The House

We have lots of memories, but here are a few of the facts about the place:

• Built in 1966 on a 0.31 acre lot.
• Lot backs directly into the county woods (developer-proof!)
• Four bedrooms.
• Two and a half baths.
• Eight rooms, plus baths, plus basement, plus enclosed garage.
• Two stories plus full basement.
• Two car garage.
• One fireplace.
• Gas furnace and water heater, but an electric stove.
• Central air conditioning, though presently non-operative.
• Zillow.com puts its value at around $128,800.

Here is a fairly accurate, hand drawn house plan:

Furniture

The house is nearly empty.  What remains are tools and some furniture.  You can see the tools in the next post (and in the basement post), but I thought I might summarize the remaining furniture here, along with a note about where you'll find pictures of it all.

• 4 tall dressers (parents room, family room)
• 1 low, wide dresser (girls room)
• 5 solid bookcases (parents room, family room)
• 3 folding bookcases (parents room)
• 1 table/desk (family room)
• 3 rocking chairs (parents room, family room)
• 2 regular tables (dining room and (not pictured) in kitchen)
• 4 end tables (parents room, dining room, family room)
• 1 quilt rack (parents room; Tracy has asked about this)
• 5 cherry wood furniture kits (parents room, family room)
• 1 upright chest (dining room)
• 1 writing desk (mom's desk in the living room)
• 1 piano (living room)
• plus lots of glasses, mugs, cooking pottery (kitchen, dining room) (I know, not furniture)

You may well spot other items not listed here (like stools, etc.).

Tools

The tools we found on the first and second floor are now in plastic bins in the living room.  Here are a bunch of pictures of each bin.  I have more detailed shots of each of these, in case something you see makes your heart beat faster and you need to know what it is.  Make your wish-lists now; Christmas is just months away.

When you are working in the house, this Bose radio  is your friend.  Deep, sonorous tones.  The radio is dirty, but it seems to work just fine.

The Remaining Work

A lot depends on who, if anyone, wants the house.
Some buyers would take it "as is," in which case the only remaining work is to retrieve any remaining "valuables" inside.
But few buyers would do that.  We expect there are (at least) two more trips remaining to get it into "fixer-upper" shape.

Trip One:

1. Haul away the old car and finish the otherwise inaccessible parts of the garage.
2. Get estimates from companies that will completely empty out the basement and back porch.
3. Get estimates from companies that will "sanitize" the first and second floor (deep cleaning of walls, surfaces, floors)
4. Distribute the tools (keep the keepers, the rest to St Vincent or woodworking clubs)
5. Distribute the furniture (keep the keepers, donate the rest)
6. Ship or store the above mentioned keepers.
7. Replace all old curtains with "temp" curtains
8. Get estimates from any "as is" house buyers
9. Find out if any water can be turned on (e.g., an outside faucet)

Trip Two:

1. Get the basement and porch emptied
2. Sanitize the house
3. Meet with any potential buyers/brokers

Lots to do.

Outside: The Yard

The step from the front porch down to the walkway became know as the "Step O' Death" as we worked the clean up.  The front yard has settled slightly (four inches?) and there is a tricky step up into the garage from the driveway as well.

The house is dry inside, so the roof still works.  The siding is faded, but intact.

Vines are Mother Nature's way of saying, "I want this property back."

The next owner of the house will have to take down the huge evergreen in the front yard.  Was this once one of our live Christmas trees?  Anyway, for now it does a great job of hiding the front of the house from the street.

The girls room window.

The dining room window and the back porch.

Then looking up from there to the other window in the girls room.

Side of the garage. The vine-encrusted chimney was the access point for our raccoon visitors.

Approaching the back porch.  If you sit here too long, you too will become overgrown.

The AC unit is intact but non-operative.  Dad said it hasn't worked in many years.  The next owner will have to install all new furnace and AC equipment.

The back porch door keeps out anyone over nine inches tall.

Outside: The Back Porch

Stacked with all sorts of things, ranging from portions of bicycles to bales of hay.  I'm not certain, though, what the hanging, alien-egg-like thing is.  Maybe it's a hanging alien egg?

The back door itself is solid and still bolt locked.

This is the alien egg.  Any ideas?

And a view from the girls room window.  I suspect the structure of the porch itself is intact.

Upstairs: Hallway and Bathroom

The old map of the US on the wall had fallen into lots of pieces (it was actually a thin plastic, not paper), so it has moved on to live at Rumpke's place.  That's a flashlight hanging from the doorknob.

The linen closet is empty.

The pink bathroom is grimy.  Dad pulled the old sink out and has parts here for its replacement, though they haven't been installed.  Ditto for the toilet seat.

I expect that the next dweller here will have to gut the bathrooms and re-install all new fixtures, including the tubs.

And remove the wallpaper also.

Upstairs: Jan's Room

The smallest room in the house, but actually the last one we tackled.

It is pretty close to pristine.  Except for the grimy window sill.