Creepy Crawly Space

Today's post covers NewOld house getting the crawlspace treatment. Sorry I don't have any / many pictures to accompany this post. I find crawlspaces super creepy and this one was possibly the worst I could have seen. Some things cannot be unseen and I feared that if I saw the before picture, I would not be able to live in the house after it was done. Silly? Maybe. I tried to take some shots through the rodent-block-out grills.

Before I begin.... the guys working under there were in full bunny suits and anytime anyone was inside the house s/he was wearing at least a dust mask if not a full respirator. Dust from rodent waste can cause all kinds of lung issues. Please wear a dust mask when clearing out possible rodent areas.

What Is Crawlspace?

crawlspace entry

For folks who have a full basement, have a house built on a slab or live in an apartment, this may be a foreign concept. Many houses are built with a small not-a-basement. This crawlspace acts sort of like a basement in that ducting lives there, and through the use of vents or vent-covers you can control the air flow under the house. Unlike a basement or a slab, a crawlspace usually does not have a concrete floor, reducing the cost of construction. There is, of course, a foundation around the outside and often there are pillars at key points supporting main joists. Instead of the concrete floor, it is dirt or gravel or a combination of both. Even in a brand new construction house, there will be some level of trash under there from sub-contractors throwing things under there. Regardless of the trash aspect, there should be a vapor barrier laying on the ground between the gravel/dirt/construction trash and the crawlspace. This is not any old plastic. It is super thick and dark (usually black) to prevent any light to get through it from above and any moisture to get through from below. It needs to completely cover the ground from foundation to foundation, or moisture will still be able to enter.

When we got the house we currently live in, we had to have the crawlspace addressed before we could move in. Some water had appeared under there, creating a smell. The water, vapor barrier and the old insulation was removed. A new barrier was installed. We contracted that out while I rolled paint on most of the living spaces. Over the next 6 years, water never returned. We concluded the root cause was a clogged downspout that got unclogged after the water pooled in the crawlspace. It may have been caused by a sump-pump failing, but we haven't had water issues since. So, that's probably not it.

Top 20 Worst

blurry "after" picture

Fast-forward to NewOld house, the semi-abandoned 1948 farm house Boo bought a couple blocks away. From the work we had done on our current home, we figured the crawlspace in NewOld house needed to get done. Just peeking into a crawlspace vent showed debris, and it smelled really bad. Like, OMG-I-almost-need-to-puke bad. Boo called a few places and found a company who could come out on relatively short notice. These guys are staffed to respond to emergency jobs (think floods fires, etc) so having a more consistent job to which they can send a crew between disasters works out well for all of us. We save a little cabbage (though this is still super expensive) and they keep their crews working. Their estimator visited, crawled around and shared that while we did not make his top 10 ever, we were in his top 20 and he has been estimating jobs for 30 years. We're big winners!

This house, it appeared, was not built with maintenance of the crawlspace in mind. There were 2 different main floor joists that were about 6 inches off the ground. This does not pose an issue for the health of the beams nor the house, but it does prevent a person from sliding underneath to do work in the crawlspace without some doing. As you can see from the after pictures, there is not much room under there beyond those 2 beams. Since it was not designed for maintenance, you can probably guess how much happened since 1948: almost 0. Someone got under there in the last 20 years and put insulation between the floor joists. Otherwise, it did not look like anyone has done anything other than put garbage under there since the house was built.

Rotating Crews

The company and their teams were true to their word about getting it done and sending different crews to complete it. Consisting of 2-person crews, we had different folks working 4 different work days spread out over a week. Their process was straight-forward: access an area, remove all of the insulation, garbage, air ducts and vapor barrier. Then, spray anti-microbial / anti-fungal everywhere, restore the vapor barrier, and, last, the air ducts. Once an area was done, they would access another. Unlike the estimator, every one of the crew workers admitted that this was possibly the worst they have ever seen. More winning.

Gross Ducts

new duct, new barrier

Before the crews really got going, Boo and I pulled the nails holding the floor vents to the floor and pushed them down into the crawlspace. We talked to the crawlspace guys and we all agreed that if the ducting was getting replaced (due to rodent infestation), the vents needed some care or replacement as well. We were able to save some of them: while well masked, they got a dry scrub, a scrub-wash with Mr. Clean and then shot with black Rustoleum inside and out. Any residual odor after the cleaning would be captured in the paint, we figured. Even still, some of the vents could not be saved. So, we hit Home Despot and picked up 2 each of the 3 varieties of floor vent so the new ducting could attach to new vents. Many of the vents were left disconnected, however, so we will be getting under there ourselves to complete the fitting of the heat/air system.

