Waterproof! And Not.

Our basement has been interior french drained!

It really helps to turn the well off before disconnecting it.

More... carefully removing the water tank.

Good thing we're getting a new water heater?

Construction adhesived the command center since we had to chop the base.

It's so gravely!

And shadowy.

Working on the sump pump.

Our foundation has weep holes!  Now it can cry.

Cement poured.

Woot, new pump, with a backup battery pump too, in case.

Looking sharp!

So lovely.  And our furnace will be staying away from the wall for a while.

Unfortunately, other parts of our house are not as waterproofed.

Our fireplace and chimney!

Was leaking, so we had to remove it.

Handy dandy home depot bucket.  Oh how you complete my life.

So wet!

Don't worry guys, we got this.  We're pros.

But we really do need our siding fixed ASAP.

On a brighter note, our house is finally getting slowly jacked up!

Nine home depot buckets!  Be still my heart.

Needed to dig the dirt out and flared to create a deep enough and wide enough footer foundation for the poles!

This is how we keep buildings up in Michigan.

Eventually the beam will be at the line!  Maybe.

Meanwhile, DH and I have been busy too!

We transported pipes to the house in a safe manner.

DH created pipes!  And started hooking them up!

I cleaned the studs of drywall screws and construction adhesive.

We put up blocks to stop air flow!

BONUS PICTURES TIME

Pods!

Red stuff!

DUCKSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!

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