Wednesday, March 11, 2009
the rebuilding phase...
so, the destruction seems to be over. Walls are being built, showers and baths installed, woodwork replaced... and we actually get to put some boxes into the house on saturday, all being well.
The Parlour floor is up; it's being prepared for fresh wood and wall board.
Monday, March 2, 2009
a week has passed...
and there are holes everywhere. In the trim, walls, floors etc. The plumber patched roughly 55 split or burst pipes, and the house looks terrible as a result. However, it's up to 63 degrees and holding, and I think some of the warped wood is beginning to settle down. The Parlour floor is totally ripped out, and we're down to plywood. Patches of drywall and ceiling will need to be replaced, and the Dining Room ceiling is probably too far gone to be patched. There are at least nine separate holes in it, each 6-12 inches square, caused by the search for one elusive leak or another.
The furnace was kaput and needed to be replaced, as were all three toilets and the two vanities. The downstairs bathroom has a 'Lavatory Pedestal' (ie, a 'bathroom sink' to those in UK) and that seems to have escaped damage from the big freeze that ruined everything else. The toilet damage was 'subtle' - there's a water-filled trap in the pipe below the toilet bowl, and when the water freezes it expands to explode the trap and render the entire thing useless. You can't see the damage until you remove the toilet and invert it (don't try this without a qualified person at hand).
With a new more efficient furnace, a new high-efficiency water tank (called a 'Superstore') and all the repairs we spent just over one-third of our total budget this week. The only unexpected costs (so far) will be the new toilets. Let's hope for a slower rate of expenditure and no more surprises when work resumes tomorrow (today we got another foot or so of snow, and so we didn't get out of our digs...)
The furnace was kaput and needed to be replaced, as were all three toilets and the two vanities. The downstairs bathroom has a 'Lavatory Pedestal' (ie, a 'bathroom sink' to those in UK) and that seems to have escaped damage from the big freeze that ruined everything else. The toilet damage was 'subtle' - there's a water-filled trap in the pipe below the toilet bowl, and when the water freezes it expands to explode the trap and render the entire thing useless. You can't see the damage until you remove the toilet and invert it (don't try this without a qualified person at hand).
With a new more efficient furnace, a new high-efficiency water tank (called a 'Superstore') and all the repairs we spent just over one-third of our total budget this week. The only unexpected costs (so far) will be the new toilets. Let's hope for a slower rate of expenditure and no more surprises when work resumes tomorrow (today we got another foot or so of snow, and so we didn't get out of our digs...)
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