Day Five: Fixing Our Accidents

It's another hot day.  Over 100 degrees with the heat index.

We had one goal in mind today:  fix what we had broken yesterday.  We had to cut out a fairly large hole underneath the sink to try to find the wires that I had hit.  I found two wires directly behind the bottom screw, but wouldn't ya know it, the wires seemed fine.  We debated long and hard about the condition of the wires, but they just seemed unscathed.  After much pondering, discussion, feeling for holes with our fingernails, we decided that maybe the screw just barely nicked a wire.  We saw absolutely NO damage.

The kitchen as we came back to it.  We would spend way too many hours in here.

With that in mind, Dad decided to install the junction box elsewhere under the sink.  He was trying to feed wire through his new hole over to the large cut-out under the sink but couldn't seem to line up the wire.  So I stuck my hands up in the hole and tried to feel for the wire.  "Um, Dad, there are two MORE wires up here."  He couldn't believe it.

Sure enough, these two wires lined up with the top screw.  He didn't think that made sense since I didn't get shocked at all when screwing in the bottom screw, but I told him I wasn't sure I had touched the junction box when I screwed in the bottom screw.  Because I didn't screw in the top screw all the way, I had simply let gravity line up the bottom hole, and used the screwdriver to start the screw in the hole.

So I used the Dremel tool to cut even more cabinet, drywall, and 2x4 out of the way.  And what a definitive answer we had.  I had undoubtedly hit one of the top wires with the screw.  A large black hole was so obvious in the middle of the wire.

The live wire that I had inadvertently screwed into.  We now had a LARGE project on our hands.

While pleased with the definitive find, Dad was not pleased with what that meant in terms of work.  This project just turned even harder...and longer.  We needed to replace the ENTIRE wire all the way back to the junction box.

After much confusion and misinterpretation over the four wires we now saw, Dad made some all-too-eager cuts of the wrong wires.  So that made our project even longer!  We now had to replace TWO wires back to the junction box.

The only real way of doing this was to rip off siding from the back and open up the walls.  I hated doing it, and every hole that we put into the wall was added labor to my siding contractor (and a weaker wall and vapor barrier), but we had an electrical danger on our hands.

Ripping up the aluminum siding to get to the damaged wire.

We made SEVERAL holes in the wall to follow the wire.  Sigh.

Long story short, the nearly entire day was spent replacing the punctured electrical wire.  We worked from 8:00 A.M. to 5:00 P.M. on this project alone.  It really was a poor day in terms of productivity.

I was able to install a new garbage disposal (I figured I might as well since the age and long-term functionality of ther other was unknown) and replace the cracked and leaking plumber's putty on both sides of the kitchen sink.  But other than that, that was all that was accomplished today.

As painful as it was, both Dad and I can sleep knowing that the electrical problem was found and fixed.  The definition of frustration, though, is that this problem was self-induced.  I now have a new garbage disposal, but wouldn't ya know it, we did not install a junction box after all.  Sigh.

The heat outside was unbearable again, and that didn't help today.  But I had to have some sort of satisfaction.  The kitchen was left a mess, and I needed to get Dad home away from this harsh work.  So I went home for supper, then returned for more work.

I purchased and installed a P-trap to replace the illegal flexible pipe.  I also covered up our large hole where the whole electrical fiasco took place.  I also replaced the very dirty and unattractive linoleum cover in the bottom of the kitchen with new that I had from another home.

Below the sink is now complete.  New linoleum, some new P-trap, new garbage disposal.

All in all, the kitchen looks GREAT!  A working dishwasher, a new garbage disposal, two non-leaking sinks, and a deep clean with bleach.

The kitchen finally complete.  Just missing a refrigerator.

I knew a foreclosure remodel would come with some headaches, but self-induced headaches are so much more frustrating than ones you can't control.

Oh, well, life goes on.  We lost probably 15-20 man hours over the last two days, but at least we are back in business.

I started to patch up the bathtubs but quickly realized that what I thought was a white bathtub was actually almond or biscuit.  So I put that project on hold.  I was pleased, though, to find that the previous repair job was to cover a chip and not a hole.  That's pretty exciting.  :)

The previous repair job in the main bedroom bathtub.  I thought it was a hole.

