We reached our goal of getting all the utilities turned on, the outside work done, and getting Jeremy moved back into the house. The house is far from done, but since the evacuation on June 22, he is back living in his home as of the 31st of October. The weather people were predicting SNOW, so we left Minot on November 2. It was bittersweet. Five days later, some of them really long, we arrived in Wickenburg, Arizona. It's nice to be back in the desert with friends.
The first major obstacle on the house was the north basement wall which had collapsed and had to be re-built. The same contractor that put in supports so he could enter his house did that job. Today the hole was filled in and the lawn was graded. Very muddy!
This is the north side with the new wall.
Jeremy enjoyed driving the Bobcat.
Grading the back yard
As it showed in a previous post, we had to rebuild the front corners of the porch. Now it's ready for siding.
We put the new siding up and got it painted before it got too cold. Now we were able to move our RV to his muddy yard. When the flood waters receded they left a thick layer of silt that turns to slick mud when it rains. We cleaned the sidewalks periodically.
New siding and basement windows on the south side.
Jeremy and Laura Beth carving jack-o-lanterns for Halloween. They had fun carving and we had fun watching. It was important to take a few minutes now and then to do 'normal' stuff.
New windows and basement wall on the north side, all painted and finished.
The rest of the pictures show some of the work he'll be doing over the winter. The furnace is running, with the cold air return and vent in place, but all the ducting needs to be installed. Right now it just heats the basement and the warmth filters up through the house. The new water heater is running, but when we left, the second floor sink was the only place to use it. He needs to do all the plumbing to the first floor bathroom and kitchen.
He was able to save most of the 100 year old hardwood trim in the house. We took all the nails out of it, washed it to kill the mold and stacked in the basement for him to re-finish and install.
More hardwood trim, stashed away under the stairs.
The new wood flooring for most of the first floor.
Jeremy and Laura Beth put the insulation up in Jeremy's room, on the day he moved in.
The next day, while Jeremy was at the base, Laura Beth put it up in the bathroom and office. Good job!
60 sheets of 54" by 12' drywall. He is hiring someone to put this up. It was delivered in front of the house by the road and Larry helped Jeremy carry it in the house. This is heavy stuff!
