The BEST day yet

Today was truly the best house day since we put our offer in three months ago. I started the day by meeting a hauler I had called to clear the junk left behind by the seller. The hauler came highly recommended by my real estate agent, and both her and her boss speak of him in with huge admiration. I didn't understand how they could be so excited about someone until I saw him work. I was supposed to meet him between 8:30 and 9:00, and when I arrived at 8:35 the yard looked better already. He was with his wife, who works with him, and two helpers. They really just went to town. They did everything I wanted and more. By tomorrow, the yard should be completely junk free. I'll post pictures tomorrow when they are done. I will be done dejunking the house by the end of the week. C's parents are coming up on Sunday, and we are excited to show them the house. They haven't seen it since before the seller even moved, so they will be pleasantly surprised.

Later, I met with a general contractor. I haven't wanted to hire one both for the cost and because I want the experience of this project and the pride of doing it myself. However, in the interest of being a saavy consumer, we've decided to interview a few to see if it would be worth it. I really liked him - he was very intelligent and a good communicator. The problem is that our job is really a string of many small things and he is more of a construction manager. He works mainly on new construction and is building his own development. He did agree to consult with me on an as-needed basis for an hourly fee. I felt such relief from this option. He is local, so he knows all the local ins and outs. He can keep me from getting stuck on things and make sure my critical path items are on track. One of my biggest fears is that two months from now something will come up that I should have been working on today. Also, I am a bit intimidated by coordinating all the contractors in order and he can help there as well. Finally, I am hoping to get referrals from him or at least check the people I find with him.

As if all this wasn't enough, I got the results of my asbestos testing and there is NO asbestos in my walls (interior and exterior) or insulation! Yay! The contractor I met with today did think that some linoleum tiles in the master bedroom probably had asbestos in the glue. While this will require remediaiton, it is a small job.

Wow, what a day. This afternoon after I met the contractor and he eased my mind and I then saw my backyard coming together, I had such a moment of gratitude and joy. I really almost felt like crying tears of awe and wonder at my good fortune.

I did manage to finish clearing the master bedroom today. Here are some before and after shots. I may ask C to get some better "after" shots. I took these with his camera, and he is really a better photographer than me.

This is a shot from the door of the room. On the left you see the edge of the mirrored closet doors that are mounted on what we are calling the closet "bump out." The prior owner used some industrial shelving to extend the closet about 2 1/2 feet into the room. You couldn't even open the door all the way, and it made the existing closet useless. It was very odd.



Another shot from the door, looking more toward the right.



A shot of the closet bump-out at the end furthest from the door. C's pants are visible in the mirror.


The closet bump-out near the door. You can see why the door wouldn't open all the way.


After dejunking. Looking from the door to the opposite corner. The open window looks out to the backyard. The other window looks out to the side of the house.


No more closet bump-out!