The Adventure Has Begun

We moved Sat. 4/23 [the amebic mattress photo], said goodbye to the old house, Sun. 4/24 [the family portrait in the empty LR] and by Monday night 4/25 [& 4 dumpsters later] the old house was stud walls and plaster dust. Gratefully and most surprisingly, we had only 1 2x4 that showed any termite activity [and this piece was completely disintegrated], and only about 6 boards in one corner of the house that showed any dryrot. Incredible that the structure of this 50 yr house is so sound. The old lumber is beautiful. Unfortunately, the hardwood underneath the carpet was also beautiful [had I known, I'd have ripped out those carpets 5 yrs ago] but sidenailed every 18" w/ 4" nails so trying to save it when ripping it out was impossible for the long pieces and difficult for the short pieces. [Yes, we had to pull this floor b/c flood plain regulations prevent any untreated wood beneath the base flood elevation...our finished floor will be concrete...]

This wk. they cut the holes in the subfloor, dug out clay to place forms for foundation footings and reinforcements. The Romanian crew diligently show up frm 7:30 a.m.-6 p.m. M-F [one set of 2 leave at 4p.m.], have worked the past 2 Sat. but per our agreement and theirs, reserve Sun. for church. We're supposed to be back in by end Oct.