Dash Sheetrock
That’s my new nickname. Remember that hapless Hollywood movie star character named Dash Riprock from the old Beverly Hillbillies show? I used to love that show, even today it still has it’s hilarious moments. I always have to laugh whenever I hear that name too, Dash Riprock, a very goofy name . Except, I don’t feel like a movie star! All last week I’ve been tearing the lower half of all the damaged walls out of the house, mostly sheetrock and paneling in some of the rooms. First you have to pry all the moldings and trim away and pull all of those nails. The paneling goes from floor to ceiling though.
About half of it is done now, and what a dirty, nasty, dusty job it is. The stuff was very moldy (which was killed by spraying a bleach and water mixture on it) and the part that was wet crumbles pretty easily but further up near the center of the wall it’s pretty hard to pull out. After you get that stuff down then you have to pull out every individual nail that was holding it to the studs in the wall. And then after that you have to haul it all out to the curb in front of the house. A major pain in the ass!
Click images for larger.
Above: Living Room
Above: Front Hallway
Above: Downstairs Bedroom
Above: View from the kitchen, normally you can’t see the bathroom toilet from the kitchen area but you can now! LOL
The way things are going I’ll estimate that it will take as much as a year to get the house back in order. We’ve had surveyers come out to check on the how much the house has sunken into the ground as a result of the huge tree that was leaning on the back wall and the ground being flooded and saturated. The house has sunk quite a bit to the rear, you can actually see it very easily and when you walk thru the main hallway from front to rear it is immediately noticeable that you are going uphill!
The entire slab will have to be raised as much as 3 feet to put it above the new flood plane that they have set for our area and that will have to be completed before all of the interior walls and insulation and kitchen cabinets are replaced. This is going to be a major reconstruction of the entire lower floor of the house. Things are gonna be crazy around here for a long time, what a life changing event Katrina has become. I know I’ll be glad when it’s all over.
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se7en - yeah, I agree w/my girl Lisa… nothing like a guy with power tools!
seriously, though… don’t overwork yourself, either… take breaks, chill out. it’ll get done.
luvya!
I’m first! That is a huge amount of work Se7en, I don’t envy you. Good luck with the repairs honey.
OMG! Wouldn’t it have been easier to bulldoze the house and start over. Gah! What a pain in the ass!
Holy crap that looks like a lot of work!
How do they do that? Jack the whole house up, bring in fill and pour a new slab? Crazy amount of work! WOW!
Good Dog, Se7en–that’s nuts!
That’s a helluva mess. I sure hope the insurance company was on the ball. If I were closer, I’d give you a hand. Good luck and with all of that moldy dust, I hope your wearing proper breathing protection. You don’t want to get that shit in your lungs.
Yep, they really can lift your house and put more shit underneath. Costs about 10 grand around here for a small house. I hope your insurance is covering all this…I wonder, do you think with all the effort, that a new house might’ve been less trouble?
What a coincidence that you dub yourself “Dash Sheetrock” just as Jules gives you super-hero status….hmmmm
Yeah, what’s with THAT??????
Oh and by the way where IS my gravatar???? Huh???? Seven, I may just have to strip you of your superpower status.
You better make certain you are taking care of yourself, I have been planning on letting my Nursing license lapse so if you get sick you are on your own—We all know special TLC goes a long way so just make certain you are taking care of you sweetie.
Smooches
I can’t even begin to imagine Se7…..
*hugs and poinks*
yowsah, I just took a closer look… and is that a PINK toilet? I would KILL for a PINK toilet!
We are doing a lot of work on houese here too, it is rough hard work. I hope it goes smotthly for you
Yikes one little hurricane, (ok one BIG ASS HURRICANE,) and so many lives change! Sigh.
Keep up the good work Se7en, I’m in awe of what you are doing.
Nothing like a man with power tools
Please, please, please tell me you’re wearing a mask while you’re tearing this stuff out? We tore out the sheetrock walls in our bathroom when I was 16, didn’t wear masks, and guess who came down with walking pneumonia? That would be me. Be nice to your lungs, Seven!
Ah man… I feel for you, Sev. Not only does that kind of work SUCK llama balls backwards, it sucks even more because it’s YOUR house. At least the end result will be all good. Big hugs to you!
gosh, what a mess!! at least everything will be nice and shiny and new when you’re finished though!
You better have your very bestest SARS mask on young man! Kicking up all of the dust, germs and mold can be really bad for you! (lecture over)
Have a great weekend!
Lois Lane
I sincerely hope this won’t affect you health-wise, kiddo. Take it slow but sure, please.
I can’t even imagine a project that big; be careful about not overdoing it, ok? xo
Damn, that’s a lot of work!! Take care of yourself and don’t work too much. It is hard work (which you know!).
*HUGS*
I thought of you for some reason tonight, I hope that every thing is all right.
Rhett
Wait a minute, wasn’t “Dash Riprock” from The Flintstones??? Or maybe not
Don’t forget to do a little blogging in between all of the work. It does sound like a giant pain in the watoozie!
Sounds like you’ll have it completed in time for next hurricane season. What? The rest of yas were thinkin’ it! Take care of you!!
Leave the walls out. It will make life more interesting and you’ll become a much closer family. Especially the whole toilet in the kitchen thing.
Wow, Se7, I think all us blogger friends of yours should pull our asses up outta our chairs and find a way to get to New Orleans to help you fix your house. On the positive bright side of things, it is giving you the opportunity to change things. Home improvements are no longer put off.
Everytime I think of all the hard work you must be doin I get sweaty!!! Smooshes Dahling….
My forced labor childhood taught me many ways to shorten the labor of ‘cleaning’ up construction jobs. Hanging that sheetrock with the top piece already on is gonna be a pain in the ass. I suggest you make sure your pieces aren’t more than an 1/8″ off from square. That is…if your walls aren’t that much off square.
If you have questions, use e-mail, computer is still pissy.
What an amazing amount of work Sev. I’ve done 2 gut and rebuilds but this sounds so much worse having to raise the house as well. Good luck with your efforts!
Believe me I know what you are going through. We were flooded twice here in Texas when I was a kid. It’s no picnic. Good luck!
Good luck and take it easy. You have lots and lots of work. *HUGS*
Gah! Too much work! Love the progress pictures, though.
OMG, what a job! that looks like so much work! i hope you have a second bathroom or maybe an artfully arranged curtain!!
DAMN! Now that is what I call doiing some spring cleaning. Looks like a heck of a lot of work. Hope all goes well.
Darlin’, I’m so sorry you’re going through all this. You seem to be quite a good sport about it all. My boy is planning on moving back down in January. It’s been odd, but I’ve been grateful to have this surprise stolen time with him back home (one of Katrina’s little silver linings). I hope you are well (that all tests, etc., went ok) and wish you a happy Thanksgiving!
Happy Thanksgiving Sev!
Lois Lane
Glad something can be done, but wish it wasn’t such hard work and wouldn’t take a yr! What nature can wrought in only a few hrs, takes man so long to repair. Hang in there.
This is just til the new luxury villa is completed, right? After all, that is the very least you deserve. This does look like a major project but I continue to be impressed by your never ending talents! Hope you’re not pushing yourself too hard dearie. Bye!