Day One

Day One:

First the positive, all of the cat pee carpeting has been pulled out of the house. The negative is I think we are going to have to stick with carpeting and hope to get a few quotes in the next few weeks. Feel bad for the UPS guy that has to deliver the 20 boxes of flooring we bought online and now have to return. In one of the rooms (which we discovered was actually part of a larger living room at one time) the floor is destroyed either by excess of cat pee or by possible prior termite damage. I believe the other rooms have good potential for floor refinishing but will need lots of labor and love and we don't believe it will be desired or appreciated by our target population and we'll be better off re-carpeting before it goes on the market.

The kitchen cabinets there before are all gone and only one dead mouse was found. I am excited to say that the washer hook-up that in my mind should be there was there, just hiding behind a false wall. Of course there is a downside to that. A washer will not fit in that location because currently a very round yet short water heater sits in that space. We are considering an electric point of use (or two) water heater options in place of the current water heater.

Our first estimate for HVAC is not a good sign, plus we found a humongous 1940's cast iron gas unit under the house (not working) that we will likely have to spend a good many hours demolishing and removing in pieces. There is a gas line (currently capped) running to the house but I think we are going to stick with electric heating because of the addition cost with running updated gas lines and the permits needed. Additionally, there are no gas appliances to contend with.

My buttocks and trapezoids really feel from the work out (lots of squatting and pulling) but already a lot has been accomplished on the demo side, time to start rebuilding and get this house back on the market! Looking for people who like to destroy ancient cast iron things, hang siding, and roof! Dry fitting the base cabinets and appliances this weekend.