Week 4

It was fits & starts this week, due to some unusual weather: heavy heavy downpours, thunder, and hail on Monday & Tuesday.

On Monday, we came home to a big development: no back wall!

View from inside the garage:

 


View from the yard, showing how little there actually is holding up the back of the house:




Somehow they're figuring out how to continue to cram more debris into the little room in the garage:




Meanwhile, the excavators moved these piles of lumber into the garage. These will be used to build the giant lincoln log towers that will hold up the house:




Work continued on Tuesday, despite the heavy rain. We came home to this:








Here is the last of the rosemary tree:




To get those supports properly situated, they had to dig down two feet (by hand, by the look of it) for each one. Because of the heavy rains, the holes promptly filled up with water, and work had to stop until they drain. As of today, Sunday, it's almost finished.

Wednesday was sunny. You can really get a sense of how warm and comfortable that room is going to be when you see how the afternoon sun comes in through the back wall, where the glass doors will be:




No further work happened this week, until Saturday, when AJ & I moved the monster rose bush. It was going to have to go from the middle of the yard to make way for the terrace steps anyway, so rather than just let it go straight to the giant compost pile in the sky, we decided to try & move it.

First, we took out the screwball pink rose bush in front of the panda. Here is AJ (gleefully) chopping it up with a hatchet so that it will fit in the green bin:




Pickles was fascinated by what we were doing, & was especially enthralled by the stinky fish fertilizer gunk Momma Arave advised us to put in the hole before replanting. Luckily, she didn't fall (or leap) in:




Next, we did our best Morticia Addams, & pruned off all the flowers & buds, so that the energy of the plant will go into re-rooting itself in its new home:




Then, digging the monster out. The soil here is very dense clay. After all the rain this week, it was heavy & unbelievably sticky:




Yet, we perservered, with shovels, spades, & determination. And cursing.




We were rewarded with two glass marbles:




And this 2-inch tile:




And the eventual freeing of the rose bush:




Pickles didn't seem to notice or care that this giant bush was getting placed two feet from her napping spot.

With that giant dirt pile already in the yard, filling the hole in was a snap:




Then the last & very important step of scraping all that mud off our shoes:




Success!

The main root was literally as big around as my arm. We have no idea how old this thing is, but we're hopeful that we saved enough of the root system for the bush to survive.

Here's the view of the rose bush in its new home, when you first walk into the yard:




On Sunday, I took the opportunity to put all the stuff back in a less Hoarders sort of way:

And then we had a picnic.

Next week is going to be hot & sunny, so we're looking forward to more work happening. Let's get this show on the road!

Week 3

Not much happened this week, due to the aforementioned neighbor notification/review issue. Very frustrating, and very nerve-wracking, given the structural problems, but Mr. Bunkport assures us that they will be able to shore up the house this week. For real.

The main happenings this week were completion of the removal of the floor:

The complete filling up of that small room in the garage with debris:

And our obtaining a street use permit so that they can park a debris box in front of the house...because more debris is coming.

Excavation should start this coming week, or possibly the week after that. Mr. Bunkport assures us that once it gets underway, it will go very quickly. Ok, no problem.

I will close Week 3's entry with a picture of one of the possum skulls tallied in the Critter Count^TM:

And more evidence of Spring having come to Mars:

This is the first time this bush is blooming since we moved in, too.

Purple flowers on the sage I planted  in 2012 -- also the first time this is blooming.

The snow balls are getting ready to turn white.

And the first rose on the monster rose bush (which may not survive construction...sniff...)

Happy Doggaversary!

Today is Pickles's Doggaversary, the anniversary of the day she came to live with us! It's been two whole years of fun, fuzziness, & fearless defense against all manner of critters, including houseflies:

It's much easier to get the fly when your feet don't get stuck in the couch, but she doesn't seem to mind a challenge.

Week 2

This week, a very nice man with good taste in books named Jonathan spent many hours removing pieces of walls & floors in the rooms that will be renovated, so that Mr. Bunkport can get accurate bids from the excavators and framers he's talking to.

Here's the progress, day by day.

Monday

View from the garage door, into the first of the two rooms that will be renovated & made into one big room:

No wall!

This is the same wall as in the last post, at the back of the garage:

Carcass Count ^TM: One rat skeleton was found in this wall, bringing our dead critter total so far to two. (Previous one was found during this glorious day.)

I'm sad about all that beautiful lath being gone, but this is what has to be done both to expedite the digging, & also bring that wall up to the fire code (a wall between a garage & a living space needs to be a firewall). The lath all over the garage is basically decorative -- these aren't plastered walls -- but interestingly, Mr. Bunkport commented that it lends some structural stability to the house. Thank you Mr. John Davila, who is the previous resident who I am guessing put it up.

