phase 1 - demolition...

on monday morning, the contractor began work.

monday was labor day, and when his bid came in and he named a start date of labor day - well, i asked if he was sure. he said yes, so i scurried to get all that i could moved out of the four rooms that would see demo and cover all the larger items that wouldn't fit elsewhere. besides that, i had to close off the three remaining rooms that we will have to live in for the life of this project - ian's room, the bathroom (which doubles as dish-washing station), and my bedroom (which also serves as kitchen and living room for the time being)...

the contractor was to show up at 9:00 on monday morning, and when 9:15 rolled around i started to worry. outwardly, i'm not really a big worrier. but on the insides, the worry can turn me upside-down... and since i'm perpetually on-time, the worries begin early and grow exponentially with each minute. by 9:20 i'd tried both his cell phone and home phone and when neither was answered i managed to jump to the conclusion that he'd taken my 50% deposit and moved to montana. by 9:25 i was dealing with the loss and recovering it in my head with personal labor. and when he called at 9:30 to let me know that he was at home depot ordering the materials and had left his phone in the car... well, i felt a little silly. so i waited until he made it here, and then went and celebrated by buying a new tree...

(yes - i know that sounds random. but tree-buying, trust me, is not a random occurence for me.)

today was the wrap-up day for demo... mostly because the very large dumpster sitting in my front yard is set to go to the landfill tomorrow. the lathe and plaster removal turned out to be exactly the project that i hired someone for - meaning, rather than deal with the mess myself, i could hire a contractor to do the job and deal with the mess while i work (dust-free) at my job that will pay for his work. of course, the living here isn't so dust-free - but with some heavy-duty plastic sheeting and a staple gun, life can be manageable...

i really don't have much story beyond that. the demo is done, and framing begins tomorrow. i've got some exposed 95-year old studs (which look so much better than the studs you can buy today), lots of electrical in lines running in conduit (we don't do that any more in residential building), and some exposed (for the time-being) brick that almost makes me want to take the rest of the plaster down. almost.


this is essentially the same shot as the before from the last post, with the arch in the foreground and the missing yellow wall non-existent in the background


while this shot better shows the extent of the demo

and, so as not to be deemed lazy while the inside work is happening, i tore out some unsightly (to me) shrubs from in front of my house - to make way for said purchased-tree...


before


blurry after

remodelling this weblog home...

and i've made it back. sadly, there isn't anything to report on the training side of things lately. i've made it to the gym fairly regularly, but no races to set goals for (except for the race for the cure in a month - but you can't really have a goal when you're running with 50,000 other people). which is all just fine with me, since i've got another little project that will be taking the bulk of my time and energy over the coming months...

a few weeks ago, i closed on my new house. this was a necessary step in moving things in my life along for many reasons. selling my former house got me out of the financial burden that remained in the settlement of my split with k - a major relief. but the ensuing renting experience made the summer a rough one emotionally. luckily, after just a few months i was able to find a house in a great neighborhood with friends closeby, and for a really good deal...

the house, though. the house is old (built in 1911) and has great bones. but it's going to require some work to get to the point that it feels like it's "my house." the kitchen is amazingly small. the walls and trim have seen their share of wear. the former owner made some questionable painting decisions. and the bathroom - oh... the bathroom. the only room in the house that has a ceiling fan. in the bathroom, you ask? yes - in the bathroom...

i've got big plans in place, starting with the kitchen and easing into the public rooms of the house. before i moved in, i ordered new cabinets and appliances for the kitchen, knowing that if i had the goods i'd be more inclined to start the work right away. i've also ordered new wood floors for the whole house to replace the tired hardwoods that are in today. it's going to be some work for some time, but i'm certainly not afraid of a little sweat equity - and i can't wait to make this place feel like home.

last weekend, my brothers and i began the demolition with the destruction of the kitchen...


