Week 7

Tons more progress this week. The whole garage & yard are a disaster, but what a great feeling to be fully underway!

Monday

Came home to this very nice stack of lumber:

They had removed the last of the framing holding up the rear of the house, including the part holding up half of AJ's office, so they built this contraption:

And similar contraptions under the stairs:

Meanwhile, Pickles found some cat poop to eat right there. Fantastic.

Tuesday

Today, they sawed through the concrete in the garage, to make way for the sewer line replacement:

And the reinstallation of the washing machine:

That's right, we still don't have the use of our washing machine. Yes, you remember right: it was moved in Week 1, with the promise that we would only be without it for 2 or 3 weeks. Mmm-hmm. But it's fine, because Amanda has generously been letting us use her brand new space age washing machine & dryer. Thank you, Amanda!

Meanwhile, new furniture appeared:

Old sewer line to nowhere was removed, along with some rotten wood & junk that was in the backyard:

And put in a big pile in the garage:

More digging:

Um, how big is this hole going to get again?

And Pickles can't understand why she can't go out on the porch anymore:

"If I wait here long enough, they'll realized that they should open the door for me."

Wednesday

Walking up to the garage door, something appears to be different:

Indeed it is! Apparently we had particularly tough cement, but they managed to rip it out (oddly, with the help of a garden hoe that we had found in one of those back rooms when we moved in):

More digging & cleaning up of the massive hole:

A lily grew here this spring, all on its own. I was sorry to see that it had been marked for death as the hole steadily grew larger. Then, on Wednesday, it was gone:

But, then, AJ pointed out that the guys had kindly grabbed a pot from our stack, & stuck the lily in it:

Thursday

Came home to a big debris trailer, with guys pushing-pulling a huge wheelbarrow up this rickety looking ramp:

Big improvement in technique over the guys who were filling that blue debris box last week -- I saw two of them lift a wheelbarrow full of dirt & rocks over their heads, & dump it in over the side. Too bad they couldn't have made use of the doors on that box. Seems brutal.

Lumber had filled up most of the giant hole:

Cement had been removed from the driveway:

 And from the place where the washing machine will go, as well:

The beginnings of the concrete forms started to go up:

Poor Pickles is running out of places to pee!

Friday

The trenching for the sewer line continued apace:

And the building of the forms continued:

Mr. Bunkport told me that they figured out a way to get us the steps we need, while saving us a little bit of yard space. Great news! Looks like they made some notes on the fence:

We got some rain on Thursday night & Friday morning. Just take a look at the nasty conditions they had to work in:

That hole full of water is the beginnings of a drain system that will be under the little 3-foot patio area. I can finally start to visualize what the yard is going to look like now, with the forms, the drain, & the marks on the fence.

Coming up this week will be the completion of the forms, & the plumbing & electrical work that needs to happen before the concrete pour (which will happen in about 2 weeks). We won't be here for most of it, though, because we're going to sneak away from the chaos for a few days, & get a little R&R!