Moldy Basement

 

Oh boy. This basement has turned into a nightmare of mold. It is hiding under every piece of paneling, wood, and molding.

 

Terry is stripping away 60 years of building materials. You can actually see the decades go by as you peel away layers of paneling and wood.

 

This is definitely the biggest problem area. It is under the front porch. Decades ago, people would use this cold area to store canned goods, and from all of the shelves in here, it is obvious that the previous owners did just that. Today, it is a seeping cesspool of water, leaking in from somewhere. It appears to be coming up from the floor ??? but it would make sense that it would be leaking in from under the porch.

 

There's mom's old dehumidifier, pumping away. Hopefully, it will help out with all of this water...

 

Terry is thoroughly disgusted by the new developments. I just keep checking to make sure he has a mask on when he's doing this dirty work.

 

Ahh, back to the safe part of the house. I painted the pantry and entryway to the kitchen. Nice and fresh.

 

And, I am using the suggested method for conditioning my new butcher block counter top. It requires a generous mineral oil rub down every day, until water beads up on it. This is when you know it is seasoned properly. Could take up to a month of these treatments for good results.

Geez, my back could use this sort of treatment...

 

Carry on.

Happy Father's Day

 

There's a dishwasher. Okay.

 

There's a stove, wait a minute, it has a big dent in the side.

Where's the refrigerator? Well, the delivery guys said it wasn't in the warehouse. After a couple of calls, a new stove will come on Wednesday, along with the refrigerator...

Does anything ever go smoothly???

 

This morning, I started working on this pantry and back entry way. There is so much intricate molding, and stairs, and the inside of the pantry, and it's going to take me some time to get all of this looking good. More painting, ugh.

 

While I complain about diddling around with paint, Terry is down in the sick basement. This basement is a real problem, and it's going to take a lot of work (and money) to get it right again. It certainly looked okay when we bought the house, but as weeks and months went by, and freezing Winter turned into thawing Spring, the leaking got worse and the smell got worse. We originally thought that the smell was from a rotting animal we found in the basement, but after cleaning that up it still smelled bad.

 

Terry started slowly dismantling the basement walls, tearing down ceilings and old paneling, and wouldn't you know it, mold everywhere. So, we will be taking this basement right back to 1949. Bare cement block walls, and cement floor, and starting over from scratch.  

 

It won't be the first time we've faced this basement challenge, but I hope it's the last.

 

Tonight, we went over to check on mom and do her shopping. She bought a new dehumidifier and gave us her old one. Here he is. We strapped him into the back seat and he rode home like a big boy.

Thank you mom.

 

Tomorrow is Father's Day. I already bought Terry his present last week, a beefy new miter saw for the miles of molding he will be cutting for this house.

 

Happy Father's Day Sweetie Pie.

 

 

 

 

No Money... No Problem

 

Terry got the sink back in today. Lookin' good...

 

I've gotta say, nothing makes me feel better than spending a bunch of money that I don't even have. Just kidding, but I did do some major appliance buying this morning. I know, I just said, in my last post, that we are out of money, but you can walk into the nearest ABC Warehouse and get instant credit. Amazing !!! I purchased a "suite of appliances". This is terminology I learned from watching too many home improvement shows. A suite of appliances is the whole shebang; refrigerator, stove, and dishwasher (and sometimes an over stove microwave). This terminology came about when contractors and house flippers started looking for a full package to complete a house for quick sale. It is cost effective to buy a suite, because the store will give discounts on multiple purchases.

 

Anyhoo, I got a pretty good deal on a Frigidaire package, and they will be delivered on Saturday.

 

My decision to purchase new appliances was not on a whim. I had just purchased a new fridge and stove a couple of years ago for my current home, but this new/old house we're moving into has 30 inch doorways. That means that my 35 inch fridge is not going through that door, no matter how you slice it. So, I made an educated decision to leave my appliances in the house I'm putting up for sale, because they will definitely be an added sale feature. And, I was able to special order appliance sizes that will fit through the doors of the new house, and work beautifully in my new tiny kitchen.