After sanding, the fiberglass repair came off.  It turns out it was just a chip!  Woo hoo!!!

I sanded the woodfiller on the floors from yesterday and added a second coat of filler.  That project is now done.

Little by little.

I'm pretty excited for the future of this house.  It's coming together.  Now if only closing will come!!!

One more fun piece of information from the day.  On the drive home from working on the house, my realtor called.  "Andy, they found termites."  Yup, I'm not kidding.  I wasn't overly surprised and honestly was probably more surprised by my subdued reaction.  It was basically a business decision.  In my mind I was thinking, "Ok, so I looked at the foundation.  It's solid.  I saw no signs of damage.  I knew termites had been here in the past, as the wood floors showed that.  It's just a bummer that they are still here.  Ha!  My realtor's helper has been telling me for the past week that everything is fine with the termite inspection...that no news is good news!  Yeah, about that.  I kind of had a hunch and repeatedly asked her about the results.  Hmm, so that's a $700-$900 setback...I still hope they let me go through with this purchase.  So I lose $900, but this house is still in good shape.  It's a setback, but ok..."

Honestly, that was it.  I basically just treated it as a "bottom line" message.  My upfront expenses would now be more.  I was disappointed, for sure, but I still want the home.  There is simply just too much potential in this house, I feel, and I believe the termites can be overcome.

Oh, what a day.  So many steps forward...some big steps back.  But we're moving along.  Such is the life of a flipper!!!

Day Four: We Just Caused Ourselves Major Trouble

We arrived back at the house around 8:00 A.M.  We both knew that our most productive hours would be the first two...our bodies would simply shut down in the heat after that.  Our goal for today was to remove the remaining six posts that held up the wheelchair ramp.

The house at 8:00 A.M. this morning.  Six posts remaining!

But oh, did we have a surprise waiting for us!

The reason the first five came out more easily than these was simple...these remaining six were stuck in CONCRETE!!!  Oh, the surprises that come with a "new" home!  This was NOT a welcome surprise.

We used a couple of different methods for removing these posts.  The first involved me screwing in a 2x4 to the side of the post.  I would then take a carjack and jack up a brick directly below this new board in the side.  If all went well, the post would start raising.  This wasn't a perfect method, though, and often the post would start raising to the side (from a lopsided force on one side).  But it worked well on three of the posts.  So we still had three left.

Removing the first of six posts.  The concrete was NOT a welcome surprise.

One of the posts broke below the ground, and frankly, that was FINE by me.  My dad would constantly encourage me to just take that chainsaw and do ALL of the posts this way.  But as I always say to him, "Dad, a job that is worth doin' is worth doin' right!"

But that DID make some more work for us.  :)  The last two posts we tried a different trick.  Last night I had watched a video on the internet for creative ideas to remove posts stuck in the ground.  One guy suggested using a long board for leverage.  So instead of the jack, I pulled a 16-foot board from the old pile of deck wood.  With Dad's "I don't think this is going to work" in the background, we both lifted up on the long piece of wood, and wouldn't ya know it, the pole lifted RIGHT out of the ground!!!  It was amazing!!!  Leverage at its best.  I think we were both kind of amazed.

Of course, we had to try this on the last one, too, but Dad had felt some strain on his back on the last one, so it was up to me.  I simply couldn't get it up myself.  So I had to resort to the jack again.  That board ended up breaking below the ground, too.  Well, removing nine out of eleven isn't bad, I guess.

To be honest, with the heat, I wasn't overly disappointed that the board broke.  That made my decision rather easy about removing it...it would stay in the ground forever.

We cleaned up the sidewalk which was covered with everything imaginable.  Underneath the wheelchair ramp sat around six inches of dirt, a broken concrete birdbath, several disintegrating shingles, a barrette, a house key (probably dropped through the cracks), and plenty of rocks.  The sidewalk was a mess!!!

The concrete was covered with rubbish!  The dirt was five to six inches deep here (perfect for filling the holes!).

But once again, I was just so happy that the sidewalk and step still existed!!!  We filled up the large hole in the yard from a couple of weeks ago with this dirt...along with the several holes from removing the posts.  It was kinda nice having free dirt!

