Day 16 - Dirt and a Blue Mud Dauber

The final piece of the mold remediation was to fill in a hole that the previous owners has left, from either removing a bush or tree or something.  This hole was right against the foundation on the west side of the house, leaving a great entry point for water. I would say it was a good 2 feet down, in a low spot to boot.

I don't have a truck. I don't even have a car that would be useful in hauling anything. Although the seats do go down, making my trunk large enough to carry a shovel and a dolly. Even my bicycle, back in the day when I had time to ride. So I had to borrow a truck.  And dirt. And a hand tamp.

This whole endeavor had "girl power" written all over it. And borrowing a truck from a friend who also just happened to have a huge pile of dirt AND a front loader thingy screamed divine providence to my checkbook! I picked up the truck 20 minutes outside of town and headed to the house. I haven't driven a truck in over 10 years and here I am, driving a Dodge Ram 2500 extended cab diesel, with these mirrors that stick out at least 2 feet. And it's LOUD. And I'm giggling!

I also borrowed the hand tamp after a coworker saw my "plea" on Facebook. That was a bonus as well.

And finally, to round out the girl power, I have Sue, my trusty farm girl turned suburbanite Mom who is LOVING my little house. She helped me to clean it out the first day I had it. And I couldn't be happier to have her along for the journey. Plus, she had no problems getting up in the back of the truck and throwing dirt like a pro! Her gift cards are just getting bigger and bigger.

We also had a visitor...a blue mud dauber. I Googled it today. This, wasp or hornet, was our constant companion as we laid the dirt out and tamped it down. I think we imported it from out in the country.

Here's our accomplishment!

Day 15 - RIP Mold, Hello A/C

This is one of the milestone days I've been waiting for since the day I signed the paperwork on my sink. 

I hefted 2 couches and a big ass TV out of the moldy basement (with help!) just so this day could happen.

And finally, I am mold free and can turn on the A/C. If I knew, with any amount of certainty, that the A/C worked. 

Embarrassing factoid #1. I was never able to have the A/C inspected in May when all the inspections took place because it was 55 degrees or colder for a WHOLE WEEK.  IN MAY! So I went into this with my fingers crossed that the unit still worked. It's only 10 years old. The furnace worked. What could possibly be wrong...

I had every finger and every toe crossed.

Thanks to Jenn and Mario for saving me copious amounts of money. Mario arrived with tools and a hose, and promptly went to full "I AM MAN" mode, cleaning out the ex-changer. And saying things like "I'm not getting the heat exchange ratio I want" and other stuff that totally made NO SENSE to me. But he turned it on, it was quiet and it dropped 5 degrees in the house within 20 minutes. I was ecstatic!

I also bought a dehumidifier for the basement. I know the A/C is on, but I thought this was a better option than relying solely upon A/C for airflow. I bought it, carried it in (after the guy who put it in my car asked if my husband would be able to lift it for me...um...NO!) and set it up, complete with a garden hose from the garage. I'm pretty bad ass when I want to be!

Also, miraculously, the shop vac started working again. I gave Mario credit for that as well. He looked at it and it magically decided to fix itself. That's just money saved, right there!

Days 11 thru 14 - Little To Show, but Good News!

Days 11 thru 14 didn't really provide much photographic evidence that anything was truly accomplished. Some framing was taking place in the attic and the Mold Remediation Team started on Day 13.

Previously, I had reached out to the Restoration Exchange of Omaha to see if they had a list of contacts for refurbishing the sash windows. They're a great group of volunteers that are dedicated to motivating the community to preserve and restore older properties in the community. I thought it was a great place to start, since my Sink is probably 93 years old! If you're in Omaha, and you're interested in local architecture, I strongly suggest you check out their website.

So here's my good news!

On Day 12, I was asked by the Restoration Exchange to be a part of their 2016 walking tour schedule. I was blown away. I mean, my little house, which sat empty and forgotten for well over a year, would be open to curious and supportive members of my new community! At first, I thought it was October of 2015 and was about to say NO! But then was told that my area, Aksarben, was slated for 2016. I promptly said yes, giving myself a good year to procrastinate. I can't tell you how excited and honored I am to have been asked.

With the mold remediation in full swing (no pictures allowed as it was a contained area), a little framing was done in the attic... until the power had to be shut off to clean around the electrical outlets, etc. Unforeseen work stoppage at it's finest. But here's a few pictures of the attic.

Before

After

Work in progress looking towards the future boudoir

Where the wall will be