Harris and I had planned on doing all of the demolition ourselves. However, we didn't count on how little light there is at night and how dark the house is (charred wood) now that we've removed a lot of the white surfaces (drywall and painted paneling). Our Craftsman lantern does absolutely nothing against the darkness that inhabits Lizzy.
She wears white on the outside and is black on the inside.
We decided to hire Bill to fill the dumpster. All told, we paid him $135 cash and agreed to buy his next amtrak ticket (we would have anyway...) to carry the detritus we've already removed, and he paid someone else $20-30 (unclear) from that money to remove three ceilings. Apparently the guy is 6 foot 3 inches tall and in under 45 minutes had three drywall ceilings removed and all of the junk in the dumpster...without a ladder.
Later that evening, I got the wild hare of "oh man, this dumpster is leaving tomorrow and there's still room in it. Bill and I went back to Lizzy and removed carpets from two rooms. This work was gross and disgusting and very hard on Bill. I was there mainly for show it seems as I couldn't get a good grip on anything. I tried. I supported. In the end, Bill removed two carpets, but not the padding. Here's what's under the padding.
Wood Floors!
It's also difficult to see because of the char, but there is a wood ceiling in the front room. Once the drywall was down in the other three rooms we found attic. There are two rooms remaining where there might be wood or plaster ceilings left and one room we're pretty sure is going to have attic. The hallway is attic.
Next steps include getting the floor plan drawn (as is) and then creating our proposed plan that includes creating one central entranceway and moving the kitchen out of the hallway.
This image of our hallway kitchen shows some of the best plaster remaining in the house. You'll notice a drywall patch that is incomplete, water damage, and smoke/fire damage.
We have dawdled a little in drawing out our plans. First we couldn't get the measurements right, then we had moved so much junk around we couldn't measure right, but we need to get back to work. Now that the house is relatively clean again, we'll get to drawing.
We are also waiting for new estimates for the foundation work. We're toying with the idea of doing this house without a loan and the cost of the foundation repairs will determine if that's a realistic goal. We're really not sure if the foundation work will be $5,000, $10,000, or $40,000. We know we need new piers and to rebuild skirt wall, and jack the house, and replace girders. Once we get the foundation stable, we'll focus on the roof and walls.
