Demolition Has Started!

Demolition started on Wednesday and has progressed very quickly.

Day 1-We've made some discoveries: the walls and ceiling actually have some insulation in them; behind the drywall we found old-school knotty pine walls (we'll salvage some, but most is icky); there is indeed asbestos tile under the vinyl, as we suspected; we did not find any moisture on the exterior walls, however the wall near the bathroom is wet and one of the workers fell through the squishy subfloor (once we found out that he was not hurt, we had a good chuckle about what a surprise that must have been while using the...ahem...facilities). I couldn't bring myself to ask how many cockroach bodies they found behind the drywall. By the time I came downstairs, it had been vacuumed.

Day 2- We've discovered all kinds of sketchy electrical wires hanging out in the walls and ceiling. Yikes! We've also discovered the source of the wet bathroom, the big, iron pipe that takes waste-water from the main floor bathroom to the sewer line has been leaking. Think about that for a moment. Yes, that kind of water has been leaking under the basement bathroom subfloor. So, so gross. I guess that explains the humidity and unpleasant smell down there. Shudder! On the up-side, this is fixable, and since we have identified the root of the odor, this may mean that the completed basement will be even more pleasant than we imagined.

Day 3- Our basement is a clean slate, in terms of design. (Though nothing about it is clean.) Next up is plumbing and electrical demo, then re-framing the exterior walls begins.

Come on downstairs and check out our progress so far.

(Illegal) Kitchen
 

When We Moved In

(Ugh, I forgot about those upper cabinets. They were filled with roaches.

  

Last Week



 

Day 1 Demo

  



Day 2 Demo



Main Room



Day 2: Knotty Pine Revealed



Old Damage From When The House Didn't Have Gutters



Day 3: Bye, Bye Walls



Bathroom

 

Unfortunately, the house was so neglected before we bought it, that not much is salvageable. I've had some moments of freak-out about all of the waste, but what's done is done. All we can do is move forward responsibly. We do plan to recycle the iron pipes that will be removed shortly (from plumbing and remnants from the old oil heat system) and we're hoping that Habitat for Humanity Restore will take the old bathtub and any of the good knotty pine panels that we do not reuse.