It's Still Winter, I Guess

The next big project at the Little Blue House is going to be tree removal. We removed several trees last summer. We wanted to open the place up a bit, let some light in, and a friend of ours was kind enough to volunteer for the job. We were worried of course that the root systems were threatening the "foundation" of the LBH. (I use the term foundation loosely.)

As you can see in the photo below, when we bought the house in July 2012, it was somewhat overgrown... It had been sitting vacant for about 3 years, due to the previous owners' health problems. They were no longer able to make the trip to their tiny house. Atlin is, you see, a remote place.

The LBH in July 2012

This summer, our goal is to repair the foundation of the LBH. The contractor, who is going to do the work in July, said that rest of the trees closest to the house will have to be removed. We must find someone capable of doing this safely. I think it would be too much to ask our friend, who already has a full-time job, and an active life. I don't think that bourbon and Cheezies will be adequate payment, even with a bonus round of homemade mojitos. :)

Once the trees are gone, my husband and I plan to remove the wood skirting from around the foundation. Then we will demolish the front porch and steps, which are mostly rotten.

We will take lots of (before and after) photos, I promise!

Next, the contractor is going to bring in a local fellow with a small excavator to dig around the edge of the house. Once all of those tasks have been completed, our contractor will go underneath the LBH and work on repairing the serious issues there:

1. The house is crooked, which means the floor is on an angle;
2. The foundations are a mixture of stumps, rocks, beer bottles and 2x4s;
3. The floor is not insulated, which contributes to the icebox atmosphere of the LBH;
4. The addition on the rear of the house is level, but it is attached both to the original structure and the common roof; and
5. The porch and steps are rotten and must be replaced completely.

I wonder when we will begin our tasks, the ones that must be completed before the contractor starts his work in July. It's still very much winter up here, so it will be a while yet! You can see the fourteen day trend, which illustrates my point. Even if the weather was nice, and it was warm enough to start now, I would not be doing so anyhow, with this knee injury.

The restoration of the Little Blue House is, like many things in my life, an exercise in patience.