Going into the third week of the the remodel, it seemed like the most dramatic aspects of demolition were complete: Julia’s room was gone except for the floor; the kitchen had been removed except for one short piece of wall that is theoretically staying after all is said and done; and the garage felt like a distant memory, as all the walls had been knocked down except for the tiny corner where the electrical panel hung.

It hadn’t really occurred to me that there was a lot left to do with the garage (and also the patio): in order to support the new living areas that would be constructed above them—including a couple second-floor bedrooms—significant new sections of foundation would have to be laid. That meant the garage floor would have to go; that’s where much of the work was focused in week three. The floor and patio were broken up by Tuesday and removed by Thursday. When we went by at the end of the week, the concrete base of the garage walls had been cleared away, as well.

That wasn’t all that happened, of course. The ongoing task of attic cleanup continued, producing piles of insulation, flooring, and various pieces of boxes that we’d left behind. And work started on the fireplace, including removal of most of the chimney: we’re planning to make use of the bricks to piece together trim for new sections of exterior wall, in the hope of saving a little bit of money and ensuring a good match with the existing brickwork.

If you look carefully, you can see the last scraps of kitchen wallpaper and floor, still tenaciously hanging on in the face of all this destruction. Time will tell how long they’ll hold out.

Gallery: Week 3: Goodbye, Garage

Credits: Julia Neva Wong contributed many of these photos.