Squirrels are vermin.

I suppose you're wondering what we've been up to over the last several months of non-blogging...let's catch up shall we?

I know a lot of squirrel lovers.  I've heard accolades of their fluffy little tails, seen performances of lithe nut retrieval and heard myriad humorous stories about them running about being very cute...I was almost on board I admit, but after the experience of the last few months of defending this house against their virulent and destructive onslaught, I fall squarely in the anti-squirrel camp.

I imagine they were accessing the roof through the use of what we fondly refer to as the "squirrel highway"  for quite some time before we acquired this house.  The offending trees growing out of the foundation and several limbs have since been removed, animal control set live traps to catch the latest (and hopefully last) naughty little guys, and oh my goodness was there a mess to clean up.

They were quite comfortable having chewed almost entirely through the framing members in the roof to create an elaborate maze through many rafters.  This process necessitated a thorough demolition of the existing third floor.  A picture is worth a thousand words right?

About an inch left in this 2x4 and the attic was full of them.  If she weren't so well built she would have crumbled:)

From the East looking West the space is filled with light.

From the West looking East

New Oak floors throughout.

Needless to say this was a bit beyond the original scope we intended to take on before moving in to this house.  Oh well.  Now the structure has been restored, all squirrel feces removed...yuck, all mold issues resolved and proportions that suit the space much more nicely than the job that was done in the 70's.  It's been a long, bumpy and unexpected detour, but wow is it turning out nicely.