We’re going to need a bigger dumpster…

Dumpster arrived on Friday.  Thinking it looked kinda small.

Took under 2 hours to load it up.  I probably could have gotten more into the dumpster, but I couldn’t get everything into the dumpster, so I cut myself some slack.  Moldy insulation on the bottom, then heavy things like old doors and sheetrock on top to squish it down.

It’s pretty much full to the top.  Mt. Trashmore is now more like Trashmore Hill.

Need to schedule a second dumpster, get one of those magnetic nail picker-upper thingies, and a bigger push broom.

When, what to my wondering eyes should appear,

But more mold.  Of course.

After I came out of the closet, I remembered that a dumpster is being delivered next Friday, to haul away all of the debris that I have been creating these past few months.  I also realized that the half bath/laundry room was still intact.  Time to remedy that oversight!

Hmmmm.  Why did they build out so far around the drain stack?  What’s in here anyway?

Gosh, looks like there’s mold in here!

What’s inside the wall between the bathroom and the stairwell?  Some really gnarly mold!

Continuing demolition down that wall and into the back corner.  Pulled out the washing machine, emptied out behind it, then moved the dryer out so I could get back there.

What did I find back there?  More mold!

Time to take out the vanity, which was three separate units with a shared top.  When I took out the vanity top, what was behind the backsplash?

When I pulled out the cabinets, what did I see?

I forgot to get pictures, but the inside of the wall of the garage is covered with mold too.  It looks like someone actually sheetrocked over the existing sheetrock at some point.  I think I will need to take out that wall too, but I need to save that for another day.

There was a big mirror glued to the wall above the vanity.  That’s another seven years’ bad luck.

And here is the finished bath.  Or unfinished.  Tile is still on the floor.  I left the framing that the light switches are attached to, and the framing at the rear that has the supply lines and drains for the washer..  I left enough ceiling to support the lights.  The toilet is still functional, and the washer and dryer are back in order.

I also sprayed the whole room with Aftershock.  And under the stairs.  I suspect the mold was long-dead, but now I know for sure that it is no more.

Why will no one give me a simple answer?

I really wish the roofing contractor had shown up.  Or called.  Or something.  Maybe I had the date wrong.  At least the mold guy came.

We keep playing these rounds of “Ask the ________” with different professionals.  Every time I ask someone, they suggest a possible answer, and that I should consult someone else.

The architect I spoke with suggested another contractor/mold remediation company.  Their estimator suggested I contact someone to take air samples and find out what we are dealing with.

One good thing is the suggestion that water is coming in the front.  He was the second to suggest that.  Of course, I now need to add a landscaper to the list of people I need to consult with, so that the ground can be graded away from the house.  Plus, the concrete pour was just odd.  Why is there a lip under the brick fascia?

What may be hard to see is that the concrete that the brick fascia is resting on goes down about 8 inches, then goes in toward the house about 3 inches.  It’s like they poured the foundation, installed the wall and sheathing, then poured a 3″ lip to lay the brick on.

The opinion I was given on the sheathing today is that the brick fascia needs to come down if the sheathing is to be replaced.  One thing led to another, and we wound up wondering whether there are brick ties holding the veneer to the walls. I’m sure we’ll find out.

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Here’s what things look like today, in the bright light of day.  And here’s the trash pile, new and improved.

You know you’re getting older when that little blue pill you are looking forward to…

… is Aleve.  Sigh.  Not much in the way of pictures today.  More demolition, more mold.  The latest was inside the finished walls of the stairwell, when I took out the sheetrock in the closet.  That would be the other side of the sheetrock at the bottom of the stairs, right side.  This does not bode well for the inside of the other walls yet to be demolished.

All the carpet is out, all the ceiling tiles are out, the tack strips for the carpet are slowly coming out.  The shelves in the utility room made from the previous front doors are out.  The other side of the basement was sprayed with Concrobium.  In theory, the whole basement (or most of it) has had one good shot of the stuff.  Not sure that I fully believe that, though.

Here is my ghetto ventilation system.  1,500 cfm attic vent fan, with the thermostat bypassed.  The grill is not only to keep fingers out, but also to keep the fan from ingesting construction debris.  It ate the pull cord from the blinds, and is now slightly out of balance.  But, I figure it’s giving me about 1,000 cfm actual flow, and that’s enough to keep the stuff headed outside.

I should also dedicate a few lines to interesting things I’ve found during this process.  Other people find treasures to bring on Antique Road Show.  In the ceiling, I found a box of rat poison (open), six used 4′ fluorescent tubes, one 8′ fluorescent tube, a 1962 Peso (10% silver content – worth maybe a buck or two), and today’s find: a 50 year old copy of Playboy, and two related magazines.

All in fairly rough shape – they headed to the trash about five minutes after this was taken.  I’m sure they were quite racy by the standards of 1965 (date of the Playboy).

I also got a really good shot of more termite damage – this was under the windowsill in the front room:

Stay tuned – a roofer is going to stop by tomorrow to give me a quote on the leaking roof.  Hopefully he can figure out the source!