Bamboo is gone for $19.50 thanks to either the carelessness of the solid waste dept. or the indignant responses from council members.
While Harris was talking to Solid Waste about the problem on Friday, the caller suggested that Harris take it up with City Council if he had a problem with it. After I got back from lunch on Friday, that's exactly what I did and it seems city council was not amused.
By 3:30 Friday afternoon Harris had an apology from the director of solid waste who had pulled the tape of the call and listened to it and confirmation that they would pick up all of the bamboo for no additional charge by the end of the day.
It's all gone.
We also anticipate having our first estimate for the shell rennovation delivered to us this week. This would entail a licensed general contractor fixing the foundation and rebuilding the roofline. Additioanlly, they would put in the new replacement windows where the current broken replacement windows are, rebuild the porch, and replace rotten exterior wood.
We're thinking colors along the lines of ... HEX: #F70586RGB:
Showing posts with label cost. Show all posts
Showing posts with label cost. Show all posts
Monday, April 11, 2011
Friday, April 8, 2011
Bamboo removal
Harris signed up for yard waste service for the remainder of the year. The cart rental plus service agreement set us back $19.50. This also entitles us to two free bulky brush pick ups. We have requested one for the bamboo that the city tells us will be complete by Saturday. We'll see on that one.
It also enables us to fill 10 lawn and leaf bags a week with bamboo leaves to be picked up for free at the curb by the city.
You might wonder why there are so many posts about bamboo and so few about...you know...the house.
First, the bamboo is something we can actively work on and make progress, ergo it is satisfying to do this work. Additionally, it is realtively inexpensive to go and hack/haul/curse the bamboo.
Second, the bamboo lot had previously obsured the sidewalk, making it impossible to see the connections between this section of Elizabeth St and the hill. Now that we've cleared it, from the sidewalk you can see straight on to Dowd St. It is also less likely that the lot will be cited by NIS for code enforcement.
Third, the overgrown and trash filled lot makes the place feel abandoned and un loved. We want to instead make it seem a little loved.
Fourth, Natalie is tragically afraid of snakes. As it gets warmer, there is less of a chance that she will go anywhere that she cannot see the ground...so we better get it clean before the critters emerge.
Fifth, we're still planning the interior of the house. This isn't our full time job by any means. Since we don't have the loans lined up yet to do the work or the tax credit application submitted, there's not much we can do inside of Lizzy other than clean.
We've set up a meeting with Sara of 4 over 1 to chat about the house next week and are excited to hear her thoughts!
It also enables us to fill 10 lawn and leaf bags a week with bamboo leaves to be picked up for free at the curb by the city.
You might wonder why there are so many posts about bamboo and so few about...you know...the house.
First, the bamboo is something we can actively work on and make progress, ergo it is satisfying to do this work. Additionally, it is realtively inexpensive to go and hack/haul/curse the bamboo.
Second, the bamboo lot had previously obsured the sidewalk, making it impossible to see the connections between this section of Elizabeth St and the hill. Now that we've cleared it, from the sidewalk you can see straight on to Dowd St. It is also less likely that the lot will be cited by NIS for code enforcement.
Third, the overgrown and trash filled lot makes the place feel abandoned and un loved. We want to instead make it seem a little loved.
Fourth, Natalie is tragically afraid of snakes. As it gets warmer, there is less of a chance that she will go anywhere that she cannot see the ground...so we better get it clean before the critters emerge.
Fifth, we're still planning the interior of the house. This isn't our full time job by any means. Since we don't have the loans lined up yet to do the work or the tax credit application submitted, there's not much we can do inside of Lizzy other than clean.
We've set up a meeting with Sara of 4 over 1 to chat about the house next week and are excited to hear her thoughts!
Monday, January 10, 2011
Land! Take two!
We signed the papers this AM and if the snowpocalypse stays at bay a little longer they will be filed at the courthouse this pm.
