trash removal costs

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.

Deconstruction

Before demolition there is deconstruction.It is in this phase that you find very scary things, hysterical things, and some remaining gems that keep hope alive.

Before we made an offer on the house we pulled corners of carpet to check for wood floors. While in the crawl space we also looked for signs that the original wood floors had been removed. If for example, we saw new floor joists and plywood from below then we would know there were no wood floors waiting to be uncovered. Today, being bona fide owners of the property, I sliced into the carpet and ripped it back.

WOOD FLOORS! Beautiful wide plank floors in 4 of 5 rooms checked. This is good.

We are leaving the carpet down for a long time. Not only will it trap dirt that we put down, but we're hoping that it will keep the dust down in the house. We also know that there are holes in the floors- you can feel soft softs in different places. The carpet will help us not break ourselves while doing demolition.

Harris and I were very curious to figure out if we're dealing with plaster or drywall. Our little house has plaster and I love the soundproofing it provides. In the big house we had to remove the plaster as after we removed the paneling and drywall, the plaster fell off the lathe in huge chunks. Removing plaster and lathe is gross and time consuming. We were hoping that our new place did not require that.

4/5 rooms in the house have paneling covering the walls. Today, I removed some of the paneling and found the fireplace (double sided) and that some walls are studs with paneling affixed directly and others have 20 year old drywall underneath. So far, the only plaster we've found has been near the fire place and in the "undisturbed" room. We will remove more paneling on date night and post pictures. Today, I used the claw of a hammer and flashlight to peer behind.

Hysterical - After finding the double fire place I went looking for the other side fireplace. Since the house was a duplex, the right side needed to have a heating mechanism. I went to the back bedroom and pulled at the paneling on what I was 99% sure was a fireplace.



I pulled back the paperboard paneling to reveal....




...more paneling! The second layer was wood type paneling that seemed to be of a higher quality and much older. I'm guessing some slumlord installed in the 1970s or 1980s to class up the joint. I wanted to check on the condition of the chimney, but Mad'lberry woke up from her nap so we headed home for a shower.