I haven't posted an update in a while but we have gotten a lot of work done in the last month. I have decided that I am going to spend the summer replacing the windows and doors on the house and then I want to finish weatherizing the house so when the fall comes I can start putting up some walls in the house. Hopefully by the time winter comes I will have the house insulated and I will also have plumbing in the house so I can stop driving five miles to use the gas station bathroom twice a day.
Sunday, June 9, 2013
Little John
Whenever my family needs to get some yard work done around the house we normally borrow my grandfather's tractor Little John. Throughout the day my father used Little John to level the backyard and clean up all the garbage left from the shed.
Sand Pile
Since the shed is no more I had a load of stone and a load of sand dropped off at the house. My father took Little John around and leveled off parts of the backyard with the sand and filled in the big gaps in the driveway with the crushed stone.
Fire Pit
Once we started cleaning up the yard I found this makeshift fire pit. While I was cleaning it out I found a bunch of burnt garbage including old rusty springs. My neighbor later explained that once the previous owners had run out of places to hide garbage they started burning it in the backyard. The old springs belonged to a mattress that they burned.
Backyard
So the whole backyard was full of just loose garbage from the shed and old branches. While I was raking my father drove back and forth with the tractor scooping up the piles of debris I made.
Driveway
The driveway has turned out pretty nicely. We will probably extend it a little farther into the backyard but right now I am really happy with the way it turned out.
Fire Pit
It may not look like much still but with a little work I think it could be a nice little touch to the backyard.
Backyard
While we had Little John for the day we decided we should rip down the old pool deck. My father was more then happy to crush something with the tractor.
Backyard
My dad told me he would put the skeleton of the porch in the back corner of the yard but as soon as he got it there he changed his mind and dragged it into the middle of the lawn so he could cut it up with the chainsaw. My neighbor saw this and asked if he could have the pieces so he could have a bonfire later. I figured it would save me some room in the dumpster so it was a win win.
Backyard
Little John has destroyed enough for the day. We still need to put down a few loads of top dirt and grass seed to really make the lawn complete but it looks a lot better that's for sure.
Front Porch
So I have been looking forward to ripping this front porch off since I bought this little dream shack. Unfortunately I picked a rainy day to try and tackle this task.
Front Porch
I have avoided going near the front porch just because I was worried I would fall through the floor. Looks like the previous owners also threw bags of garbage on this porch too. Classy
Front Porch
It took a while for me to really get going on the demo. I had a tough time trying to figure out how to rip the roof off without having it crush me. Finally I crawled into the hole and busted a hole in the roof. I then sat on the edge of the roof and ripped chunks off. The only negative was when I ripped my pants trying to get back down from the ladder when I was done. At least the neighbors got a good show out of the deal
Front Porch
While I was swinging the sledgehammer around this board fell directly on my head. Luckily this board was so rotten it felt like a wet noodle. If that board wasn't rotten at least my parents wouldn't have to drive very far. Turns out there is a funeral parlor half a mile from the house. Convenient
Front Porch
I thought after I got the top part of the porch down the bottom would be easy but once again I was wrong. The previous owner figured out that the porch was rotting so that just placed another piece of plywood on top of the rotted boards. Nothing that a sledgehammer couldn't fix
Front Porch
After raking a most of the glass and garbage I can almost see some light at the end of the tunnel. Maybe by this time next year I will have a lawn instead of a garbage dump
Hole in the Wall
So today's big task was to cut a hole in the exterior of the house where the new french door will be going. I will be eventually putting a deck on t-he back of the house and the doors will open into the eat in kitchen.
Hole in the Wall
So while my dad was getting the framing ready for where the door would be put in I was left to rip down the siding on the outside of the house.
Goodbye Window
After I finished ripping the siding off the outside of the house my dad started ripping out the window.
Hole in the Wall
So while I was at the store my dad called me to say that he broke the saw trying to cut the wall. Naturally I went home and got a chainsaw so we could keep working. My dad managed to cut through the entire house with the chainsaw and still have everything level at the end. Not gonna lie I was impressed
Hole in the Wall
Right after my dad was done cutting he pushed it into the backyard. How the ladder didn't get crushed is beyond me
Hole in the Wall
Yep looks like we just cut a big hole in my house. My neighbors normally come running over to check out every little thing we do at the house but when half my kitchen wall falls into the backyard we don't get a single visitor. Weird