The job itself seemed quite miserable, even if the temps were mild and they were in cleanroom suits complete with full face shield ventilator masks. To help offset, Boo brought the crew beverages and we repeatedly expressed our thanks. The rubbish they found was extensive, including rodent remains, rodent-soaked insulation, standard household garbage... the works. Each day after a crew left, the house smelled that little bit better. 

New Vents No Smell

The original vents were in disrepair (I know, shocking, right?) and needed some repairs before the job was finished. 2 of the vents needed new framing, and they all needed better grills. This last series of steps took place on their final day. After they pulled the remaining garbage and left the scene, the house no longer smelled like animals and rodents had been living there for years. I would not say it smelled fresh, though. Those large vapor barriers are made with virgin plastic, so they have to off-gas for a day or so. And, the anti-microbial/bacterial is sort of bleach-like smelling. Still, it is significantly improved over dead rodents and animal waste and we were now one step closer to the point where we didn't need to open the house up and run exhaust fans every day. 

That's it for today. Thanks for following along, and if you have an odd smell in your house that you have not been able to identify, maybe it's time you had your crawlspace inspected.

Un-Ugly-ing the Neighborhood Eyesore

Yeah, so I know I said I wouldn't be posting for a while since we got this house around the way and there would be lots of house-fixing before I got back here. Two weeks later, and I just can't stay away, I guess. Besides, Boo and I are working on that house so much, there's lots of material, if nothing else pictures, to share. I'm shooting short videos too, but I'm not sure what I'm going to do with them yet. I figured I would catalog things and figure out what to do with them later.

Humble Beginnings

worked all day, still smilin'

I'll start with a description of the house, with what little history we have learned from the neighbors. First, I mentioned it is just around the way. It is two blocks away, which means it's in the same neighborhood, but it is also close enough that we can walk down there to work on it. Unlike our current home (built in the early 1990's), the one down the way (we're calling NewOld house) was built in 1948. It is a one-level 3-bed 1-bath 1250 square foot farmhouse. It was built by the original land owners in this area as they were parceling it up for suburban development following World War II.

This house and the one next door were built within 2 years of each other, and were only ever lived in by that original family. That is not to say that they were lived in often, nor well. Unfortunately, the exact opposite appears to be true. In the years between 1948 and 2022 the house was unoccupied for large periods of time, and was only consistently lived in by the original landowner's daughter (E), until her death last year. Even then, she did not live in it very often or for long stretches even when she did. E was an avid gardener at one time, and the backyard contains various fruit trees and other interesting plants, but the front was left to nature. This was true dating back as far as the neighbors can remember (early 1980's). Some of the pictures here show how overgrown the front was. I cannot describe how heavily overgrown the entire property was, and since it was private property, I could not photograph it. Let's just say that it had been probably at least 10 years since the gardens in the back were looked at and the front/sides had not been dealt with since before 1982.

before Will started

E's daughter (D) lived in the house next door, and in the last years of E's life, D vacated the house next door and came to live with E in NewOld house. Apparently, D was a bit of a hoarder, and kept both cats and chickens inside her house. She left behind a considerable pile of rubbish in her prior house and started a-new in NewOld house. After 3 years of E and D plus chickens and cats living in NewOld house, E died and D moved into assisted living. Both houses sat, filled with rubbish, for about a year before they were sold. This is about where we come in.

Is that House in Your Lap?

I mentioned that we got a puppy last fall. Tuukka, named after Boston Bruins goalie Tuukka Rask, gets a walk every day, and that walk takes us past NewOld house. Back when E and D lived there, Boo and I would bid them greetings as we were on our dog-less CoViD-health walks around the neighborhood. After the houses were sold to a flipper (Will), there was considerable activity there. Will brought with him a crew of 4 per house, and had multiple semi-trailer-sized dumpsters in between them. The crew set to cutting down the blackberry and weed-trees on the outside while removing the decades of accumulated rubbish from the inside. Of course, a post-hording clear-out is not contained to just what is inside; hording extends into the grounds as well, and there may have been more rubbish removed from the yards than yard debris, and that's really saying something.

