Bricked up

OK, been a while since I posted to this story of repair. :) At this point it's all good news. The mason, Chuck, from Cornerstone Masonry in Center, Colorado is all done. We kept finding more stuff that needed fixing as we went along but the house, which was a bit unstable when he started, is now structurally sound and beautiful to boot. I ended up losing my chimney in the back because one of the past owners had their head up their butt and took the support out from under the chimney and then cut a door in under it. Sometimes what folks do just boggles my mind. We also found a whole lot of loose brick at the bottom of the wall all around the house that had to be reset. Not repointed mind you but taken out and reset. Chuck and his co-worker Jeff were there for over a week, nearly two with a short break here and there for other small jobs. My original estimate of $1500 ended up at just under $2300 and I think I ended up getting in incredible bargain for that. Makes me really glad I saved that tax return for the problem I knew I'd encounter. It paid for almost all of it.

So now it's all ready for the next 100 things. Another part of the good news is that I can now see the end of the dust. It's a pretty far ways off but I CAN see it. Part of my plan will include getting all that old plaster stripped off the walls before I put in the baseboard heaters, since dust isn't so good for the fins on those. Gotta get that bathroom moved and get that dust outta the way as well. Oh and redo the water and get that pesky boiler set too. That should do it for the rest of the year. :) Of course there are windows to fix and ceilings to redo and insulate. All dusty things. I'm hoping to get the place ready for freezing by late November, but we'll see.