The befores.......

This is the front porch.  This was actually the cleanest room in the house when we got here.  There were a few odds and ends left but nothing to outrageous.  The corners were covered in sipiderwebs and dust but that probably had a lot to do with the open window.

 This is the front room.  I guess I didn't have the camera with me when we first walked in so I cant share the horror with you.  This is after we cleared out all the room, bleached the floors for the first time and had swept.  We had started peeling off the cracked plaster on the walls and ceiling to fix it (the pile under the window is the begining of said work).

 Front bedroom:  This room was covered in dog hair.  It was about 4 inches thick in the floor vent and coated all the corners a good 2 inches.  It stunk.  Really no way around that, it just reeked!  The window under the towel had a large gap in the frame.  We replaced the window, painted a less glaring shade of yellow, bleach mopped, and this room cleaned up pretty good.

 Middle bedroom:  This room was oh so beautiful.  Graffitti style art work (as seen in the photo) covered the walls and floor (He loved Katrina in case you are wondering).  It wasnt too bad for dirt but still stunk.  The window is broken (still waiting for replacements) and there were dirty stinky clothes left every where in the room.

 Middle bedroom floor:  This floor was apperently a favorite for artwork.  It was covered in random designs, graffitti, and other odds and ends. 

 Back Porch:  This room was the most foul smelling room I have ever ever ever had the displeasure of smelling.  It was horrible.  There is nothing to even compare it too!  It was covered in dirt, dog hair, cat pee/feces, and to top it off, thousands of pigeion feathers.  Millions of flies covered every surface and you could hear them humming as you walked through.  Even typing this makes my stomach turn, that is how bad it smelled.  Oh and graffitti boy got his hands on the back door also. 

A plant that apprerently was as cared for as the rest of the house.  Great view of the mountains out that window though.  Can not complain about that!

 Kitchen cabinets:  The kitchen was coated in a dirt/grease/filth mix so heavy that TSP, bleach and a putty knife were the only ways to get rid of it.  Every single nook and cranny was covered in this thick paste of smelly smelly stuff.  Dog hair was stuck everywhere, the walls were splattered with wet dog, mice droppings covered all the abandoned can goods in the cupboards.  It. was. disgusting.  No other way around it.

 The broken kitchen window was taped in some spots until something happened and the whole window came out (except this small corner) so the tenents put a sheet of duct taped plexi glass in the hole.  It was too small and this is the point of entry for the million flies.  Because of this window, water entered the house and the countertops were rotted and molded.

 The bathroom:  This room has been the most insanity inducing rooms in the house.  We had to tear out the floor, replace the bathtub plumbing, replace the toilet and the sink and lighting.  This picture shows you the beautiful mosaic of mold that was under all the tile.  The tile could no longer stay  down because of the amount of warping and mold on the subfloor.

 This was the fresh water damage we found under the tub.  When I stuck the screw driver in the sub floor it sunk about .5 inch.  The floor was saturated and leaking downstairs.

 Tearing out the floor went pretty quick.  We had to cut out the floor boards around the toilet because of the rot damage.

 Front of the house:  After spending so much time on the inside, the sad and neglected outside looks welcoming!  We switched out the front door with the old original door (original door in photos) because the other door leaked air like mad!  Plus as with everything else, it stunk!!  The house had a tree growing right at the foundation and was starting to cause some damage.  Dean took a few minutes one day and cut it down.

 No more tree.  The two windows on the front will be replaced.  One is currently duct taped so it will be replaced here within the next week or two.  The outside of the house needs some love but the inside is our priority right now.  Hopefully by next summer I can put my grand plans for the exterior into action.

Well there are the few before pictures I took.  I wish I  had taken more but we sprang to action so quick that I didnt even think about it.  I do have a pic of the dumpster that took the toxic waste away.  I'll have to share that one next time along with the after pictures of each room.

The befores.......

This is the front porch.  This was actually the cleanest room in the house when we got here.  There were a few odds and ends left but nothing to outrageous.  The corners were covered in sipiderwebs and dust but that probably had a lot to do with the open window.

 This is the front room.  I guess I didn't have the camera with me when we first walked in so I cant share the horror with you.  This is after we cleared out all the room, bleached the floors for the first time and had swept.  We had started peeling off the cracked plaster on the walls and ceiling to fix it (the pile under the window is the begining of said work).

