Demolition Approved!

Well, the county has inspected the site and agrees that we did indeed demolish the trailer.

We hope for the permit next week (contingent on proving that we are not going to build in the floodplain), then start on the foundation.

John has next week off, but there's not any real construction to be done here since we don't have the permit yet. We need to keep talking about details to make sure that we are on the same page which is a real challenge at times (for anyone building a house, not just between me and my brother.)

Before photo:

The next photo is taken right behind the gardenia on the driveway side of the trailer. 

After photo:

This view is in front of the gardenia facing the pond area. I need to move the gardenia as it is a really nice plant.

I also got some required paperwork for my real job done today. I am so relieved. I guess I should do taxes this weekend as well. That would remove even more stress.

Trailer Demolition - DONE!!

Again thanks to Carlton, the trailer is down. I am so happy that this step in the process of building John's home is done. Next up - the building permit.

Look at that beautiful empty space. The old AC is still on it's slab. Carlton is going to give this to someone who expressed an interest.

We worked pretty hard to recycle what we could, but we still filled 4 dumpsters. 2 dumpsters were pretty large, but the last 2 were much smaller. Here is most of what we saved. I don't have a photo of the metal frame under the trailer. One of John's friends is going to take that. The metal of the porch roof is already at Carlton's house. And we have a pile of 2 x 4s on the other side of John's shop that we can use for bracing or whatever else we need.

Roofing trusses. Carlton is going to build a shed and use these for the roof. He is going to double them up (use 2 together) to make them more robust that they were on the trailer.

Leftover porch material for Carlton's shed

Scrap metal

Blocks to be re-used for pier foundation for John's house

Aluminum siding for scrap metal

More miscellaneous scrap metal

I am thinking about cleaning these up and taking them to the Habitat ReStore. 

We have to prove that we are building in a floodplain, then the permit. I hope to have the permit within a week.

Trailer Demolition - Part 3

This trailer demolition post should properly be called "Carlton to the Rescue". We were trying to figure out how to get the asphalt covered tin roof off the trailer so we could take the studs down safely.

Carlton came up with an ingenious method. He braced the walls then got up on the roof and pulled the connecting ridge cap off the middle of the roof. The so-called ridge cap (I don't know what it really is) connected the 2 halves of the trailer roof together. The trailer was now in 2 pieces - the 2 halves of a double wide. He then loosened the metal braces that provided extra support connecting the wall framing to the flooring on the front half of the trailer, attached a rope to the top of the wall studs and pulled with his truck. Then he pulled the tin roof off, separated the pieces and folded it up, nice as you please.

That happened yesterday. I went today and witnessed pulling down the second half of the trailer.

Here are some photos and short video of the demolition.

Half the trailer before the truck pull. John's shop in the background.

Turn the sound up on your computer so you can hear the trailer coming down. A satisfying sound to my ear.

Carlton thinks that he can get the trailer gone by the end of the week. I am so happy.

Trailer Demolition Progress Continued

As I have said before, we are getting somewhere. Not quickly, but progress is being made. Here is what the trailer looks like now. It was a nice day for demolition.

Almost got it down to the studs.

I'm hoping the underside won't be horribly difficult. I don't know what to do about the metal frame though. Maybe someone will want that.

View from the interior. We're salvaging some of the oak flooring you see on the left. I have a small kitchen where I think I can use that. 

Trailer Demolition Progress

We're not speedy at this demolition thing, but we continue to make progress.

Here is one day's dumpster load.

We put the ceiling material underneath so the fiberglass would get compressed between subsequent layers.

This is progress 2 days ago. Almost all of the siding is off now. Didn't really take photos today though. It's kind of a grey and rainy day.

These are the trusses that support the roof which is just aluminum with a coating of asphalt. The trusses are ripped 2 x4 material. Not very supportive. We are going to tear them down basically from the side and underneath. No one is climbing on that roof.

I think we've got about a week more of demolition to do. The stuff underneath the trailer may be a surprise. We'll see. 

And finally a photo of demolition leg. 

I'm bleeding from an aluminum siding panel sliding down the front of my leg.  It's dirty work but someone has to do it. I actually like to do demolition.