destruction update
al finished filling in the cavity between the removed fireplace and the chimney. woohoo! i think all that's left is sealing off the flues at the top of the chimney and removing the leftover bricks and block.
dumpster #3 is being delivered tomorrow. this will be a small dumpster which i'm going to use for disposing of the remaining floor tile, the disgusting sink and toilet in the bathroom, any remaining masonry stuff, a whole bunch of shit that's been piling up in the garage, and possibly the old stove and oven upstairs if no one bids on my ebay listing for them.
speaking of floor tile, i had one of those caveman-learns-to-use-tools moments today. i've bitched before about what a pain in the ass it is ripping out floor tile with a floor scraper, especially one that isn't designed to let you thrust it with your foot. well, i decided to try pounding the hell out of the tiles with my hand sledge, and then use the floor scraper on them. this worked beautifully. i was able to cut the time probably in half--i removed about 100 tiles in under an hour. only problem is, the tile fragments go flying everywhere when you whack them like this. if you're thinking about trying this technique, wearing full wraparound eye protection is an absolute must.