So long, farewell!

And now I shall put my nerdiness on full display - it's demo time!  

When I arrived, the garage slab had already been removed and the back room had been taken down. 

Here is a quick video of how easily the exterior walls come down:

This is too much fun!!!

The upstairs door gave us a little show as it came down.

I don't know what it is about boys, but this little guy heard the trucks from inside his house.  He and his Mom hung around and watched with me.  So excited!

Here is the big finale, please don't pay attention to the crazy lady in the background...  I have no idea who she is.

While not completely finished, there wasn't much left to see.  This was all that stood when I left around 11:30 today.

Crunch time, baby!

We are confirmed for demolition tomorrow morning around 9:00 am. Video promised as soon as I can load it! Anyone want to join me?

Please Pass the Cheese-martini...

Blame it on a mouse

Tomorrow, there will be no demolition.  We didn't pass the rat inspection, but not because there were actually signs of rats.  A mouse tripped one of the traps - hard to believe since there is no longer a front door on the house (salvage), but rather a nailed-on louvered closet door.  The place is probably a prime vacation spot for every neighborhood critter, I picture mice sipping cheese-infused martinis.  Fingers crossed we pass Monday's re-inspection for demolition on Tuesday.

Finally a little daylight

This weekend allowed us to take a closer look at the garageless lot in the daylight.  Looking good!  We can finally get a sense of the view from the back of the house.  The lack of daylight during the winter might make our ability to track progress a little challenging.  Curse you, Northern Climate!

Craigslist is taking a snooze

With no lack of effort on our part, our Craigslist bounty has taken a bit of a pause.  Possibly the parameters of our remaining items are narrowing, regardless it's been a real dry spell.  Our big wants are a front entry door, dining room and kitchen lighting, possibly a mantle, and a kid's bath tub.  We must not tire!

Rats! Another delay!

Demo Delay
Alas, another delay.  Now we are scheduled for a Monday demolition.  This time the reason is 'rats.'  No, not because we have them, but to allow for an inspection to verify that we don't.  Seriously?

Dramatization of rat.

First Floor Plan
Because this is incredibly anti-climatic, we can spend some time looking at the inside of the house.  The first floor is approximately 1300 square feet.  Favorite features:  view to the back yard, mud room, kitchen island for kids/entertaining, pantry, and powder room.  It's going to be such a shock since we now in live about 1100 square feet total.

Ready to Roll - ish

Let's Roll!
As planned, the garage is sitting at the end of the drive way waiting for go time around 4:00 AM.  The garage is a tight squeeze against the house, but it cleared it by a few inches.  I get the sense that the house movers have navigated more complex situations.

As part of their process, they posted 'No Parking' signs along the entire street to ensure a successful escape.  Thankfully, everyone seems to be following the rules and none of our new neighbors will need to be towed.  That would be a terrible way to introduce ourselves.

Demo Delay
With a heavy heart, I have to report that demolition will not be tomorrow.  We are rescheduled until Wednesday.  A few things contributed to the delay.  First, the gas and water was disconnected a few hours later than expected, too late for the demo permit to be obtained.  Second, there is one outstanding item with plan that still needs to be approved by the city.  Our hope is to have both the demo permit and the approval of the plan tomorrow.

I really want to break the house into bits...

De "Freegan" Masters get a storage unit

G-2 Days

2 days until the garage rolls away under the cover of darkness.  That means we needed to get our buns in gear and clear out any materials stored in it.  Time for a storage unit!  After 2 loads of plumbing supplies, we are officially moved in... to the storage unit.  With each new item loaded in, all I could think of was how much the unit would sell for on Storage Wars.  Addicting, right?

Almost as impressive as the Kohler Design Center.

Lucy "helping" with the loading

How far would you go for a free toilet?

Our answer is, "Ramsey."  Today's adventure was an hour round trip to pick up a clean, rarely used, year old toilet for free.  It is the same model we had specified for the kid's bath.  We tried to force some cash on the nice man, but he wouldn't have it.  (You can see it in the picture above, farthest to the right.)

Ding! Ding! Ding!  SALVAGE BONUS!!!

Out of curiosity, we called up Bauer Brothers Salvage to see if they would have any interest in the remaining materials in the house before it gets demolished.  We met Kevin at the house this morning and ran through together.  He made a list of appliances (mostly harvest gold), cabinets (circa 1970), doors, furnace, etc.  All items that were destined for the landfill are now going to be picked up tomorrow by Bauer Brothers - and we get $300.  Sounds like a pretty good deal to me.

Tree clearing and garage steering

Trees - Cleared!
Today the trees were removed from the building site exposing the house in all of its moldy glory.  The site seems so much larger without the overgrown bushes.  All of the work up until now has been sort of invisible.  This is such a dramatic and visible step!

Before 

After

God wants our garage
With a twist of events, our garage will have a new new home.  St. Agnes church and school in St. Paul  has been in need of a 1.5 car garage.  Andy's boss just happens to be the brother of the Parish priest - and the dots were connected!  With a quick visit from a house mover and a phone call to the gentleman who had previously agreed to buy the garage, everyone agrees that when God asks for your garage, you give it to Him.  We'll still see the savings, and the church will get a garage :)

Here's the plan.  Monday morning, the garage will be loaded onto a trailer and moved to the end of the driveway.  Then, at 4:00 AM, the movers will drive the garage 5 miles to the church parking lot.  I am sure it will be very happy at its new home!