before Will started

It was into this work-site that Boo first met Leonard, Will's dad, who at over 70 seems to be the crew morale officer, making sure everyone is in a good mood, and staying hydrated. Leonard saw Boo and Tuukka and waved them over. They walked the grounds, and talked about the house, Will's business, cars and all sorts of things. Boo was enamored with the property, warts, stink and all. The next day, she met Leonard and Will again, asking for a "walk away price". After a brief conversation with me, and another walk-around, she and Will shook hands on it. I won't disclose what we paid, but it was about 60% what the house next door sold for a year earlier. Of course, that house did not smell like dead rats, chicken poop and cat urine... and the yards look like yards, unlike NewOld house's grounds which look like abandoned brown-fields, they're just missing rusty 55-gallon drums, but all other kinds of trash remains.

What Have We Got?

before Will started

Will and his guys finished the major rubbish removal before the deal closed. Their efforts were mostly focused on the interior, but they had cut the weeds and some of the junk trees. When we first opened the front door, we were greeted with a considerable residual smell, but the house's bones are good. Will replaced the roof as part of our deal mostly because he already had the contractor lined up and the roof was really bad; the furnace and water heater were both relatively new. The house had only had one major remodel, in the early 60's, when 2 bedrooms were added to the rear of the house (making it a 3 bedroom) and an original bedroom was eliminated to expand the living room. Somewhere along the line, the wood windows were replaced with vinyl/fiberglass windows. While they were filthy, they were functional, locking and sliding easily. The original oak floors were heavily stained and appeared to have some water damage in spots, but overall they were in fairly good shape.

The kitchen had been remodeled with what looked like Home Depot cabinets, but Will's team had started demo on them before our handshake deal had been struck. As a result the drawers were gone, and most of the cabinet doors were gone or just smashed. We were not fans of those cabinets anyway, and with the degree of rat/mouse feces, we couldn't imagine them ever being clean enough for re-use. The bathroom appeared to have suffered with a non-working fan for a long time, resulting in the paint peeling off the walls. We agreed that both the bathroom and the kitchen needed to be completely cleared, and probably torn down to studs before they could be built-up and useable. This picture of the kitchen is after Boo spent hours cleaning it. The floor, cabinets and counter were disgusting. I failed to capture a before image.

The floors need to be sanded (probably stained) and finished. The crawlspace needs to be emptied and a new vapor barrier installed. All of the walls need to be washed, primed with Kilz and painted. The exterior needs to be power-washed, scraped, masked, primed and painted.

Wash Everything

As with any new-used acquisition, be it a car or a house or even a toy from a yard sale, you have to wash it before you really know what you have and definitely before you intend to use it. So, it was here that we began. I power-washed the outside while Boo started on the inside. At each step during the washing, we are finding that it is not as bad as it first looked. The power-washing exterior, for example, I had the nozzle and pressure set up like I was cleaning concrete walks, and held the tip 12-18 inches away from the siding. It removed the dirt, moss and some loose paint, but not nearly as much paint as I expected. The picture at the top with me and Boo out front was taken after I finished power-washing (I forgot to take a before picture). The house had green and black marring the paint practically everywhere, but you wouldn't know if from this picture. From what I can tell, it appears this house has only been painted twice, or one time since the original 1948 painting. It's pretty amazing how well that second coat is holding up.

Well, this got long, as it usually does. I don't know if this is as interesting as my work on cars, but this is what I'm doing right now, so this is what I'll post on. It is our hope to have NewOld house ready for occupancy before the end of the calendar year. So, it will be a busy fall. Thanks, as always, for following along-

Cha Cha Cha Changes

Just a quick note to share today. Lots of changes around here causing car work to be set aside for a bit. Fair warning: no car content today.

Dog Daze

puppy needs a name

With the departure of our last child from the nest, Boo and I thought we now have time for a dog. While true, a new puppy takes up a considerable amount of focus, and that pulls time from other optional (and sometimes not optional) things. On 23-October, we went to a rescue adoption event at the Tanasborne PetSmart, where dogs and cats rescued in Texas were made available for adoption here locally. Why they need to come here from there, I didn't quite catch, but there were lots of people and many animals. In fact, the woman in front of us in the queue had driven from Eugene that morning, explaining that there simply are no shelter adoption animals in the valley, and she either had to get a dog from a breeder or drive up to Hillsboro. Who knew? Clearly, she did; she indicated that the store hosts an event like that about once a month and they are always that busy. She arrived mid-afternoon to the last one and the depleted selection did not include her new family member.

