The Indian goddess, Kali, is sometimes considered a demon because of her destructive power but she is also a symbol of divine creation. Destruction and creation go hand in hand. We saw Kali’s spirit at work in the Red House this week.

Inside, masked carpenters tore through walls and ceilings, ripping off boards, using sledge hammers to destroy sheetrock and pulling old fiberglass insulation from cavities to expose the old house’s original framing and some not-so-elegant alterations.

What was revealed was revealing: the exterior walls are not as thick as once supposed. In the dining room, after the windows were removed, the wall measured 2.5 inches wide; in the parlor, the wall measured 3.5 inches, having been padded with extra layers of boards stuffed with fiberglass insulation. Our contractor based his R-value calculations on the 3.5 inch width. In order to keep a high insulating value, he recommended stripping the interior walls down to the studs and adding new lumber. So that’s what we’re doing. Bye bye old wall paper.

Outside, Josh and Al finished removing the old clapboard siding and pulled out all the windows on the front and western side of the 1805 structure.

They also removed the old Typar, reframed the window openings and covered them with plastic to protect them until demolition is complete and new Marvin windows will be installed.

Kali’s creative side was in evidence around the corner where Joe and Clint finished hardscaping what has become a granite retaining wall and flower bed.

Kali was also strutting her stuff in the basement. Nils and I got involved today, sorting and cleaning an additional 275 bricks pulled from a frozen pier dug out from under a foot of snow and ice. It was messy muddy work, but the bricks are needed to complete the design element on the second basement wall.

A few parting shots. Kali is dancing!