We paid $3,520.65 for the bamboo jungle next door (inclusive of fees). It is formally known at 503 N. Elizabeth St and clocks in at .088 acres. It is unbuildable without permission from the board of adjustment and then, you could only put a very small single family house on it. We purchased it because we were concerned that the yard for lizzy was very small and did not want to have a rental house or for sale house next door to an overgrown bamboo jungle next to the former shooting gallery.
It is currently covered with bamboo, ivy, and empty King Cobra and Budwiser bottles.
We will be clearing the lot and using it as a side yard for Lizzy. There are some beautiful trees waiting to be liberated from this jungle. Pics to follow shortly.
Plans :
Clear sidewalk in front of bamboo forrest
Hack Bamboo
Count bottles
Clear trash
We paid $3,520.65 for the bamboo jungle next door (inclusive of fees). It is formally known at 503 N. Elizabeth St and clocks in at .088 acres. It is unbuildable without permission from the board of adjustment and then, you could only put a very small single family house on it. We purchased it because we were concerned that the yard for lizzy was very small and did not want to have a rental house or for sale house next door to an overgrown bamboo jungle next to the former shooting gallery.
It is currently covered with bamboo, ivy, and empty King Cobra and Budwiser bottles.
We will be clearing the lot and using it as a side yard for Lizzy. There are some beautiful trees waiting to be liberated from this jungle. Pics to follow shortly.
Plans :
Clear sidewalk in front of bamboo forrest
Hack Bamboo
Count bottles
Clear trash
Sunday, January 9, 2011
Ramblings
Our heat at Oakwood broke this morning and after a 3am freak out (WHAT IN THE FUCK IS THAT MELTING PLASTIC SMELL) in which we all got dressed, told Madeline she needed to be a brave and cooperative child and wear many layers, and made multiple trips to the crawl space, Harris discovered that the breaker/switch/fuse whatever thing that powers our heat pump was literally melted.
The irony that we own three houses, two of which have no heat, and none of which we could stay in was not lost on me. We have high hopes that our HVAC crew will show up by 9am and will fix the heat.
Harris and Madeline are asleep upstairs which leaves me to stay awake downstairs and await their arrival. I've made brownies, cleaned the kitchen, and will probably finish the laundry before they do.
Anyway, I also realized I needed to update the totals section here and on the separate spreadsheet we keep. We had to renew our vacant house insurance policy. Because the housing market is crap (which makes no sense to me) vacant house policies are hard to get and the only one we've found so far is a company in Arizona who will give us 3 month renewals. Great right??? As soon as we start construction we can get a construction policy or something. However, we're waiting for tax credit application approval before starting construction so here's hoping...
Again. Anyway.
We bought a pair of these today on sale at Sears for $15.88. FISKARS!
Being me, on our way home we stopped by Lizzy to try them out. I had to cut several strands of bamboo before I realized that yes, it was cutting that smoothly. We might be looking at fewer hours now.
We've gone back and forth about the best way to get rid of the bamboo. Chainsaw or loppers, and loppers has finally won out. Elena Chainsaw Turner came over to scout the lot today and agreed that the level of trash, bottles, junk, undergrowth, and slope meant that the chainsawing would probably be...not fun. Add to that her theory that as a grass it would gum up the blades often enough that you'd rather just hack it and Harris finally agreed to let me lop it all out.
Our new plan for the yard is to
1. Cut down bamboo, vines, and small shrubs.
2. Haul trash, bamboo, and logs to curb.
3. Dispose (trash/recycle) all of the crap.
4. MOW baby MOW!
5. Find land pin.
The irony that we own three houses, two of which have no heat, and none of which we could stay in was not lost on me. We have high hopes that our HVAC crew will show up by 9am and will fix the heat.
Harris and Madeline are asleep upstairs which leaves me to stay awake downstairs and await their arrival. I've made brownies, cleaned the kitchen, and will probably finish the laundry before they do.
