Man's Helpmate

And the Lord God said, "It is not good that man should be alone; I will make him a helper comparable to him." Genesis 2:18

The other night Ryan was organizing his tools in preparation for our big Thanksgiving Demolition Weekend. More specifically, he was examining the two different saws that came with his drill. While he has gotten extensive use out of his drill over the last year, this was to be the maiden voyage for both of the saws.

So he's sitting on the floor, fiddling with the saws (and making me plenty nervous as he turned them on and off) and trying to figure out what all the doo-dads and buttons do. While he's doing this, he is also muttering himself, "What does this do? How the heck..." and beginning to show signs of early frustration.

At these signs, I reach down into the storage bag, remove two instruction manuals, and begin to read. Every so often I read bits aloud from the manuals and instruct Ryan to push or pull different parts of the saw. At one point, he looks up and says, "Ah...that's how you know so much," indicating the manual.

Clearly, God knew what he was doing when he created woman. It is not right for man to use power tools without reading the instruction manual.

Denise the Destroyer

Yesterday was Hauling Day! Yay! People came to take all the crud and scary stuff that fell out of the walls. At 7:45 am yesterday, a big truck pulled up in front of our house and three men came out with shovels, wheelbar

rows, and trash cans. This was the first great event of the day - they were scheduled to come at 8, but showed up 15 minutes early! How cool is that? Since people in construction have somewhat of a reputation for being flakey, I was prepared to be impressed if they showed up at all.

But show up they did and immediately set to work. These guys are fantastic - not only do they take away your stuff, they also load up all your crap into their truck. As our previous pictures have indicated, we had been throwing stuff anywhere we could, not bothering to be organized. 

We wanted to post pictures of the actual truck they used, but the battery on our camera was dead. So here's a picture of a truck that was very like theone used to haul away the martian dust.

So the way this works is that these guys load up all the crap, haul it away, and charge you by the number of truckloads and number of trips to the dump. So obviously, in order to be as efficient as possible, you want the trucks to be crammed with as much stuff as possible before taking it to the dump. Since Ryan had to work, I was designated to hang out all day with the hauling guys, and watch them clean up my mess.

Well, actually not. I felt funny standing around just watching them, so while they filled their truck, I puttered around, tearing down other walls, brushing off insulation that got stuck in the corners, pulling out nails, etc. Toward the end of the day, a second crew of guys showed to help the first group finish up. One of them passed me as I was yanking nails out of some studs, and asked, "Did you do all this?", indicating the missing walls and heap of wooden planks piled on the floor.

"Yeah, some of it," I answered. 

"Wow - so you're a destroyer." 

I think I like that: Denise the Destroyer. Unfortunately, I am probably not a terribly formidable destroyer. I think the hauling guys were actually pretty amused watching the tiny little Asian girl pulling with all her might to get a plank of wood off the wall, something any of them probably could have done with their little finger. Ryan actually thought I could use this to our advantage and ask them to haul out the old bathtubs. Apparently, in order to remove a bathtub, you have to take a sledgehammer and smash it to pieces first. This sounded overly-daunting, even to the Destroyer, so as the guys were shoveling martian dust into their trash cans, I asked, in my best I'm-just-a-small-little-girl voice, if they could take the bathtubs. "Sure, no problem."  Score! Bathtubs gone!

This is a picture of the kitchen after the debris was removed. The puddle of water is from a leaky valve where the kitchen sink used to be.

And finally, Denise the Destroyer!

We wanted to post more pictures of the house now that the debris is cleared, but apparently, Denise is a terrible photographer. More pictures to follow. 

Demolition by Denise

Hello to all of you who have been checking out our blog (Hi Mom! Hi Dad!). Today was our third day of demolition, and I believe it was very productive. First of all, we again hired three day laborers. I am so grateful to these men; there should be a special place in heaven for these guys. But Ryan and I stuck around all day and worked alongside them. I think the only other time I have been this physically exhausted was after a 20 mile run.

