Start Of The Big Dig

Got up early to start digging around the house. I'm starting on the west side along the alley. This is the side the fire started. Fire damage is evident all up the side of the wall. There is actually a hole burned big enough that a person could squeeze into the house if they were so inclined.

Dirt is piled up above the clapboard siding. It's pretty rotted away in places. All of the utilities going into the house are in this area. There are two electric panels, two stink pipes, one gas, one phone (I think), and some other stuff I haven't quite figured out what they are. The irrigation has also been buried here.

I'm working my way from the electric panel towards the back of the house. Man, there is a lot of debris here! I can't figure out where it all came from.

About 8 wheel barrels of dirt and I'm ready to call it quits. Moved all the dirt to east side of house into yard. I'll have to make a giant sifter for all this dirt. Too many rocks and other debris to spread and plant grass in.

Board Up

I bought some plywood to board up the windows that had broken panes and to secure the house. Todd popped off the steps to the stairway that leads to the second floor as a security and safety measure.

Shored Up

Bought some 2x6's to shore up the inside of the house. The house is in dire need of structural integrity. It's seriously scary to walk around upstairs. I cut the 2x6's to fit under the floor joist as a temporary fix to this.

Excavating the Tree

After chopping down the dead tree, we still had a fairly large job to do. We started working by digging around the base of the stump. After digging a foot or two into the ground, we started hitting the large roots. An hour or so went by, and the tree still didn't budge.

Calling it quits for now, moving around to another dead area in the front.

Jumping Into It

Jumped right in to it.  Lisa and the boys all put on gloves and went to work cleaning up the yard.  Lots of interesting "leftovers" from days gone by.  Most of the stuff is no good.  Okay all the stuff, but I did find a garden hose that looks reusable.

Todd was pretty excited about chopping down a tree that was all but dead.  It had one branch with leaves.  Amazingly there is a lot of  live vegetation.  Plants and trees must be getting water from neighbors and city water irragation overflow.

Didn't do too much to the inside today.  Worked for about 6 hours.

Under New Ownership

Closed this afternoon with Chicago Title.  I'm sure the bank that owned this property is sighing with relief today!  Like anyone else I hope a paid a fair price.  Lisa and I have been looking for property in Catlin Court for several years.  We were both pretty excited about buying this property.

The house is in desperate shape.  It caught on fire between a year and two years ago.  I'm sure it was further damaged by water.  The interior is gutted.  I'm surprised the house is still standing!

First thing is to attend to the exterior of the house.  Lots of overgrowth and dead plants.  The elevation of the yard is higher than the foundation. That's priority one to dig out the dirt from around the house!

Gave A Tour

Showed Mark the house today.  I don't know who was more excited about renovating this house, me or him.  Mark has been my best friend since 9th grade (1976), I can't imagine doing something like this without his help, advice, or encouragement.

I told him it may be awhile before we put hammer to nail.  There's a lot stuff that needs to be done around the outside of the house.  I think Matt, Todd, and Alec are really excited about all the yard work needing to be done - NOT.  Seriously I think they are excited about buying the house and want to pitch in when and where they can.

Offer Accepted!

Bank accepted offer for the purchase of 5807 W. Myrtle Ave, Glendale, Arizona.  Close by next Saturday.

My buddy Steve worked as my Real Estate agent, check him out at stevepalmerazhomes.com.