The sidewalk looks great!  I removed some more overgrown ivy, and I'm pretty excited for a good rain to clean the sidewalks and have all of the dirt settle into the white rocks.  I really think this walkway could look pretty sharp!

Due to the heat, we moved inside.  We would never know just how much that decision would affect us!!!  Yesterday, we had messed around with the dishwasher (and got it working), and today we decided to tackle the kitchen sink and garbage disposal.  The disposer itself did not work (at first), but after using the proper tool, we were able to get it to spin.  Because wires were just hanging out from the bottom, Dad, being an electrician, wanted to clean up the wires below the sink.  So he suggested putting in a junction box for the wires.  Fine by me.

Below the kitchen sink.  We wanted to clean up the electrical wires just hanging around.

If we only knew what lay ahead.

The drywall screws that we had were too short to go through the cabinet and the drywall and hit the stud, so I went outside to grab some old deck wood screws that were longer.  Much longer.  After finding the stud, I screwed the first screw into the junction box.  I didn't tighten it down all the way and then screwed the second screw into the bottom hole.

I then took the old disposer wires and fed them through the side of the junction box.  I was bent over down below the sink with my face a short distance away from the box.  POP!!!  A large circular blue arc was accompanied by a loud pop, a tinge of smoke, and me screaming and jumping back.  Oh my, was I shaken up.  My heart was racing, and my chest hurt.

Little did I know but when I had screwed in that first screw, I had chosen the one area in the stud where live electrical wires were criss-crossing through.  The junction box had then become hot, and when I closed the circuit with the other wires, the box shorted out.  Thankfully, I had been using the screwdriver properly when I installed the box, and I was holding the rubber around the wires when the short happened, but wow did that shake me up.  Also thankfully, the circuit breaker tripped (as it should) and closed off the wires.

But boy oh boy, did we now have a LARGE project ahead of us.

The junction box in the lower left with the long screw that penetrated a live wire.

After crawling in the crawlspace, we determined that all of the wires fed through the walls.  Out of sight and out of us being able to work on them.  This project was going to be huge.  Sigh.

Everything else now paled in comparison.

The entire afternoon wasn't altogether unproductive, though.  I was able to pick up a 10-month-old washer and dryer set for $350 (originally over $800), so that was good.  I also had the wild idea of wood-filling the termite holes in the hardwood rather than replacing the entire piece.  After filling in the holes, I was quite pleased with the results.  I used large splinter pieces from the outdoor deck to fill in the big hole before I then filled it in with wood filler.

Here's to hoping that all works!

The old termite damage.  I had the wild of idea of just filling in the gaps rather than replacing!

The damage after being wood-filled.  I'm pretty pleased.  There were several holes, but this was the largest.

The "new" washer and dryer.

So the good news is that the front yard looks sooooooooo much better!  The sidewalk cleaned up magnificently, and I am excited about it how it will look after a good rain.  I have a working dishwasher (I had allotted $400 to replace that) and a nice washer and dryer for cheap.  I'm also thrilled about the floors.

A rather successful day!  The front looks sooooooo much better!!!  A free and clear sidewalk!

The bad news (and it's really bad) is that we now have a very large electrical issue to address.  We will have to tackle that in full tomorrow.  It's my last day to work on the house this week!

Day Three: More Front Yard Work

I was pretty excited to get back to working on the house.  It had been nearly two weeks!  The only problem was that the forecast for central Illinois this week was HOT.  HOT HOT HOT.  As in mid-90's hot with Heat Warnings calling for 105-107 degrees.  ugh.

So I tried to start a bit early this mornin'...I was on site by 8:00 A.M.  Ok, that is not THAT early, but I was pretty happy.  My #1 goal today was to take out the wheelchair ramp.  I knew it had to go from day one, and I was so eager to get it out of the way and just see the house!

The home as acquired.  Wheelchair ramp, overgrown ivy, flower pots.

So I started at it.  I had put an ad on craigslist for free wood, and I had over 10 takers for the used wood.  Everything from using it for a treehouse, wheelchair ramp, and fence.  But almost as soon as I pulled off the first board, I realized that this wood was going to be worthless.  It simply splintered and broke underneath the force of the hammer or prybar.  But the good news was that I then had absolutely NO reason to not be aggressive with the wood.  If it was worthless, then I really didn't care that it broke when I pulled it up!