Anyway, I also realized I needed to update the totals section here and on the separate spreadsheet we keep. We had to renew our vacant house insurance policy. Because the housing market is crap (which makes no sense to me) vacant house policies are hard to get and the only one we've found so far is a company in Arizona who will give us 3 month renewals. Great right??? As soon as we start construction we can get a construction policy or something. However, we're waiting for tax credit application approval before starting construction so here's hoping...
Again. Anyway.
We bought a pair of these today on sale at Sears for $15.88. FISKARS!
Being me, on our way home we stopped by Lizzy to try them out. I had to cut several strands of bamboo before I realized that yes, it was cutting that smoothly. We might be looking at fewer hours now.
We've gone back and forth about the best way to get rid of the bamboo. Chainsaw or loppers, and loppers has finally won out. Elena Chainsaw Turner came over to scout the lot today and agreed that the level of trash, bottles, junk, undergrowth, and slope meant that the chainsawing would probably be...not fun. Add to that her theory that as a grass it would gum up the blades often enough that you'd rather just hack it and Harris finally agreed to let me lop it all out.
Our new plan for the yard is to
1. Cut down bamboo, vines, and small shrubs.
2. Haul trash, bamboo, and logs to curb.
3. Dispose (trash/recycle) all of the crap.
4. MOW baby MOW!
5. Find land pin.
Thursday, December 9, 2010
Dumpster drama
We'll be adding $40 to the cost of the dumpster. It seems they could not find a place on the property to locate the dumpster so it has to be placed in the street. For the honor of placing the dumpster in the street, Harris and Madeline spent an hour and a half at City Hall + $40 this morning.
You run into things like this a lot. Basically, City Department do not communicate well nor do they help you anticipate problems. On Wednesday they couldn't decide how much notice was needed nor if we should be prepared to pay with a check or credit card. Today, it's an on-street fee for a dumpster because they didn't like the off street locations provided.
It's best to have a little free time to navigate these things.
You run into things like this a lot. Basically, City Department do not communicate well nor do they help you anticipate problems. On Wednesday they couldn't decide how much notice was needed nor if we should be prepared to pay with a check or credit card. Today, it's an on-street fee for a dumpster because they didn't like the off street locations provided.
It's best to have a little free time to navigate these things.
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
Dumpster
The first dumpster arrives on Thursday!
After talking to Solid Waste and One Call and getting different information from both, Harris just went to Solid Waste to fill out the paperwork. We're going to clock this at 1 hour and the $200 dumpster rental fee.
On Thursday our friend Bill will remove the paneling and drywall that we've taken down so far and place it in this dumpster. If this is quick work and there is more room in the dumpster, then we'll see about getting more stuff down from the ceilings and into the dumpster.
Once this is complete and we can wander around inside again we will draw the proposed floor plan for the tax credit application.
After talking to Solid Waste and One Call and getting different information from both, Harris just went to Solid Waste to fill out the paperwork. We're going to clock this at 1 hour and the $200 dumpster rental fee.
On Thursday our friend Bill will remove the paneling and drywall that we've taken down so far and place it in this dumpster. If this is quick work and there is more room in the dumpster, then we'll see about getting more stuff down from the ceilings and into the dumpster.
Once this is complete and we can wander around inside again we will draw the proposed floor plan for the tax credit application.
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Thursday, October 14, 2010
Do beers count toward costs?
Harris and I worked on the house last night and should be posting video tonight.
A question - should we include the cost of the Fullsteam Chocolate Stout in the costs of the house? We would have most likely still enjoyed them if we had not been working on Lizzy, but they were espeically tasty after two hours of nasty demolition.
Back bedroom is officially stripped to the studs...if you don't count the ceiling. Front room is wall stud revieled as well. The kitchen/hallway is beginning to appear from behind bad drywall.
A question - should we include the cost of the Fullsteam Chocolate Stout in the costs of the house? We would have most likely still enjoyed them if we had not been working on Lizzy, but they were espeically tasty after two hours of nasty demolition.
Back bedroom is officially stripped to the studs...if you don't count the ceiling. Front room is wall stud revieled as well. The kitchen/hallway is beginning to appear from behind bad drywall.
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