You thought those old guys on the SS Minnow bit off more than they could chew with their three hour tour…
We could use some of their ingenuiity on our adventure, although I think Guy may have most of that covered. If you are going to buy a project house, it is a good thing to do it with an Enginerd, though one with smaller feet might not be a bad idea.
120 N. Roosevelt hit the market on June 12th after its owner, Robert, worked a few college students nearly to death doing painting, cleaning, and other projects. Robert, it seems, was a bit of a eccentric recluse who taught at the Vet school at CSU. He did a lot of things to “upgrade” and remodel the house but definitely knew enough to be dangerous and not quite enough to do things quite to code. The students seemed to know a bit about paint but not much about cleaning.
We knew what we were buying but that doesn’t stop visions of that old movie, The Money Pit, from flitting through our dreams. Half of our stuff went into storage so we wouldn’t overload the garage we want to reroof and expand right off. The other half moved into the house with its nice wood floors, meticulous trim work, and a few other things that need a little work. All was well.
Guy started off on the pantry so I could unpack the food and keep us well fed. Two weeks into it, the pantry is still at the top of the list as other things have bounced on and off that list. Priorities change a bit as things show themselves to be what they are. We are nearly done sanding the shelves and the painting begins tomorrow.
Somehow, in the midst of doing the pantry we realized that we needed some place to do the laundry that was getting so dirty from all the construction work. So, Guy proceeded to demo the paneling around the furnace and water heater. He removed the basement stove and dishwasher and parked them in the driveway until someone who could use them would take them away. A “free” sign works wonders but a $10 sign is apparently better for making things disappear without a trace.
The counter got cut and the washer installed. Since neither of us is big on using the dryer, the clothsline was repaired instead of rewiring the dryer. The laundry fest began. Unfortunately, the drain wasn’t in the best condition, necessitating an urgent consult from a plumber. It seems, Fort Collins is home to a plumbing outfit who does everything on a “flat fee” basis. Mind you, it’s a rather inflated “flat” fee. They came out and looked… decided to snake the line, and promptly quoted a “flat fee” of about $450. Yikes! Guy called another plumber and got it snaked for about $100.
There is a bit more to be done but with the pending renovations, the basement will get a complete makeover.
On about our third day in the house, Guy was showering and picked up his foot to wash off the construction dust. He rested it on the soap dish in the shower. But the soap dish would have no part of his big feet and proceeded to throw itself violently off the wall, taking several tiles with it. Or, to be more exact, about 2 rows of tile nearly the length of the tub. Soap dish suicide is an ugly thing. Guy thought maybe we could put plastic up so we could keep using the shower. As he explained his theory, he leaned against another wall of the shower. The tiles quickly threw themselves into the tub as well. And so the demolition followed.
Fortunately, the house has two bathrooms. We knew the upstairs bath had a lot of water damage. The downstairs was old but in pretty good shape. Until Guy decided to wash his toesies again, that is.
We decided to remove the shower doors, since I don’t like them. But along with the shower doors went the tiles… deja voodoo. Fortunately, I spent many years in Texas and am handy with the universal tool. Soon, the shower was in working order again!
And meanwhile, the pantry work continues. But wait, there’s more.
Upstairs, we are using the old dining room (now part of the living room) as a bedroom while we wait to fix the bedroom floor. Said floor was covered with original 1970s harvest gold shag carpet… DO NOT try to imagine what kind of critters might be living in THAT! Guy valiantly ripped out the carpet to find… linoleum. This room used to be a kitchen, hence its proximity to the old dining room that is now part of the living room. Up came the linoleum and beneath it, tar paper. There’s a touch of gray paint in there somewhere too… but the room is awaiting a flooring guy to come fix it up. In the meantime, Guy decided to remove some of the old piping from the old kitchen, still in the old walls. This will leave an avenue to put in new wiring. I haven’tmentioned the wiring yet, have I?
Well, the wiring is a whole issue unto itself. The electrician thinks Guy has rescued us from the worst of it and that the rest can slowly be reworked as we go. It seems the previous homeowner had only enough knowledge to be EXTREMELY dangerous.
So then there’s the kitchen. Arguably, one of the most important rooms in the house. Well, that is because I like too cook and Guy likes to eat. Though he’s a pretty good cook and does owe me a home made dinner… due to a bet we had over this whole process… and he also owes me a home made tart due to another bet… but that is a different story.
The kitchen is ALMOST tolerable now that it’s a bit cleaned up. The dishwasher (hardwired in) went onto the driveway with all the other donatable appliances. The microwave (hardwired in) went onto the driveway… you get the idea. Now that our (clean) microwave is installed and the space which once held the dishwasher gives us a place for the trash and recycling, the kitchen is useable for such things as… well, cooking… making gazpacho, iced teas, and apparently, vodka drinks…
The dining room awaits the completion of the pantry. It will then be unpacked and set up for use. For now, we eat meals at the coffee table. The primary cooking area is actually the patio… on which sits one of the grills… It has been in the mid 90s for most of the duration of this phase of the project. Turning on heat producing appliances is not an option.
The patio, is not just for grilling though. It’s for shade. It’s for drinking a beer in the evening. It’s for… what the heck! This is Colorado?! Where did these mosquitos come from?
Installment one… more to come! Or what is a project but an excuse to buy new tools…
