House in Progress Diary

Mysteries & Milestones

Parents came in for the cleaning "blitz" of the first floor. Photos should be ready soon. A & I bought ourselves 2 concrete pots for the front steps for our anniversary and then decorated them with red impatiens. We began trimming the hedges and mowed the lawn, set up the grill and have been sharing our abundance of overgrown backyard peonies with our neighbors.

It seems as if the "story" of the house's move-in condition has made it around the women's circle at church. Their enthusiasm to help clean is only matched by their curiousity in getting a glimpse inside of the "famously junky house."

Had a Geraldo moment as Dad and A pulled aside a board in front of the fireplace to see if the fireplace was still there ...yep, it's still back there. The front of it is gone, but the skeleton remains of the old gas fireplace. Wild. We'll eventually resuse the hickory boards for a built-in closet upstairs.

I should be able to publish LINKS to other pages at least...meaning, the pictures are going up. Not the Ofoto "before and after" shots, but we will be recording the work in progress and showing everyone what interesting "treasures" were left behind.

And we want your stories about these treasures! Maybe you remember your grandmother or great aunt having one. Let us know! We'll publish you.

Mysteries of the week:

-Are the bookcases from the fireplace (which we found in the basement) worthy of repair, or will they have to be replaced?
-What did the original kitchen look like?
-How much sleep are we EVER going to get?
-If they saved everything else, where did all of the molding from the front two rooms go?

Mysteries solved

-Where are the gas lines in the kitchen? (Answer: Everywhere)
-What created the water damage on bedroom ceiling--first floor? (Answer: Wax seal of PO-installed toilet breaking above that room)
-Where are the raccoons getting in and out? (Answer: Mushroom airvent at top of house.)

Resources of the week:

-Gary at Cellar Master who inspected and maintained on our flood control pump, gave us advice on water flow and taught us many things. He rodded our pipes and pulled out all sorts of nastiness...Go Gary!
-John at Just Sashes for sending in a pretty comprehensive proposal.

Milestones of the week

-Cleaned...and then cleaned again.
-Prepared 1st floor for living while gutting goes on around us.
-Dog no longer afraid of the first floor (too much).
-Everything categorized, but not photographed or catalogued.
-Doorbell fixed (well, kinda)
-Joist under 1920's installed tub has been sistered.
-Ordered the Silent Paint Remover.
-Pest Control comes Monday
-Mowed lawn, began weeding, trimmed bushes in front
-Exhausting research on books and music, some pottery started (especially Oriental vintage)

Pictures of daily finds will be categorized at What On Earth?!?

It's like a trip back in time in here.

Posted by jeanne on June 15, 2003 at 1:37 AM