 Front bedroom:  This room was covered in dog hair.  It was about 4 inches thick in the floor vent and coated all the corners a good 2 inches.  It stunk.  Really no way around that, it just reeked!  The window under the towel had a large gap in the frame.  We replaced the window, painted a less glaring shade of yellow, bleach mopped, and this room cleaned up pretty good.

 Middle bedroom:  This room was oh so beautiful.  Graffitti style art work (as seen in the photo) covered the walls and floor (He loved Katrina in case you are wondering).  It wasnt too bad for dirt but still stunk.  The window is broken (still waiting for replacements) and there were dirty stinky clothes left every where in the room.

 Middle bedroom floor:  This floor was apperently a favorite for artwork.  It was covered in random designs, graffitti, and other odds and ends. 

 Back Porch:  This room was the most foul smelling room I have ever ever ever had the displeasure of smelling.  It was horrible.  There is nothing to even compare it too!  It was covered in dirt, dog hair, cat pee/feces, and to top it off, thousands of pigeion feathers.  Millions of flies covered every surface and you could hear them humming as you walked through.  Even typing this makes my stomach turn, that is how bad it smelled.  Oh and graffitti boy got his hands on the back door also. 

A plant that apprerently was as cared for as the rest of the house.  Great view of the mountains out that window though.  Can not complain about that!

 Kitchen cabinets:  The kitchen was coated in a dirt/grease/filth mix so heavy that TSP, bleach and a putty knife were the only ways to get rid of it.  Every single nook and cranny was covered in this thick paste of smelly smelly stuff.  Dog hair was stuck everywhere, the walls were splattered with wet dog, mice droppings covered all the abandoned can goods in the cupboards.  It. was. disgusting.  No other way around it.

 The broken kitchen window was taped in some spots until something happened and the whole window came out (except this small corner) so the tenents put a sheet of duct taped plexi glass in the hole.  It was too small and this is the point of entry for the million flies.  Because of this window, water entered the house and the countertops were rotted and molded.

 The bathroom:  This room has been the most insanity inducing rooms in the house.  We had to tear out the floor, replace the bathtub plumbing, replace the toilet and the sink and lighting.  This picture shows you the beautiful mosaic of mold that was under all the tile.  The tile could no longer stay  down because of the amount of warping and mold on the subfloor.

 This was the fresh water damage we found under the tub.  When I stuck the screw driver in the sub floor it sunk about .5 inch.  The floor was saturated and leaking downstairs.

 Tearing out the floor went pretty quick.  We had to cut out the floor boards around the toilet because of the rot damage.

 Front of the house:  After spending so much time on the inside, the sad and neglected outside looks welcoming!  We switched out the front door with the old original door (original door in photos) because the other door leaked air like mad!  Plus as with everything else, it stunk!!  The house had a tree growing right at the foundation and was starting to cause some damage.  Dean took a few minutes one day and cut it down.

 No more tree.  The two windows on the front will be replaced.  One is currently duct taped so it will be replaced here within the next week or two.  The outside of the house needs some love but the inside is our priority right now.  Hopefully by next summer I can put my grand plans for the exterior into action.

Well there are the few before pictures I took.  I wish I  had taken more but we sprang to action so quick that I didnt even think about it.  I do have a pic of the dumpster that took the toxic waste away.  I'll have to share that one next time along with the after pictures of each room.

HUGE transition for us

A couple of months ago I hinted at a big change coming our way and I mentioned a remodel.  Well both of these things have happened.  Three weeks ago we moved out of our very first home and moved to a city nearly 2 hours away.  We did this for many reasons and it was not an easy choice to make.  We had lived in our old house for 5 years and we were very happy there.  However we have felt for a while that we needed a change.  Boy have we gotten a change. 

First the house.  Oh boy the house.  Where to even start.  Some of you already know about this because you have had the unfourtunate experience of hearing me rant and rave.  Sorry for the repeat.  But for all others here you are.  We moved into a hundred year old farm house that we have been in love with for years.  It is about twice the size of our old house.  Its brick which reminds me of my favorite house a kid and its set up similar which just makes me smile every time I walk through the house.  However that is where any sort of sweet feelings end.  When we walked into this house 3 weeks ago we were greeted with filth that I have only seen in the movies.  It was disgusting and the smell about knocked you out.  It was filled with furniture covered in 5 inches of dog hair and pee.  It had splatters all over the walls in who knows what.  The bathroom floor was rotted to the floor boards, the kitchen was missing half the linoleum (it was torn off I guess), leaking water, and about a million flies (that is only barely an exageration!).  The downstairs was filled with dog feces, urine, a tom cat, and walls molded half way up from the 3 windows that were broken and leaking everywhere.  When I say this house was trashed, it is in no way an exageration and when I say it was filthy I am not kidding.  For 2 weeks Dean and I worked 12-18 hours a day, gutting, painting, cleaning, bleaching, cleaning, painting, gutting......everything in this house.  We finally felt like it was okay enough for the kids to come in, but only with shoes on.  Seriously it was horrible.