View from inside the room, back into the garage:

The red post is a support that Jonathan put up. The more material he removes, the worse the structural situation is turning out to be down there.

The debris pile we started in February grew a bit:

Meanwhile, in the back yard, this bush is blooming for the first time since we moved in:

The ghost of the previous owner must approve of what we're doing.

Tuesday

Not much noticible happened downstairs, but Pickles let us know she approves of where we moved the Big Blue Chair from the porch:

Wednesday

The floor started coming up on Wednesday:

Carcass Count ^TM:  Two possum skeletons. They were found originally when we made some repairs to Adrienne's office, but were just buried over again. Since they have now been removed, I'm going to say that they count for this project. That brings us up to a total of four.

Meanwhile, the debris pile grew significantly:

And Pickles let us know that she fully approves of the empty porch:

No more annoying furniture to get in the way of her sunning herself.

Thursday

More floor & debris removal from the middle room:

Meanwhile, the jasmine I have been growing from cuttings I took from the plant that was taking over the inside of the back room that is going to be renovated (started in 2012 -- see post here) is blooming:

Such a wonderful scent! Spring has officially arrived.


Friday

The wall between the middle room & the back room is now gone, as is most of the floor in both rooms:

As with most 100+ year old houses, things are worse than expected down there.  Although the other side of the coin is that the excavation piece is likely to be easier than expected. Jonathan added some more ad hoc supports to add some stability, & Mr. Bunkport is working to get someone in to shore up the house this week.

Meanwhile, the debris pile has reached the ceiling:

With the middle wall & the floor being gone, we can finally get a sense of what this room will feel like, & really start to imagine what it will be like to sit in there, with the accordion doors open, & the breeze coming in. It's going to be a very nice space.

Next week, we expect excavation to begin. There could be a hold up with the permit related to neighbor notification and review, but given the structural problems that have been uncovered, Mr. Bunkport thinks we might be able to get some sort of emergency waiver to at least stabilize the house. A little scary & a lot stressful, but Mr. Bunkport has proven himself to be an excellent builder & a fiery advocate for us, so we feel good placing our faith in him to take good care of Mars.

Adventures in Renovation: Week 1

Here we go!

This past week, all the necessary pieces finally fell into place to begin the long-awaited renovation of Mars: final plans complete, permits filed, & garage appliances moved out of the way of the excavation crew.

The project has three main goals:

1. upgrade and repair the deteriorating foundation and structural elements under the kitchen and porch -- this will improve earthquake safety & enable the house to stand for another 100 years. It will also allow us to covert what is currently two storage areas full of possums into usable space.
2. improve energy efficiency by replacing crappy existing windows, and replacing the existing free-swinging doors on the first floor; we will also be removing part of the wall in the kitchen, which will allow more of the heat from the afternoon sun to heat the house, in addition to improving the feel of the space in the kitchen 
3. improvement of the drain and rotten sewer line under the kitchen -- not glamorous, but obviously important

Number 1: Here is what the first floor storage rooms currently look like:

Here's what they will look like when we're done:

The terrace steps will come down from the yard because we will be excavating two feet down in order to get eight feet of head room in there. We're also taking the opportunity to add a bathroom to the space, to make things nicer for our house guests.

Number 2: Here's what the back of the house looks like now:

Crappy single pane aluminum windows up top, & rotten wooden single pane windows below.  Plus 25 year old warped vinyl siding.

Here's what it will look like when we're done:

And goodbye vinyl siding.

Here is the wall in the kitchen that will be changed:

We'll be removing part of the wall with the window to open up the space, to let the sunshine & heat in. The remaining wall will end up being a counter.

Number 3: Lucky for you, I don't have pictures of the nasty sewer line problems.

Step one was to move the hot water heater, washing machine, & dryer away from the back wall of the garage, so that when the excavation crew is ready to start, they can drive a bobcat right in there to dig around.

The hot water heater ended up on the outside of the house:

With a new vent attached to Adrienne's office.

Ok, no problem.

Washing machine & dryer are currently in the middle of the garage:

Our contractor, Mr. Bunkport, assures us that they will be hooked back up shortly. Shortly, as in two or three weeks. Ok, no problem.

This is the wall they are going to drive the bobcat through:

This is definitely going to be interesting. That's for sure.

Meanwhile, we completed clearing stuff out & otherwise getting the spaces ready for the havoc that will ensue:

Ready for action!