Cleaning up an abandoned property, inside and out.

Aha! The DVD thread hijack has been found. Should I derail this one with movie talk? Yes. Yes I should.

anyone remember the Money Pit with Tom Hanks? Because this house is definitely it.

 

Hijacks = more traffic so bring it brother!

I asked the owner basically the same question, IIRC "just what does Mr. X think he's going to do with this place?"

Owner replied "Greg, he's younger, better experienced [in renovations], and more confident than we are."

I expect to stay on as mower for a time even after the sale so I should be able to get some pics of any renovation taking place.

He's also a heavy truck mechanic so if I get a dump truck he's promised to give me a good rate on repairs.

 

Just got back from Crackheadia. Wife didn't shoot me in the back so I guess she did fine backing me up when I cleared the floor. Who doesn't want a wife they can depend on when the chips are down?

I didn't go in with the police and I didn't check it out later but my instinct tells me someone did go back to the bathroom after we left last week. Police reported "cans of food" but I didn't see any. Also there was a love seat / bench in the hallway and I don't think the cops would have bothered to step over and squeeze around that. I think someone put that there to see if we came back. I kicked it out of my way and on down the hallway.

Big pile of feces in the toilet bowl. How nice! I'm not sure what we'll do with that later, I'm assuming nothing.

Got the new deadbolt in. Not perfect, but it works, and as the client said when I called him "something is better than nothing."

I kept the old deadbolt, I'll see if I can get it keyed and then I get a new deadbolt.

Here are some vine removal pics from last week.

Before pics:






After pics:





We'll get the rest of the vines off with the next bit of good weather we have.

I'll get those police pics edited in along with today's pics of what's inside that 2nd structure. It's bad but not as bad as the main house was.

 

Went back solo today. Got the lock plate for the new dead bolt put in. Used the old lock plate but had to get it in deeper to clear the screws. Wood chisel practice!

Not ideal, but better than it was. I'd like to put in Door Jamb Armor but I'd have to remove the door and shave the edge to make room for it to fit.

Our next visit will hopefully finish up clearing out the brush from on and around the 2nd structure. We can then get back to removing the trash from inside.

*While working on the door lock plate, I heard the screen door creak and it sounded almost exactly like a smartphone buzzing when it gets an alert. There we go. That's what I heard last week.

 

oops. User error!

 

1. You are more than just good friends; you and the Mrs. are saints, or;
2. He has pictures of you doing something that you would just as soon is kept private.

Seriously, the two of you are great friends. Look up the word "friend" in the dictionary and your picture should be there.

 

Yep! Great movie!

 

I appreciate it, thanks.

The sad fact is, it's nearly impossible to find odd jobs' people that are not drug addicts and who actually do what they say they will. This case is a friend but even if he was a stranger we'd come through.

Wednesday looks to be a decent day and the wife can help. Barring something unexpected, I hope to get the rest of those vines down and the back of the white structure cleaned out from the blackberry bushes and overgrowth back there. Once clear, we'll be able to move the trash and metal off the back porch and have a easier job cleaning out that upper floor.

I just ordered a 90 degree door latch (for a padlock). The rear door is a bit flexible and I want to better secure it. If the latch works out, we'll put the same thing on another door down there. Right now that other door has no lock and I wouldn't put it past the neighborhood to stash their trash bags in there!

Here is a "before" pic of the rear of the white structure:



Granted all the leaves are off right now and the grass is cut. Still, a lot to remove. Wife will get onto the porch roof to get off the vines from the rear of the house.

 

OK, wife (finally) uploaded some more pics. This is the remaining vine removal from the front and side plus some of the work we did at the back.



The vines actually came from the side, growing around the house, and those vines, mostly came from the neighbor's property! We are in negotiation with the neighbor to remove all of her briars and some trees, but only after we finish the current client's property.



Wife got all of that off, at once, and on the way down, it brushed my sleeve! I stand between the ladder and the wall, making sure the ladder can't move. I do wear a hard hat though.



There was a big bunch hanging here, on the side, having grown between the wall and the downspout. There was no pulling that off as it would involve pulling the downspout down as well. We (she) had to get up there.



Due to the house being built so close to the property line (and fence) we had to get the ladder onto the neighbor's property. I went over first to speak with her and get permission. This was quickly granted.

The wife wanted to get onto the roof! The pitch is very steep and that side of the roof gets no sunlight. It might have all been ice. I put my foot down on that idea. SMH.

All gone now.

 

Now for the back of the house. LOTS of briars (blackberries) growing back there. These had to go in order to access the rear wall.



We were able to cut almost all the way across the rear of the house, enough to get the ladder in. What we cut we cut with hand tools.



Wife was able to clear off the rear of the house. This leaves those crazy vines at the rear corner. First of February looks to be a bit warmer (above freezing) so we'll try to get that out then.







There is some trash on the back porch, which we'll remove when we start on the inside of the house. The metal items, such as the refrigerator and stove back there, we'll scrap. I don't want to put those out front in case the natives get the idea they can put their trash there as well!

 

Here's a teaser as to what awaits us inside the (second) house....

 

Oh believe me, the owner would love to......if.....the napalm run could also hit that trailer park next door!

It is, by far, the most ambitious job we've taken on yet.

 

Update: pics above, post #42.....according to the owner a lot of what was there is gone! Apparently big bags of clothes are missing!

Also he got a report from a couple of days ago that "some guy was standing on the roof." WTFreak? Crackhead knocking a hole in the roof or trying to Santa Clause down the chimney?

 

Crikey man, you and your wife are absolutely solid friends for taking on this Herculean task. Mold, vines, garbage, random crackhead fights, wow, I would have brought in a bulldozer if that was my property.

 

Being called "solid" is a pretty big compliment. Thank you.