We are nearing the end of the great basement demolition project.
There is still some work to be done, but at least it feels like we are in the last stage.
The tile floor attached to its underlying plywood with Non-Friable Asbestos laden mastic, has been broken into mostly manageable bits. (Cold chisel and hot muscles. No power equipment here.) The 2x4s that were beneath the plywood, giving an air-space below the floor, have been pried off. Hundreds of nails have been removed, or pounded down to a less aggressive angle.
And now the wrapping party has begun. It is actually going fairly well, although our estimate of the amount of 6-mil plastic sheeting we would need was underestimated. And we are running out of duct tape.
The nice lady at the disposal site described how to properly package our flooring in plastic, “Like a burrito.”
6-mil double wrapped burritos. Ummmm
It took us a little effort, but we now have the wrapping down.
Carl, “It doesn’t need to be as neat as a present.”
Jay, “But that is easier to tape thoroughly!”
To complete we need to finish wrapping (with additional supplies), split the largest “not-quite-manageable” bit in two so that the burrito may actually fit in the Prius, and have a fun trip to the disposal site.
Of course that just leads to the next big step, which involves getting a contractor in to work on the basement drainage issue. This is now possible since the floor is out of the way.
And meeting with more and more sub-contractors.
And actually making some decisions.
This last week we met with a window guy, a cabinet guy, the insulation auditor guy and the general contractor is spending time running around measuring things and asking questions. Next week we are visiting the cabinet shop and meeting with the HVAC guy. (We need a new furnace, regardless of the rest of the work.)
It has been a good week for feeling like the project is actually moving forward.
Scary too, as we really need to get serious about packing. (May 2013 move out likely)
In other news, it appears that Spring is on the way.
Daffodils fighting for their space
Of course that probably means that so is our first big storm of the winter. While others have had extraordinary storms, we have been cold, wet, and very normal. (In a Seattle sort of way.)
Raincharm's Weblog 
February 23, 2013 at 4:40 pm |
Decision making is scary, but the contractors should have some recommendations. It sounds like a LOT OF WORK. Speaking of that, I need to get some stuff fixed, repainted, etc. around here.