Week 1- Demo and Clean Up
The Hosford House has been empty for the past 4 years. 4 years of no TLC really wears on a house. From the musry, dusty, smells and spider webs, to trying to get things to work after not running for a while. This week we have had good news and bad.
Bad News:
-We couldn't get the gas turned on to test the furnace and AC because of leaks on the inside of the home. That means the gas lines need to be pulled apart and the leaky areas replaced.
-We found out the furnace id at least 25 years old and the AC is nearing 20. We pray these appliances are in good shape but the odds are not leaning in our favor from the looks of it.
-We found that there were no hard wood floors in the living room. All the bedrooms and the living room closet all have hardwoods but not the living room which means an additional $1000 cost for putting new oak hardwood into the living room. Not only do we have the buy the new floor BUT it also will be a quarter inch taller than the other floor meaning I won't get my translition-less look.
-Last major bad news was... there are NO SCREENS! Some one took all of the screens from the windows! That really sucks because now I have to hand-make a dozen screens. Oy.
The Good News:
-The chimney leak was already repaired!!
-The cistern under the back porch has already been capped and we don't have to fuss with it!
-The water damaged wall in bedroom number 3 was able to be fixed with skim coating new plaster.
-New gutters just went on sale at menards for FREE! Literally, new gutters with a 100% rebate. NICE!
Anywho, I know you all are probably dying to see more photos of the house and the demo.
Let's start outside, One of the first things my husband did was cut down the over grown and annoying bush by the back porch that slapped everyone that walked by in the face.
Scott very eagerly took out this big guy.
Then my dad and Rob, our landscaper came in and started ripping out all the landscaping.
They also raked up layer upon layers of leaves!
I mowed, which made a huge difference and we picked up fallen branches.
The hardest thing in the back yard was pulling out this dead bush that had a mulberry tree growing through it. Way too many roots! But they did it!
After all the plants were out we could really clean up and start fresh and figure out where to lay the new beds.
Moving to the front, there were lots of dead junipers and holes along the foundation from over-flowing gutters, time for some re-grading and to say good bye to these plants.
In the corner of the house there was a large burning bush. My landscaper REALLY wanted to trim it up to look more tree like by taking out all the bottom. I persisted I wanted him to cut the top off so it looked more like a bush and didn't block the window. He reluctantly did as I asked... but I think it turned out great!! We did end up saving one juniper that was still healthy. and moving some Spria bushes to the side.
Moving inside, We tore out the entire kitchen-
We still need to remove the sofit above where the stove awkwardly sat, but the cabinets are out... I dread peeling the wall paper in here.
In the living room Scott pulled up the sub floor that was under the carpet so we could make the transitions between rooms as uniform as possible.
The boards were nailed every 6 inches in each direction so he could only pull up a little at a time and pull out all the nails.
In the bathroom, which is tiny, they put in shower doors that made it feel even smaller!! Once the shower doors were off the space looked much more open.
We also started breaking out all that tile which is turning out to be quite the feat!
We got the toilet, vanity, and the recessed mirror removed as well.
Lastly, this week I have been working my tail off on these walls! The bank had painters come in, and there are runs, chipping paint, and holes from nails all over the place! We also worked at removing all the trim, doors, and hardware.
With all the stuff we removed we took a truckload to the dump, A truck load of burnables to our house and still have another truckload of burnables from rotting wood stuffs from the basement.
Week 1 has turned out to be VERY productive! Here is to hoping we keep up momentum!
-Cass
Bad News:
-We couldn't get the gas turned on to test the furnace and AC because of leaks on the inside of the home. That means the gas lines need to be pulled apart and the leaky areas replaced.
-We found out the furnace id at least 25 years old and the AC is nearing 20. We pray these appliances are in good shape but the odds are not leaning in our favor from the looks of it.
-We found that there were no hard wood floors in the living room. All the bedrooms and the living room closet all have hardwoods but not the living room which means an additional $1000 cost for putting new oak hardwood into the living room. Not only do we have the buy the new floor BUT it also will be a quarter inch taller than the other floor meaning I won't get my translition-less look.
-Last major bad news was... there are NO SCREENS! Some one took all of the screens from the windows! That really sucks because now I have to hand-make a dozen screens. Oy.
The Good News:
-The chimney leak was already repaired!!
-The cistern under the back porch has already been capped and we don't have to fuss with it!
-The water damaged wall in bedroom number 3 was able to be fixed with skim coating new plaster.
-New gutters just went on sale at menards for FREE! Literally, new gutters with a 100% rebate. NICE!
Anywho, I know you all are probably dying to see more photos of the house and the demo.
Let's start outside, One of the first things my husband did was cut down the over grown and annoying bush by the back porch that slapped everyone that walked by in the face.
Then my dad and Rob, our landscaper came in and started ripping out all the landscaping.
They also raked up layer upon layers of leaves!
I mowed, which made a huge difference and we picked up fallen branches.
The hardest thing in the back yard was pulling out this dead bush that had a mulberry tree growing through it. Way too many roots! But they did it!
After all the plants were out we could really clean up and start fresh and figure out where to lay the new beds.
In the corner of the house there was a large burning bush. My landscaper REALLY wanted to trim it up to look more tree like by taking out all the bottom. I persisted I wanted him to cut the top off so it looked more like a bush and didn't block the window. He reluctantly did as I asked... but I think it turned out great!! We did end up saving one juniper that was still healthy. and moving some Spria bushes to the side.
We still need to remove the sofit above where the stove awkwardly sat, but the cabinets are out... I dread peeling the wall paper in here.
In the living room Scott pulled up the sub floor that was under the carpet so we could make the transitions between rooms as uniform as possible.
The boards were nailed every 6 inches in each direction so he could only pull up a little at a time and pull out all the nails.
We also started breaking out all that tile which is turning out to be quite the feat!
We got the toilet, vanity, and the recessed mirror removed as well.
With all the stuff we removed we took a truckload to the dump, A truck load of burnables to our house and still have another truckload of burnables from rotting wood stuffs from the basement.
Week 1 has turned out to be VERY productive! Here is to hoping we keep up momentum!
-Cass
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