Friday, September 16, 2011

Seventeen days

...until we have to be all moved out of our current place. I guess we technically don't have to be all moved in to our house, but it'd be more convenient if we were.

We had some big issues with the house:
1. There was water under it. This seems to have lessened since the previous owners left and turned the water off. Go figure. After replacing some faucet hardware (stay tuned for pictures) and capping the leaky refrigerator line, the house appears to be leak free, with the possible exception of the sprinkler system. I think we're going to choke off the sprinkler system so it doesn't get any water at all. There's not much grass to sprinkle and who wants green grass when you can have that classic near-dead golden California grass anyway?

2. The electrical wiring is just baffling. There are some lights and some electrical outlets that don't work. Okay, I get that. Then there are other light switches that only work when in counterintuitive combinations. Still other switches can't turn off the lights they're connected to--you have to pull the string on the fan itself. So we're going to make some electrician really happy soon, but I don't think the electrical issues will stop us from moving in.

3. Asbestos. We're pretty sure we have it, but we aren't sure which areas of it need to go. This issue is the main one we want to resolve before we move in.

Yardwork thus far has made me mostly hate jasmine. It is parasitic and it releases this white oozy sap when you prune it. Annoying.

Anyway, people have asked for pictures, so here are some for you! Three are outside pictures and the last one shows one of the many oddities of the house. Click for the full-sized versions.

Here's the front of the house. Part of that big green mass in the front is a blackberry bush.

Here's the side of the house, with a little porch and one of the sliding glass doors.
The other two are in the picture below.

Back of the house, with annotations showing the yardwork/destruction that has occurred since this picture was taken.


Yeah, that door brushes by the toilet when you open it. Its lid-bonking days are numbered.

Thursday, September 8, 2011