Thursday

Just a short update. The electricians said they ran into some problems getting the new wires installed in the kitchen and spent most of the day putzing around in that room. They are going to try and wrap things up sometime Friday but may have to come back Monday. All I know is that this house is a total wreak and everything is covered in 80 year old dust. I woke up Tuesday night with a bloody nose and my sinuses are killing me. I don't blame the guys, I think it is just the combination of the insulation blown in, the change in weather, and the dust being kicked up from shaking everything loose. Combine with the house being closed up tight because of the cold weather and my overly efficient furnace recycling all the particles around.
Really, don't get me wrong I am not bitching. Just trying to rationalize it in my brain. I know smoking has NOTHING to do with my sinuses being in a state of aggravation.
I did get the windows open for most of the day today and I am hoping that some of that crap gets blown out.

The person who invented the flat bar

I want to personally thank the person who invented the flat bar. This has got to one of the best tools a person can own when redoing a house. I slammed through peeling off the baseboards and crown in about 45 mins. I cracked a few boards but nothing that will be any show stopper later on and when I reinstall the boards no one will ever know cept' me.

So being single and Sugar not being very talkative most of time, I usually have the TV on for white noise. Well tonight it was the SciFi channel and the show was called Apocalypse. Great movie, NOT! ok here is the premise, A large earth quake is going to split the country in half, from North Dakota (ah jezz) all the way to the Gulf. I suppose that is something that could be dealt with if just left alone, but oh no! there are two back stories that deal with rescues, and yes love. Just freaking great! But with all that going on and the country being split in half that just wasn't enough. There is a nuclear power plant in Texas that sits right in the middle of the path that the fault is splitting the ground towards. AND but wait! there is a large gas line that goes right by the Nuke plant that the "scientist" blowup just in time to cause the fault to go around. Success! yeah! they saved the nuke plant! But wait there is more drama, Houston was split right in half! I mean right down the center of downtown, that poor Enron building.

And oh yes, there is (cue your best Dr. Evil voice) hot magma in fault line. Once it hit the gulf it back filled with water all the way North the the Hudson bay. I am sure there were sharks with lasers on their heads that swam north to Canada and just devastated the entire Eskimo population while they hunted for seals. But they ran out of time to cover that part of the story.

So anyway, I hope I saved you from watching the reruns of that movie. You can thank me later.

Here is a picture of the trim I pulled off tonight. The baseboards are a full 7 1/4" wide, you can't buy that kind of wood anymore, and not in poplar.

I wish I had the money for a planner, it would save so much time stripping and sanding.

Here are a few pics of the before and afters:

And my last note for the night, I have been looking at programmable furnace thermostats, I was walking through Walmart and saw this Hunter brand for $26 dollars. It seems to be working so far, I set it for 64 degrees during the day and 70 at night. So we will see if it saves on the gas bill.

'The' Inspection

Well I haven't really done to much at all this week. Between work and other life duties there hasn't been to much time. And honestly my motivation factor has been low on doing anything around the house. I did have a house inspector come in yesterday and give the old place a good once over and overall, there was and wasn't any real surprises at his findings.
The roof is good.
The insulation isn't.
The wiring sucks, all knob and tube with some half-assed upgrades.
The chimney is not the best, but for being 80 + years old, pretty good shape. The inspector did suggest a qualified chimney person come and look and give a professional opinion.
The foundation is in good shape, some leakage, but repairable.
Good furnace.
Good A/C.
Good windows.
Good water heater.
So overall not bad and nothing that is going to kill the deal or the budget. I talked to the owner last night and she seemed agreeable in getting the wiring upgraded. So I am hoping that everything works out and no outside influences kill the deal.