We have always wanted to tear down the wall between our two awkward front rooms. Then we decided to go ahead and vault the ceiling, too. We called the new space The Colloquium  (a place for conversation).

But names and dreams are easy. Bringing those hopes to fruition is the difficult part.

We have been beyond blessed to have a friend whose guidance and effort allow the dreams to transform into the work and logistics. We have also had the good fortune of the use of my parents’ house (which, if you remember, is right behind ours) while ours is being worked on. We do sleep in our house, but we cook, eat, work, nap, and do school over at The Ham House.

Here’s a brief visual of the process of vaulting the ceiling and busting at that troublesome wall.

making a support for the 24′ beam

Since the wall we were tearing out was a loadbearing wall, we would need a beam. You can see the place for the beam to sit own at the end of the attic.

The blurry part in the foreground is for the other end of the beam.

A hole in the ceiling–a preview of things to come.

putting in the beam

tearing out walls and ceiling

A tarp was put up to keep the dust out of the rest of the house.

The kids got to help too. 

Braces were added as the ceiling came down.

Then the skeletal remains of the wall were taken out.

What was easily the most intense and daunting phase of the process was actually probably the quickest. I believe it took three weeks for the wall to come down and the ceiling to be vaulted. After that comes windows and door replacement, insulation, drywall, flooring, ceiling, and of course floorplans and the like, and gathering the cabinetry and appliances for the kitchen.