The scene was pretty crazy for the uninitiated: on either side of this 5 meter wide area, there were crates lining both sides. In the 15 meter long aisle in between, were maybe 40 humans, some potential adopters looking as a family for a new member, as well as volunteers helping people handle the animals and learn about them. One dog barked most of the time, and the dogs we interacted with were all a little traumatized, quiet, reserved, trembling. They had arrived that morning in a trailer from Texas, so it was to be expected. Boo and I took a couple (one at a time) outside of the venue to a grassy area behind the store to see if that helped them settle a little bit. We hoped to get a sense of the underlying personality, but with that much recent and arguably still-ongoing trauma, how could it? We visited with a few dogs, and this one black with white splotches puppy attached himself to us. And we to him. He trembled pretty much the entire time we were getting processed, but once we were in the main store looking for dog owner products, he started to settle down. He even fell asleep for a short time while one of us was carrying him. I guess removing the animal from the trauma for 30 minutes or so, if the animal is young enough, is enough for him/her to settle.

A few hours later, we're home, with a crate, a bunch of puppy stuff and a 3 month old puppy (name has not presented itself yet). So, there will be potty-training, and other training happening. He has been very responsive already. The day before, I had thought that my Sunday was going to be spent installing seats into Hapy while Boo worked a 12-hour shift at her new hospital job. Instead, after a night of sleep interrupted by scared-dog whimpers, it was spent going in and out my backdoor with a little puppy, followed by light playing or resting. Crazy how that consumes all your time. Even something as simple as eating a snack or taking a leak are perilous as puppy-bladder accidents happen quickly.

Boo Job Change

I just alluded to a change in Boo's employment. After years of working in specialized clinics (Pulmonary and then Cardiology), she took a new role at the hospital. If there is a "hood" in Portland, that's the hospital she is at, working a floor gig. This new role will be fewer hours per week, but they bunch all together. I mean... before, she worked 8 hour shifts monday-to-Friday, like an office worker. Now, she works 12.5 hour shifts (with a lunch break, its 12 hours paid with overlaps for shift changes) on any day of the week, but at least its daytime. Even with more time available in a week, any life schedule change has an impact as lives re-settle into a new pattern. 

Construction Junction

Before we got the puppy, we had started a plan to remodel some sections of our upstairs. The master bathroom was originally designed for one person, for example, and the laundry is in the far corner of the garage, about as far away from laundry generation as possible and still be in the house. We would like to resolve both of those issues, but that's a big scope. So, this work will be done in phases, and will mostly be completed by Boo (and specialized subs) with a little help from me but, nothing happens in a vacuum, and if one of us is swinging hammer, the other must be minding pup.

Getting Out

Bruxton Trestle

Last, Boo and I have discovered a shared enjoyment of hiking. This intersects well with life with a dog, as well as aligns well with a lifestyle change we have been making where we get up earlier, go to bed earlier and consume very little, if any, alcohol. Still, this means that time I would have spent during a weekend day wrenching on one of the projects may be consumed by a hike. We experienced the same slow down on projects where we were hitting the snow a lot, and that was a positive family-health tradeoff. Also, now that we're all vax'd, we have returned to hanging out with our musician friends more. I don't think that will have a meaningful impact, but time is fixed and consumption is cumulative. Before you know it, there isn't any left.

I guess, I needed to think this through so I don't become discouraged when projects are not moving forward. I know that Zed is effectively stopped due to cold/wet weather preventing painting anyway. I could probably do a thing or 2 on Oliver, but I really would like to get him through DEQ/smog before I invest any more time or money into him and the smogging won't happen until the nicer weather returns (there is a failed seal/leak where water can creep in under the windscreen). I expect I will be helping G on Nemo when he drops by, but my only real open project is Hapy's seats. Those seats and the related noise abatement might not be installed for a while. Time will tell. Perhaps the pup will like hanging out in Hapy as much as Boo, Schmidty (the kitty) and I do.

That's it for now. Over the years, I have forecasted a significant reduction in my car and posting activity only to re-appear in the next week or 2. So, I am sure you are taking this statement with a few grains of salt. I would if I were you too. Still, if I don't get back for a while, have a nice holiday season. If you can, give the gift of time and experiences, especially to yourself. While memories fade, material gifts fade faster.

Thanks, as always, for following along-