 

Now I really need brother Bob to hook up a gas line for the stove...

 

Tonight, Terry worked on cutting all of the upstairs doors to fit over the new carpet.

 

And, I worked on this giant shelving unit in the hallway.

 

 I can fit a lot of crock pots on these shelves !!!

 

 

Final note of the day...

 

I tried to pass it off as Blue, but Terry did not fall for my tricks. He told me tonight that he is not especially fond of the "Purple room". Damn, I thought I got that one past him...

 

Everything Always Works Out in The End

 

I wish I felt this relaxed.

 

It seems like nothing is getting done right now. We keep working, but don't see results. Mowing two lawns, grocery shopping, endless errands, keeping up one house, while trying to work on another.

 

Terry's been sick for three days, and I am just worn out. We keep pushing on, and the results are disappointing. We are out of money, and out of our minds with the worries of the tasks at hand...

 

We still need a proper fence for our dogs. We still need to address the leaky basement. We still need to figure out how we're going to move 36 inch pieces of furniture through 30 inch doorways.

 

And who is going to do all of this moving ???

 

These lulls in optimism are normal.

 

Tomorrow is a new day, and I will keep repeating my favorite motto to myself...

 

Everything always works out in the end.

 

(It really does).

Tile Projects

 

Installing the tiles for the backsplash. I was in this hunched over position for hours!

 

Needs grout tomorrow. I hate the grouting part...

 

Terry is carefully attaching my mosaic piece to a frame which will fit into the hole left from the radiator. He has done so many crazy things for me, and my crazy mosaic tile projects.

 

And there it is, perfectly framed by the existing Black tile. Now, when your pooping you will have something to look at.

 

Carry on...

Carpet & Tile

 

There they are, I snuck a picture while they were out in the front yard, cutting carpet. They were sweet and hard working. Done in a few hours (just in time for lunch). I wonder what they do when it's raining??? Or Winter??? I don't even know how they got that carpet upstairs through the tiny doorways and hallways, and I don't even want to know...

 

I kept busy with my backsplash tile project. I was only a third of the way done when they were finished up with the carpet. I will finish tomorrow, but so far I like it.

 

There it is, beautiful, soft, yeah !!!

 

Now, at least seven doors need planing to fit over the carpet, argh.

 

And soft stairs too...

 

Later in the day we took Kevin over to the house (he has not seen it yet). Sandy and I rolled around on the new carpet, while Kevin assessed the new living quarters. He gave it a thumbs up, except he said that the basement stinks. He has a keen nose, as we do have leaking and mildew issues still in the basement. He brought this fact to the forefront... that we must do some more demo and clean up in the basement before we can officially move in. We definitely need some roof vents, now that we have a forced air system, and we need to address the sump pump, as it doesn't seem to be working properly. We need proper fencing for the dogs, and we need to install some three prong plug outlets for our tech needs (Kevin's mostly).

 

My goal is to move with-in month's end...

 

We'll see.

Can't Wait For Carpet !!!

 

Here's my obsession... crock pots. Little ones, big ones, bean pots, pottery pitchers, and anything that is a handmade pottery product. It's the first thing I run to at a garage sale or flea market. This morning, I went around the house and collected up much of my little pots, and washed and packed them up. Getting ready for the move...

 

This afternoon, we painted the second bedroom upstairs. It's a lovely Blue, kind of Purple color.

 

Tomorrow the carpet comes, and these hardwood floors will disappear. I know this makes hardwood lovers cringe, and I apologize for that, but I am old, and I just crave some softness under foot (and I hate echoing rooms).

 

Tonight, I finished the mosaic that will fill the old radiator hole, behind the toilet, in the main bathroom. I'm happy with it, and I will show it off when we install it.

 

Now, I must go to bed, because I have to be up at the crack of dawn to welcome the carpet guys...