And so the project begins...
We are so excited to announce that we have officially closed on the farmhouse purchase!! That means its time to officially get our hands dirty. All the talking and planning and prepping we have been doing for months has gotten us ready for this moment. Let the hard work begin!
This past week has been a big couple of days for us - we had an excavator out to dig test holes for our new septic system plan. We started to take down an old, large maple tree that had a lot of dead wood on it. We pulled out a lot of old shrubs and bushes from the foundation of the house and pulled up a few stumps. And we had a dumpster delivered and started to clean out the house.
I have a few comments that I want to make about the lessons I have already learned in just the few short days we have been working on the farmhouse:
1. Demolition is a lot of fun, however, it is also a lot of hard dirty work. Justin is a rockstar when it comes to this kind of work. He thrives when he is sweaty and dirty. I on the other hand love the initial job but need lots of ice cream breaks to keep me motivated.
2. Packing a dumpster is truly and art form. I was taught quite a few lessons on how to efficiently clean up the demo mess that was so much fun to make and so much less fun to pick up. First, don't walk handfuls of things out to the dumpster - fill a trash can and then carry the can to the dumpster. Second, bring the trash can to the pile - don't walk back and forth with handfuls of trash. Third, sweep your mess into a pile against a wall or into a corner - then use a large shovel to pick it up. Again, handfuls are not efficient. Forth, only put into the trash can what you can lift (apparently filling the barrel to the brim with horsehair plaster was not a good idea, oops!). Fifth, air in the dumpster is a no no - when putting anything into the dumpster make sure it is packed in a way that has the least amount of open space around the object. This is particularly important with laths - keep them all going the same direction. Thank you Justin for all these lessons (even if I didn't always listen or follow directions).
3. Splurge and buy the expensive respirators. We invested in the kind specifically made for doing work in areas that could have lead paint and they are so much better than regular paper masks.
4. A good pair of work gloves is an invaluable tool.
5. There will be times when you are tired, hungry and thirsty and this will cause you to say things that you don't mean. Justin, I am sorry for what I said when I was hangry. Remembering to take regular breaks to prevent this is very important.
It is amazing how much more inviting the house is with the overgrown shrubs removed! It almost looks livable.
One of the first rooms we tackled was the kitchen and former bathroom. We couldn't wait to see how much more open a brighter the new kitchen would look once some walls were taken down.
