Got out early with Tim, and arrived chez moi about 8:45, ahead of the dumpster delivery. As it turned out, well ahead of the dumpster delivery.
It was raining, and had been pouring and gusting (there was a tree down on the way up our road), so it was a good opportunity to inspect the house for leaks. I was happy to find the only drips were in the porch — none inside the house proper. Not a complete test — that will wait for the next nor’easter, hurricane, or derecho — but encouraging.
The first to arrive was the propane company, with our ducts and furnace. I opened the newly operational Bilco and they stowed everything in the basement, on concrete blocks.
It’s really happening!
The pickup in the picture then couldn’t get out of the “driveway.” His companion (in a separate vehicle that had parked on the road) drove back to the office and returned in a 4WD pickup. 10 seconds later they had gotten the truck up onto the road.
So now we have a rutted mud-drive where our garden is going to be.
Meanwhile, the dumpster did arrive, with a driver who knew all about the previous owner of our property. (This will be the subject of a separate post another day. Suffice to say, everyone in town remembers the previous owner, which increases the attention our arrival in Troy attracts.)
So we got back to work with demolition and moving the product of demolition to date.
By noon the container was 1/3-full, and the spaces previously occupied by debris were broom-clean:
The heating guy who had towed his buddy came back to finish his portion of the task, which was to count the materials in the delivery. He came back up from the basement with his clipboard, and asked permission to see the house. He was quite interested, and his jaw dropped when he heard our purchase price (never mind that it is uninhabitable and will take $25K+ to become so). Anyway, I expect we are the talk of the town by now, if we weren’t already.
He’d also experienced an oddity with the electricity in the basement — the overhead lamp didn’t work (we knew that), but when he plugged his own worklamp into the outlet on the same circuit, the overhead bulb came on! I think the previous owner, or his friend, had just enough electrical knowledge to be dangerous.
Since the furnace will require an electric line (for control panel, thermostat, condenser, etc.), they were understandably concerned. I called Big Joe and wonder of wonders, he’s coming in the morning just to put in a clean line to the basement, and a couple of bulb sockets.
It’s feeling real.