However the good news is we have finally finished the most crucial of issues.  Now all the stuff that has to be done are more like preferences.  We now have a mold free kitchen, bath and (almost) downstairs.  We had someone come out and check the mold, it was just surface and easily elimintated.  The insurance adjuster came out and we will be replacing the 9 windows that are broken.  We have already replaced one and have windows for another 3.  We have used a total of 10 gallons of paint, 7 rollers, 5 paint brushes, 2 gallons of bleach, 5 gallons of TSP (reconstituted), 1 windex, and we filled a construction site sized dumpster with garbage.  It has been a back breaking 3 weeks.  We have both lost weight and barely sleep.  Tonight is our first night that we have taken off. 

So why was the house this bad?  Renters.  The house has been a family rental for about 20 years.  The rent has been nearly nothing and this is one of those "You get what you pay for" situations.  The last renters were the worst in 20 years.  They did more damage in 2 years than anyone else had inflicted in 100!  But here we are.  Looking to the future with a heck of a lot more elbow room.  We have a list a mile long of things that need to be done, a list just as long of things that we want done, and another list of wish list items that will only happen if we purchase the place.

The new town is ugly.  Come on you knew I was going to say something about it right?  If you have been reading this blog for any time you know that I am a sucker for trees and charm.  Well I have to say that this city is just nasty.  Really.  I reminds me of the worst part of the town I grew up in.  Just dirty.  The upside however, I am only 12 miles from a fabric store!  WOOT WOOT.  Hey you gotta make lemonade out of the lemons right.  In fact I have 2 fabric stores within 15 miles.  One is like heaven.....anyway I am trying to get used to the new city (and city it is, its nearly 3 times our old town population.).  I love that we live about as far away from it as you can get and still be in the city limits.  I have a view of the mountains outside the (new) kitchen window, and get this, they actually have trees.  We have 5 HUGE trees on the property, a barn, chicken coop, and endless farming "treasures" for the kids to find.

Another great bonus.....In the 6ft tall weeds was an entire garden.  It was doing great with tons of produce.  Peppers, tomatoes, beans, corn, cucumbers and strawberries.  It was a very welcome sight.  A little slice of normallacy in spite of the hurricane of choas.  The garden has finished for the year, a hard freeze came though and took everything out.  But while it was here it was fantastic!

So another thing here since I am rambling.....our church is huge.  We finally made it today for the first time.  Now only is the building set up crazy maze like but there are so many people!  I miss our old ward and all the familiar faces.  I kept noticing people and thinking "Oh here comes so and so. Oh wait so and so doesn't live here."  It was so sad to be that out cast newbie again.  I hate that feeling.  It reminds me of the time my best friend and I had to make a bet to see who could make a friend faster because we were going to get seperated during lunch breaks in 4th/5th grade.  (Remember that Nicole????)  It doesn't help that I don't really come across as a warm and friendly person until you get to know me a little.  SIGH, it will get easier the more comfortable we get but right now I just feel off kilter and out of sorts.  I know all will be well but I sure hate the wait until that day comes.

So just to let you know we haven't fallen off the face of the planet.  We have only switched to a new one!  Things are getting back to normal.  And as soon as I unpack the USB cable for the camera I will treat you to some really great before and after pics!

HUGE transition for us

A couple of months ago I hinted at a big change coming our way and I mentioned a remodel.  Well both of these things have happened.  Three weeks ago we moved out of our very first home and moved to a city nearly 2 hours away.  We did this for many reasons and it was not an easy choice to make.  We had lived in our old house for 5 years and we were very happy there.  However we have felt for a while that we needed a change.  Boy have we gotten a change. 

