Dining Room Progress: Week 3 {arch}

Week 3 in the dining room...also know as the project that so did NOT go the way we thought it would. 

You may remember from my previous post that we were under the impression that the decorative arch doorway from the foyer into the dinning room was not original to the house. We had assumed that the previous owner had enclosed the arch to add doors to the dining room. 

Meaning that to cut out the arch would be easy peasy, 2 day job at the most.  Well, we were wrong. 

What else can I say.

The guys we hired to do this job did everything right. They started by removing the existing casing. Then chipping away at the plaster to reveal what was underneath. 

Just like with the wallpaper, you never know what you'll find under the surface. 

And I can tell you, we did not expect to discover that the support beam was actually below the arch

We weren't left with too many options. The ceiling had to be supported and a new beam installed to keep everything on the up and up. Literally.

Our guys handled it all in stride and the project was only delayed by a couple of days. 

Just enough time for me to really second guess the need to open up the arch...

But, it's done and we really couldn't be happier. The room looks twice the size and the foyer actually gets natural light now. Amazing. 

Unfortunately, it's not all sunshine and roses with this project. There were floors that needed to be patched, moulding that couldn't be matched and a whole host of other issues that we hadn't anticipated. No surprise what we'll be doing next week then. 

I'm sure most of you are no stranger to this type of 'bigger than expected' project. Please share. Make a girl feel better. 

PS. And, if you haven't noticed, I've been updating my blog 4-5 times a week the last couple of weeks. Trying to step it up a bit around here. Your support is always appreciated.

until next time,