Posts go up, walls go up & staircase sealed

Today was a very exciting day. I swung by the property on my lunch break and I saw that the contractors were starting to add the walls to the basement addtion. By 5:00, this is what it looked like:

In the kitchen, the temporary support walls have come down, and the new architectural beam that supports the house has been installed accross the top of the ceiling. From that two other architectural posts have been installed, which will be the ends of the kitchen island:

Did you notice that the staircase has been sealed up?

Also, the front porch is starting to take shape:

Can you see it ?:

Day 14: New stair case & removal of wall

The new stairs in the family/living area room have been added:

The original wall on the lower back part of the house has been removed to make way for the new addition. The basement will have a sunken area, with a few steps. I envision a large entertainment area and an L-shaped sectional in this area:

Day 13: Things are taking shape

The foundation for the addition is framed and is setting:

The dirt from the excavation has now been spread out over the yard, several more truck loads of dirt will be brought in to even out the terrain:

The foundation for the front porch has been filled:

The stairwell to the crawl space in the attic has been demolished. This wall will eventually taken down and the stairwell to the basement will be nailed up and the kitchen will be extended into this area:

Day 10: I've lost count...

The foundation for the addition is being built:

The foundation for the new porch is being poured, it has to be deep enough to go below the frost line:

Tony is removing some sort of HVAC line (??)  I think this provides heat to the house, but I'm pretty clueless. Instead of going down through the center wall of the basement, it will now be located on a side wall. Also, this will make room for the new staircase that will come from the living room down to the basement. The old staircase off the kitchen that leads to the laundry room will be boarded up to make more room to expand the kitchen:

The lime-green room on the far left of the picture is an extra bedroom with a bath that will eventually be painted and retrimmed turned into a playroom for Alex. I plan on tackling this project when Tony isn't looking:

Demo Day 7: Kitchen is gone, laying foundation

Demo Day 6: Kitchen Removal & Excavation begins

Demo Day 5: Kitchen

The external demolition of the house is complete: