Daily writing prompt
Describe the most ambitious DIY project you’ve ever taken on.
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Back in the mid90’s, we were living in Del Norte, Colorado. Our home was built in in the 1870s, and it had been added onto several times during its lifetime.

Then came our turn.

We decided to build onto the back and add a master bedroom and bath.

Now, I know something about framing. I know something about plumbing. I had a book (YouTube didn’t exist yet). And I had the Love of my Life who had shadowed her dad who made their living as a general contractor building homes. Waht’s better, she knew which end of a hammer to use, or how to cut a board and etc.. In short, my Baby is a lot more than just a pretty face. She had the brains and I had the brawn to make it happen.

And this project pushed me to my limits and beyond. In fact, it damn near killed me.

Decades before, someone had built the perfect foundation. A thick concrete above ground cellar that we had turned into a Television room. We built directly above it. I got the permits, built a platform that would serve as a floor and base for the add on, and then built the walls on the ground.

Lacking a crane, I put the wall up in place using the old-fashioned method of putting them on a skid and walking them up onto the second floor platform. sometimes it helps to know how the Egyptians built the pyramids.

I got it enclosed, the roof on, put in electrical, and then built a spiral staircase to allow my wife and I to get up into it.

I put in a gas furnace, and in the course of running heating ducts, discovered the old part of the house had been built out of railroad ties. Want to have some real fun and discover new bad words? Try cutting through one of those with a sawzall!

I did all the work myself with my wife, daughters, and son helping when they could. at one point, I had to get the fireplace insert upstairs. I had my wife and daughter on the second floor with ropes around them. I secured the insert into a sort of net, placed it on a two by six ladder (upside down so it formed rails) and with me pushing, they twirled like ballerinas. We pulled/pushed the insert up. Looking back, dangerous as hell, but . . .

Julie did all the internal work, plastering and so on. Not to mention worrying about me falling off a ladder.

I wish I had pictures of the project.

I must have done something right. It’s still standing.

Now how did it almost kill me? Read about the here.

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