First the house.  Oh boy the house.  Where to even start.  Some of you already know about this because you have had the unfourtunate experience of hearing me rant and rave.  Sorry for the repeat.  But for all others here you are.  We moved into a hundred year old farm house that we have been in love with for years.  It is about twice the size of our old house.  Its brick which reminds me of my favorite house a kid and its set up similar which just makes me smile every time I walk through the house.  However that is where any sort of sweet feelings end.  When we walked into this house 3 weeks ago we were greeted with filth that I have only seen in the movies.  It was disgusting and the smell about knocked you out.  It was filled with furniture covered in 5 inches of dog hair and pee.  It had splatters all over the walls in who knows what.  The bathroom floor was rotted to the floor boards, the kitchen was missing half the linoleum (it was torn off I guess), leaking water, and about a million flies (that is only barely an exageration!).  The downstairs was filled with dog feces, urine, a tom cat, and walls molded half way up from the 3 windows that were broken and leaking everywhere.  When I say this house was trashed, it is in no way an exageration and when I say it was filthy I am not kidding.  For 2 weeks Dean and I worked 12-18 hours a day, gutting, painting, cleaning, bleaching, cleaning, painting, gutting......everything in this house.  We finally felt like it was okay enough for the kids to come in, but only with shoes on.  Seriously it was horrible.

However the good news is we have finally finished the most crucial of issues.  Now all the stuff that has to be done are more like preferences.  We now have a mold free kitchen, bath and (almost) downstairs.  We had someone come out and check the mold, it was just surface and easily elimintated.  The insurance adjuster came out and we will be replacing the 9 windows that are broken.  We have already replaced one and have windows for another 3.  We have used a total of 10 gallons of paint, 7 rollers, 5 paint brushes, 2 gallons of bleach, 5 gallons of TSP (reconstituted), 1 windex, and we filled a construction site sized dumpster with garbage.  It has been a back breaking 3 weeks.  We have both lost weight and barely sleep.  Tonight is our first night that we have taken off. 

So why was the house this bad?  Renters.  The house has been a family rental for about 20 years.  The rent has been nearly nothing and this is one of those "You get what you pay for" situations.  The last renters were the worst in 20 years.  They did more damage in 2 years than anyone else had inflicted in 100!  But here we are.  Looking to the future with a heck of a lot more elbow room.  We have a list a mile long of things that need to be done, a list just as long of things that we want done, and another list of wish list items that will only happen if we purchase the place.

The new town is ugly.  Come on you knew I was going to say something about it right?  If you have been reading this blog for any time you know that I am a sucker for trees and charm.  Well I have to say that this city is just nasty.  Really.  I reminds me of the worst part of the town I grew up in.  Just dirty.  The upside however, I am only 12 miles from a fabric store!  WOOT WOOT.  Hey you gotta make lemonade out of the lemons right.  In fact I have 2 fabric stores within 15 miles.  One is like heaven.....anyway I am trying to get used to the new city (and city it is, its nearly 3 times our old town population.).  I love that we live about as far away from it as you can get and still be in the city limits.  I have a view of the mountains outside the (new) kitchen window, and get this, they actually have trees.  We have 5 HUGE trees on the property, a barn, chicken coop, and endless farming "treasures" for the kids to find.

Another great bonus.....In the 6ft tall weeds was an entire garden.  It was doing great with tons of produce.  Peppers, tomatoes, beans, corn, cucumbers and strawberries.  It was a very welcome sight.  A little slice of normallacy in spite of the hurricane of choas.  The garden has finished for the year, a hard freeze came though and took everything out.  But while it was here it was fantastic!

So another thing here since I am rambling.....our church is huge.  We finally made it today for the first time.  Now only is the building set up crazy maze like but there are so many people!  I miss our old ward and all the familiar faces.  I kept noticing people and thinking "Oh here comes so and so. Oh wait so and so doesn't live here."  It was so sad to be that out cast newbie again.  I hate that feeling.  It reminds me of the time my best friend and I had to make a bet to see who could make a friend faster because we were going to get seperated during lunch breaks in 4th/5th grade.  (Remember that Nicole????)  It doesn't help that I don't really come across as a warm and friendly person until you get to know me a little.  SIGH, it will get easier the more comfortable we get but right now I just feel off kilter and out of sorts.  I know all will be well but I sure hate the wait until that day comes.

So just to let you know we haven't fallen off the face of the planet.  We have only switched to a new one!  Things are getting back to normal.  And as soon as I unpack the USB cable for the camera I will treat you to some really great before and after pics!