So I went to town on choppin' it up!

The boards started comin' up pretty easily.  Still work, but I just bypassed the screws.  :)

I think the low last night was in the mid-70's, and the temperature QUICKLY started to increase.  The humidity was thick, and I knew I was going to have a limited amount of time to get my most productive work in.

The project was going along rather nicely.  The boards were coming up mostly easily.

Then around 10:00 A.M. I saw the city trucks go by and collect some limbs and brush from along the street.  I walked over to one of the trucks to ask if he could come back in 20 minutes and take the tree that I would immediately cut down!  I quickly fired up the chainsaw and cut down the branches.  But wouldn't ya know it, the trucks never came back.  That was pretty frustrating!  So I just had a new pile of tree in my street.

Dad showed up around mid-morning and helped me take up the rest of the ramp.  I was soooooooo happy to find a nice sidewalk underneath.  I fully expected (hoped) for it to be there, but I was very pleased with the nice shape that I found it in.

The ramp planks gone...and the tree cut down to size.

But oh the heat!!!  It was warmin' up!  We basically turned worthless between noon and 2:00 P.M.  We went ahead and chopped down the rest of the tree all the way down to the ground, and I also worked on the tree root that I had found beneath the rock landscaping a couple of weeks ago.  I never could get that root out, though.  She is stuck on stuck.

This afternoon we were able to remove five of the eleven posts that held up the wheelchair ramp, but we were tired...soaked in sweat...and pretty worn out.  It was just too dangerously hot.  We called it a day around 4:45 P.M.  We cleaned up our mess of tools and as much of the sidewalk as we could.  All in all, it was a pretty productive day.  We tore out most of the wheelchair ramp, took down the tree, and found a nice retaining wall underneath some wild ivy that we pulled back!

Six posts remaining!  So happy to have found a sidewalk.

I really have high hopes for this house!  This is quite fun.

Tomorrow is looking like more of the same.  HOT HOT HOT.  It's actually supposed to be even hotter tomorrow.  Ugh.

Day Two: De-Landscaping

Day Two was more of the same.  Today I mostly focused on the backyard.  Yesterday I had cut down a ridiculous amount of branches and bushes (two years of unattended growth), so I now had the mess to tackle.  So I basically filled up more truckloads of brush.  I tell you, it is invaluable to have two trucks working at the same time (again, thank you, brother!).  Dad also took some time to help this afternoon, and having four hands instead of two was equally as welcoming.

More landscaping stones in the backyard.  I have NO idea what this was used for.

After.  I'll replace most of it with grass.  And flowers behind the pavers.

Today was so much less labor-intensive than yesterday.  I was actually a bit nervous before going to bed last night...afraid that I wouldn't be able to move today!  But I was more than relieved to find that not only was I not sore...but I was well-rested, too!  Fulfillment from a hard day's work is just quite simply  hard to beat.

That's not to say today was easy...or quick.  Just less-so than yesterday.  :)  I still had numerous truck loads of stones and branches.  The more I cut down the bushes in the backyard, the more stones I found!  They had been thrown into the bushes out of sight!  I will admit, the backyard as acquired simply didn't do much for me.  It seemed so oppressive and quite frankly unattractive.  But the more I trimmed, the more I liked what I was seeing!  The previous owner actually DID have some sort of tact with the bushes, and as I cut more and more, the yard actually started to look great!

Day One.

Day Two!  Same angle!

Day One.  Overgrown!

Day Two.  Free and clear!

I am left to ponder one thing, though.  Do you think my neighbors are as excited as I am about having a free and clear backyard?!  When I look at these Before and After pictures, I am left to conclude that the privacy that they used to enjoy is now quite gone!!!  So sorry, neighbors...I can see you!!!  :)

I am quite pleased with both days' work.  I accomplished everything I set out to do...and I am actually more than impressed with how the yard turned out...the backyard especially.  I can't wait to update some more and give this home what I call the "Wow! Factor."  When I look for tenants, I don't want to have someone having to convince himself whether or not he wants to live here.  I want him to go, "Oh, wow!" and not be able to say no.  I'm one step closer to having that on the outside.

All in all, I'm thrilled with both days.

