1: removing the chair rail in the dining room as we convert that space into a third bedroom. Chair rail is an odd fit for a bedroom, so it had to go. I was at work when this started, but from what I hear Sherry had no trouble taking it down with a hammer, a crowbar and plenty of determination. Goodbye, chair rail.
Beneath the trim we found some truly awful surprises: gross yellow paint and vintage 1970s wallpaper. It turned out to be even less appealing than the décor the house had when we moved in, but at least now we have a clean slate to plan the bedroom’s new look.
When I returned home it was time for demo project #2, which Sherry had already started: breaking up the decorative slate medallion in the middle of the backyard. This was part of our plan to expand the lawn and create more green space.
Smashing the slate was surprisingly easy. We took turns swinging a 20-pound sledgehammer while humming Peter Gabriel’s “Sledgehammer,” and within minutes the medallion was reduced to rubble. The harder part was digging out the sand bed beneath the slate. That took more effort, but the prospect of a larger, grassy backyard made it all worthwhile.
Next up was demo project #3: relocating the garden arch. The demolition portion was straightforward—some digging around the stakes and a few shimmies got it free of the ground. Moving the arch to its new spot toward the back of the property was a bit trickier. We attempted to re-stake it in place, but it was getting dark and we decided to pause and finish staking after dinner.
After a quick dinner and an errand to Lowe’s for topsoil, I thought the day’s work was over. But then I spotted Sherry holding a hammer. That meant one more task: demo project #4, opening up our laundry “room.” It was late—around 10:30 p.m.—but once she’d started, there was no stopping.
The “before” scene wasn’t very photogenic: cheap painted bi-fold doors hiding a cramped space that contained our washer, dryer and two cluttered shelves. The enclosure did a fine job of disguising a messy corner, but it also made the hallway between the sunroom and den feel narrow and closed in.
We began by removing the bi-fold doors, but the project quickly escalated to removing the wall above the doorway as well. A crowbar and some elbow grease did the trick. When the dust settled—literally—the laundry area and our clothes were coated in drywall debris, but the space looked instantly more open and connected to the rest of the house.
Our plan is to widen the doorway another 10–12 inches to open the hallway even more. We’ll add cabinet doors to the upper shelf to hide clutter, and eventually swap the current washer and dryer for cleaner-looking front-loading models. The goal is a bright, white laundry nook that’s both functional and pleasing to the eye—much better than the old bifold cave.
For now, we’re savoring the progress. There’s something unexpectedly satisfying about demolition: it’s fast, visceral and immediately rewarding. Rebuilding will come later. For today, we’ll enjoy the open spaces, the cleared backyard and the sense that the house is one step closer to what we envision.