(pre-move-in and post destruction photos above)

tomorrow, a contractor begins work on several projects, including:

the demolition of lathe and plaster walls in the living and dining rooms and replacement with drywall

moving the wall dividing the kitchen and dining room to make the kitchen a usable space

reframing the archway between the living and dining rooms to better reflect the bungalow style of the house

and some plumbing and electrical work to bring the three rooms into the 21st century

(the living room and dining room today)

once the contractor has moved on, i'll begin the dozens of finish-work tasks - beginning with the new floors and hanging the kitchen cabinets. eventually, i'll be doing my typical landscape and garden work, will probably build a new garage, and maybe - just maybe - i'll expand upward into the already-roomy attic space. but that's for later... for now, it's all about preparing for the mess that begins tomorrow. and, in lieu of real training news for the next several months, i plan to use this site to track the progress in the house. hope the transformtion is an interesting one to watch...

goodbye...?

so this may be the end of foolish epidemic. i'm not sure it's the release that i need, and i'm certain it's not the information that anyone else wants. it's not that there isn't anything going on - it's more like there's a ton going on, yet it all seems either so very un-blog-able or un-blog-worthy. i've met some incredible people through this site - but to be honest, i've made those connections through people and not the internet...

sometimes i find myself a little disappointed that i've never really felt at home in the vast blog world. i'm too often disappointed in the words that get published. and i find that i'm apologizing more than posting lately. and none of that bodes well for the dunce-capped guy at the top of the screen...

so it feels like the end. and while i'll keep tabs on all those whom i follow every day - it may just happen through an ip address in your site stats from here. just know that i'm still around, and i'm still listening to those whose friendships i've made through this feeble attempt at blogging...

wherein i say i'm sorry...

so i have to give some serious shout-out apologies to a lot (okay, a few) people out there in blog land. i can be so lame...

to stronger, my darling sister, because we haven't spoken in a couple weeks, yet she has this thing coming up that will change the state of her life;

to greenfish, because i couldn't make her triathlon today - although i'm incredibly proud of her for competing in tri #3 after signing up only 2.5 weeks ago;

to all you tribloggers who just rocked the triple bypass this weekend. yes, i live in this beautiful, more-than-3-mountain-passes state, and i neglected to offer my local support. i do regretfully offer my weekend with the boy and a flat tire as an excuse;

to curlysu for being a terrible commenter and email friend while you're stuck with a bunch of non-tri musicians in vermont:

and to all of those who get here through another site and click on through because there isn't anything remotely up-to-date or interesting here... my sincere apologies.

the long and twisted road home...

in the end, they say, everything happens for a reason.

a few months ago, i wasn't very keen on this adage. i'd just gone through four months of trying to sell my house - with countless showings, endless hours of picking up and making sure everything was in its place, the uncertainty of why my house wasn't getting the bite. that followed quickly with three offers in two days, each frustratingly lower than asking price. which followed with a painful resolution of concerns raised by the inspection (these on a house not yet three years old) that wasn't resolved until 9 days before closing...

i'd also just gone through a painful attempt at buying a new house. beginning with an initial offer on a property that turned out - through inspection - to be a bit of a lemon. followed by a signed contract on a place just around the corner for slightly more but with more interesting character and less front door traffic. and finally ending when, the day after the resolution on the sale of my house was complete (and a mere 8 days before our scheduled closing), it was revealed that the sellers lender wouldn't let the sale of the house go through... seeing as he owed significantly more than i was contracted to pay for the house.

which left me a week to find ian and i a place to live.

so i settled on a rental. determined that my sanity needed a break from real estate.

and then a friend of mine told me about a house doors away from his, and an owner who was interested in selling but hadn't gone through the realtor channels, and a rumored asking price that was, well, a bargain...

so a couple weeks ago i left a note in mailbox for the owner. a week later i was looking at the house and making an offer that was satisfying to her and a deal i couldn't refuse. this weekend we signed a contract. and today, after posting an ad for the rental i'm in right now on craigslist just last night, i got a committment to take over my lease from the first person to look at this house.

and while just months ago i was bemoaning my bad luck, it seems things have turned around. we'll be in a great neighborhood near good friends. across the street from a beautiful old grade school, mere blocks from one of the best neighborhood retail districts in the city, and living again in our own place with our own garden and our own front porch facing a future that again holds the promise that some certainty brings...