And here's proof of all of the work that was completed...

All of the white rock that was removed from the frontyard.  Repurposed into Mom and Dad's low driveway!

Every one of these bricks was moved by hand!  That is a LOT of weight!

All of the brush removed.  Fun fact:  My truck is in this picture.  This pile is HUGE!!!

So much more to come before I get a tenant!  But what a great start!

Day One: Sticks and Stones

I recently acquired a new home...at least for me.  The house reminds me of my beat-up ol' 1991 Chevy truck.  It's been spray-painted, it has rust spots everywhere, and she's just not much to look at.  But she only has 75,000 miles and has been the workhorse I've needed her to be.  She has never let me down.

So inside, she is sharp, but outside, she needs work.  My first order of business was tackling the landscaping.  The home is a foreclosure and has empty anywhere between 18 and 24 months, depending upon the neighbor or realtor you ask.  Thankfully, the home has been cleaned and mowed about once a month during that time period, but let's just say the rest of the yard has been left to fend for itself.

So when I acquired the home, I acquired ALL of the home.  And that included some hideously nasty landscaping in both the front and back yard.  But as my dad has taught me to be able to say (I've realized this is a gift), "Andy, all she needs is a shave and a haircut."  That phrase has become my motto in purchasing homes...and furniture...and motorcycles...and anything else.  She just needs a little bit of work...and time...and love.

The yellow home...with an overabundance of untame landscaping out front.

So on Day One, I just went at it.  I pulled up every stone I could find in the front yard and tore up everything that didn't resemble a blade of grass.  I want nothing but grass in a yard!  I don't care what landscapers say, I don't care what HGTV shows advertise in their sitcoms, I love GRASS!  That's what a yard should be!

Well, I would quickly realize I had my work cut out for me.  This yard had some extensive landscaping...done by the previous owner...and rocks and stones seemed to be the go-to style of choice.  No worries, that just means a little bit of sweat.  Ok, a LOT of sweat.

I just pulled up stones.  I filled up a truck.  I pulled up more stones.  I filled up another truck.  I dug up rocks.  Another truck.  I found bricks...and bricks...and bricks.  But I wouldn't let any of them stay.  They were all coming with me in the back of that truck!

The original landscaping.  Overgrown and overdone.

Day One.  I'm removing it all!

Sometimes the best part about doing a project like this is re-using the materials.  So on truckload #1, I headed to my sister's house.  I asked if she could use any landscaping stones, and wouldn't ya know it, she and her husband had already started a fire pit ring of leftover stones from their yard...they just ran out.  So I made a quick trip over (seeing my nieces MAY have been a factor, too) and built them a little firepit ring!  They already had the tire ring, but what a difference hiding that does for the yard!  Needless to say, I think she is pleased.  Her husband later commented about he loved it, too.  Little things go a long way!  And best of all?  It was FREE!!!  Just ol'-fashioned sweat labor.

A free firepit!  (Now brother-in-law just needs to level his yard).  :)

Front Yard.  Yet another brick/stone/rock contraption!

No more!  Removing it all to replace it with grass!

In order to take a little bit of a break from the backbreaking work of digging and lifting rocks and stones, I also decided to tackle the backyard.  Now for every stone the front yard held, the back yard held a branch.  The landscaping had been untouched for a couple of years...and the yak bushes were more than happy to multiply.  And the trees were ecstatic to branch out (you see what I did there?).  :)

So I just chopped away.  Chop, chop, chop.  I raised the low-hanging branches to a height where I could finally see my neighbors!  Big branches, little branches, alive, dead, I didn't care.  I was going to free up this back yard!

Looks like a tornado went through!

Of course, I had basically run out of truck space, so I had to solicit the use of my brother's truck (thanks, bro) for the branches.  But even then, I just focused on one load tonight.  So at the end of the day, I had hauled off three truck loads of rocks and stones and one truck load of branches.

The yard was becoming free.  I spent absolutely NO money today.  Just good ol'-fashioned physical labor.  That's not to say I didn't get a quote first before doing the work myself.  Long story short, the work I did today came out to about $800 worth of labor from a landscaper.  I worked about 10 hours.  I'll GLADLY take $80/hour for my efforts.

Day One Complete.