Cementing the Deal

Post is divided by the people and things involved in making this journey wonderful.  Or something.

What We Did! 

Removed existing wall frames.

Pondered what we're doing with our lives...

Left loose ends hanging.

Disregarded electrical hazards.

Tempted fate.

Sawed through icky stuff.

Because who needs flooring, amrite?

Found a pee bucket.

Found a nest.

Found a bird.

Cleaned out the nest.

Installed a garage door opener.

Installed the second garage door opener!

What the pros did!

Started building cement supports in our basement.  Discovered the concrete floor was not poured thick enough and is cracking.  Called in concrete pros.

Concrete pros say it'll be okay, but water is coming up between the walls and concrete, so they'll be installing an interior french drain for $$$$.  Also, move the well tank out.  This won't end well.

What the deer did!

Roaming around in broad daylight with no cover.

Human talking?  Garage door squealing?  Ain't no thang for these deers.  She came CLOSER.

What Mother Nature Did!

Maybe I'll plant a willow tree.  At least it's warm outside.

Task: Prep the Bathrooms, Install Garage Door Openers, Befriend the Deer, Splash In Puddles, Write Checks

You Know What?  Lots of Hours.  It's been LOTS of hours.  And LOTS of $$$.

Show and Tell

Things are getting complicated. Our original thinking when we bought the house went something like this:

1. Tear up carpet
2. Put down hardwood floors
3. Profit!

The list is substantially longer now.

This is our gravel driveway.  It is about 80% water and 20% gravel.  That's fine for now though since it's frozen over!

This is one of the trees that the previous "master gardener" owners had planted.  The bark is stripping and there is green all over the trunk.  The same is happening with the other plants.  Maybe someone can enlighten me if this is okay?

This is our lawn and "garden".  It also has water issues.

We pulled the fireplace mantle off!  Anyone want to buy that sucker for a couple hundred bucks?  We really need the cash right now!

This is our fireplace without the faux brick facade.  There is a significant lack of cement backer board, just that lovely drywall.

This is our window with the most significant moisture damage to the osb underneath.

This is DH cutting into the drywall (it's the same window, I swear!) with the best tool possible for the job... our boxcutter broke!

This is our window with the drywall removed.  Let's get closeups!

Paper wasp nest?  Check!

Random nests for field mice?  Check!  Uh.... this unsealed vapor barrier will be staying on and containing these nests for a while longer.  Our siding is warped and critters are getting in!

This is a closeup of our window!  That line of frost is encouraging!

This is the final layer of our OSB floor on the second floor.  We feel really safe as it is super stable and does not deflect in the slightest.

This is our doorway with all the moulding removed.  What's that on the sides?

Oh, that's where the header should have been!  Best guess is that they measured EVERY SINGLE DOOR wrong, cut out the header, hammered the nails down, slapped some moulding on, and called it good!  Yay?

It is at this point that we called in a pro! Luckily, he's a member of the family.  

Unluckily, the first words out of his mouth when he saw our basement supports and headers were "I'm surprised your house is still standing."  Well, that's promising!

We will be relying begging for mercy on him for a lot of advice.
It's okay, we have a plan! Maybe. We're working on it. Maybe.

Task: Do Things
Saturday: 2.5 hours last of the particleboard removal (besides kitchens and bathrooms)
Sunday: 1.5 hours fireplace destruction and discovery of nests!
Wednesday: 2 hours drywall removal
Thursday: 2.5 hours pro consultation, 30 minutes of hyperventilation.
Total: 8.5 hours
Total To Date: 63.5 hours