Back in Business

It's been a while since the last post, but once again, the project stalled.  But now, after much work, we have finally taken possession of the keys to the new house, and are filing for our permits this week.

The house is amazing.  Even though it's boarded up, and has no electricity and no running water, it's clear that it's going to be a wonderful place once we're done.  It has two flats, each of which may be as many as 4 bedrooms.  The rooms are pretty large and (once the boards come off the windows) they have large windows and lots of light.  The ceilings are high (10 feet).  The windows downstairs are 4 over 1. The upstairs windows are either 4,7 or 8 over 1, and all have the upper sash with an "X" pattern. It's a pretty great house.

We went in last weekend and cleaned - mostly the first floor unit, since squatters had gotten in and had been living there. We threw away numerous needles, lots of trash and debris, and secured the house so no one can get in.  We also cleaned out the driveway, put up a chain to keep people from parking there, and generally made sure people know that it is NOT an abandoned house.

Here are some photos from last week:

The front porch of the downstairs unit

The living room downstairs

Getting ready to remove the carpets

The mantle downstairs

Purple bedroom upstairs

Back bedroom upstairs

Upstairs living room

Upstairs pocket doors

Another bedroom upstairs

East bedroom

Today, we spent a wonderful day there - we're exhausted but happy.  Bill Rayno brought over his huge dump trailer and truck, we hired a couple guys to help, and we cleaned all the junk out of the basement (now completely empty), ripped up all the wall-to-wall carpeting and pads, and got a lot of work done.  We hauled away the disgusting stove and refrigerator, and (once again) did NOT find a bag of gold hidden away.  Oh well, maybe next house.

Bill's truck and trailer, headed for the dump and recycling center

Among other things, I counted how many outlets there are in the first floor unit: each bedroom has one, the living room has one, the hall has zero, the parlor has zero, the bathroom has zero, the kitchen has 4 and the laundry room has one.  1700 sf apartment, and there are 9 outlets.  The bathroom doesn't even have an overhead light, and the rooms that do have overhead lights generally only have one switch - even where there are multiple doors.

This is going to be a big project, but the house, like our other houses, is speaking to us - telling us its history, what i can be, what it needs.   We're making plans for running new wiring, for replacing the galvanized plumbing pipes, and for adding a heating system.  The floors will be refinished, pocket doors fixed, and lots and lots of painting.  All those beautiful windows will be removed, restored and put back in place.  We'll also be installing two new systems: hardwired smoke detectors, and a sprinkler system.  

Not sure why we love this so, but we do.  It's going to be a great project.