We have some pictures to illustrate our day's labor. First, some 'before' pictures:

Downstairs: These holes are from our friend practicing his jump-kicks last week.

These holes are from the aforementioned friend practicing his hammer throwing.

This is the upstairs bathroom prior to demolition.

And this is Ryan, surveying the debris from last weekend's demolition. Notice that he is ankle-deep in martian sand dust. Apparently, those in the building industry call it "insulation." When we took down the ceiling last week, all this fluffy, gray crud fell down; it sneaks into your shoes and your socks, and turns your toes gray. I can't say that I am a fan.

And this is the living room after last week's work. It is a mountain of martian sand.

This is what our bathroom looks like after today's work...if you look closely, you can still sort of see the bathtub.


And this is what our downstairs looks like now...

And one more picture:
This is one of our new friends. I found him in the bathroom right before we tore it down.

That's it for now. We are both exhausted and we need to go to bed. More later.

Demolition & Hired Help

Remodeling a home is not a small task; certainly too large a task for a one man show(or one man and one woman including Denise who has been an awesome help).  So last weekend, we decided to look into getting some help.  I eventually found four options, each with their pros and cons:

1.  My friend Edwin is a contractor.  He offered his crew at cost to do the demolition since he'll probably be doing some of the framing as well as the utilities.  His cost is about $200 / man / day or $25.00/ hr.  Not too bad, considering I know many contractors that would charge several times that rate.  Edwin is also bonded and insured and has overhead costs as a general contractor.  Still, for demolition, I felt this was a bit much.

2.  Edwin uses a guy named Paul for hauling (another subject in itself).  Paul also does demo.  I called him up and he charges $21.00 / hr, which is a bit better than Edwin but not too much.  I heard he just picks up day laborers on Caesar Chavez for about $10.00 / hr.  This means over 100% profit and overhead.  I still thought I could find a better solution.

3.  A light bulb went off in my head and I realized that I could hire day laborers for myself.  This would obviously be cheaper ($10.00 / hr), but let some questions in my mind.  First off was the practicality of finding them;  Caesar Chavez is a long street.  Second off is communication as my Spanish skills are non-existent.  Third was the safety question of having strangers come into my home.  Fourth was the legal question and not being very informed of labor and employment laws in this city.  This seemed cheapest, but a bit risky.

4.  The last option was found from a quick search online.  San Francisco has a Day Laborer Program, sponsored by the City.  Their website will fill you in on more information.  It seemed like a good way to hook employers up with employees in a more safe and reliable environment for both parties.  They ensure that the laborers get paid a decent wage ($15.00 / hr) and they are a convenient source for employers to find reliable help.

I decided to go with option #4.  I called the program office, described the work I needed done, and gave them my address.  The next day, Saturday, they sent three guys out, with one fluent in English, to my house.  I was still a bit nervous, but explained the work that needed to get done and provided the necessary tools.  They quickly got to work, scraping floor finishes, removing sheetrock, and removing lath & plaster from the walls.  I paid them at the end of eight hours, after each day, and gave them a bit of extra money for lunch.  In two days, Gary, Eduardo, & Miguel finished the entire upper level of our home.

Based on prior progress, by myself, this would have taken me well over a month.  Needless to say, even with my very limited budget, it was very much worth it.  During the time they were working, we worked on other parts of the house, and left them for periods of time to run errands.  They were efficient and hard working, but needed periodic direction.  Also, a watchful eye definitely increased productivity.  I need to call them back to finish the lower level this coming weekend.  I would highly recommend the program to anyone needing temporary manual labor.

Exterior Photos

Here are some exterior shots of the house.  The front faces Gates Street.  The entrances is up an exterior brick staircase.  To the right is the living room above the garage and to the left is a bedroom.  We met the neighbors to the right, who seem very nice, and have been living there for over ten years.  To the left is the side of a building that faces Cortland.  First to get rid of:  the bars over the windows and the overhang over the front door.

