I come from a family of crazy people. Don't believe me? How else do you explain my brother, parents and grandparents volunteering to help on the house over the 4th of July weekend?
Our goal for the weekend was to get the house fit for human habitation. My standards are pretty low but Luke and I really wanted to get the bathroom working and the house clean before we move in this August.
Out trip got off to a rough start when we left Wenatchee at 3 am on Thursday. Luke wanted to get through Spokane by six am because of the construction. We arrived at the house early that afternoon and got the keys from the realtor. I had forgotten just how disgusting the house was. Not just dirty, filthy. My mom and grandma spent many hours scrubbing the floors
and walls and ceilings
My grandpa weed whacked and mowed the overgrown lawn
My brother has lost most of his sense of smell from years of doing auto body work. This proved to be a huge advantage when he removed the green shag pee-soaked carpet from the back bedroom.
The carpet was the kanga-style with the padded backing glued to the floor. He spent a full day scraping the padding and glue off the floor. The room still smells faintly of pee so we plan to coat everything in Kilz.
But our biggest task this weekend was the basement and plumbing.
The house was not winterized in time and all the plumbing burst. Did I mention that our heat comes in the form of hot water baseboards so there are plumbing lines everywhere? And all that water caused a lot of mold?
We removed all the sheetrock and hauled it to the dump.
And Luke and my Dad spent hours running new PEX lines to the bathroom and kitchen. Despite problems with our water service (more on that later) we were able to get warm showers on Sunday evening. By the time we left on Monday the house was nearly fit for human habitation. We are missing a few important things like heat and appliances but at least it will be nice and clean when we move in next month.
Dad, Mom, Will, Sunshine and Papa, we can't thank you enough for your help.
Out trip got off to a rough start when we left Wenatchee at 3 am on Thursday. Luke wanted to get through Spokane by six am because of the construction. We arrived at the house early that afternoon and got the keys from the realtor. I had forgotten just how disgusting the house was. Not just dirty, filthy. My mom and grandma spent many hours scrubbing the floors
and walls and ceilings
My grandpa weed whacked and mowed the overgrown lawn
My brother has lost most of his sense of smell from years of doing auto body work. This proved to be a huge advantage when he removed the green shag pee-soaked carpet from the back bedroom.
The carpet was the kanga-style with the padded backing glued to the floor. He spent a full day scraping the padding and glue off the floor. The room still smells faintly of pee so we plan to coat everything in Kilz.
But our biggest task this weekend was the basement and plumbing.
The house was not winterized in time and all the plumbing burst. Did I mention that our heat comes in the form of hot water baseboards so there are plumbing lines everywhere? And all that water caused a lot of mold?
We removed all the sheetrock and hauled it to the dump.
And Luke and my Dad spent hours running new PEX lines to the bathroom and kitchen. Despite problems with our water service (more on that later) we were able to get warm showers on Sunday evening. By the time we left on Monday the house was nearly fit for human habitation. We are missing a few important things like heat and appliances but at least it will be nice and clean when we move in next month. Dad, Mom, Will, Sunshine and Papa, we can't thank you enough for your help.
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