Here is the back of the house.  The 'popped out' area is an addition from the 1950's.  The deck is in poor condition, the stairs are deteriorating, and the addition leaks slightly.  You get what you pay for.  There is a decent sized back yard, the previous owners were probably better gardeners than we'll ever be.  There are tomatoes, ginger, and other green things growing.

Quick Note

Exterior photos that are more telling than the interior will be posted tomorrow.  Also, as an update, demolition was well under wall as of last Saturday.  So, the blot is a bit behind reality.  Since it's easier to type than to hammer or saw, I think I'll be able to catch up quickly.  There will be more posts in the near future on the joys of demolition, sheetrock, lath & plaster, asbestos (maybe) glue, hired labor, and hauling.  Thanks for reading!

Existing Interior Photos

About the interior...  Below are some shots of the home pre-demolition.  Sorry for the poor quality of the photos; i'm not sure if it's the poor quality of the space or the poor quality of photography.  The main spaces inside are on the second story; an exterior staircase brings you into a hallway in the middle of the house.  The living room is to the right, a bedroom is to the left.  Walk down the hallway, and the bathroom is on the right, behind the bedroom.  Behind that bathroom is the second bedroom.  To the left is the kitchen and a sunroom is in back.  There is no interior stair, as the ground story was an unwarranted in-law unit.  Downstairs, there is a one bedroomish unit and one car garage.  All in all, there are about 900 square feet upstairs and another 700 square feet downstairs, not including the garage. Currently the downstairs doesn't count in the area, since it is unwarranted.  Hopefully a building permit should give us that extra space legally.  More on the renovation plans later.

The hallway and bedroom door from the living room.  Not shown, but to the left, is the front door.  To the right is the hallway to the kitchen.

The existing kitchen looks cleaner from far away than up close.  Everything is old, but it works.  Notice the attractive wallpaper and linoleum floor.

Here is a shot from the ground floor.  The ceilings are quite low (barely legal at 7'-6") and natural light is hard to find, even on a sunny day.  The floors are vinyl composition tile on top of the concrete slab.  On the other side of the wall behind the cabinets is the garage.

Welcome!

Thank you for visiting our blog.  This is a chronicle of firsts: our first blog and our first remodel in our first home.  This is the start of a new adventure with no end in sight. 

My wife and I got the keys to our first home October 24th, 2008.  Most people buy a home and move into it.  We don't know when we'll be able to move into our home.  Others would tear down our leaky, sagging, cracked, dirty, old ninety-nine year old home.  For us, that is not an option.  After this endless remodel, I can only hope for two things:  that the process doesn't bankrupt us and that the house doesn't fall down.  So we'll see.

Being an aspiring architect, owning a home and having a chance to remodel is a sort of dream come true.  A friend called it a 'do-it-yourself graduate degree'.  A co-worker described it as 'your every weekend for the next thirty years'.  I am hoping to call it 'home'.  Still, unknown challenges lie ahead.  Time is restricted to evenings and weekends, money is limited, experience is minimal, the mortgage must be paid, and my marriage must stay intact.

To bring you all up to speed, we bought a home in San Francisco's Bernal Heights.  It is empty (except for the spiders), we have the keys, and paid our first mortgage check at the beginning of the month.  We've begun exploratory demolition, measured and photographed existing conditions, and talked to various people about how much time and money this will take.  Briefly, the next steps are as follows:  demolition of finishes, hauling debris, design work and building permit, and new construction.

I will be doing much of the work myself, and will be hiring others strategically as necessary.  We hope to do the interior systems (mechanical, electrical, and plumbing) and interior framing over the next few months before moving in.  We'll live in an incomplete house and install finishes as time and money come along.  Hopefully, in a couple of years, we will be able to remodel the exterior.

Photos, elaborations on what was mentioned above, and updates will follow on a (hopefully) consistent basis.  Also, look forward to guest posts from my wife and her encounters with insects and adventures at Home Depot.  Any advice, feedback, or criticism is welcome.  Please feel free to contribute, and thanks for reading!