We closed on our new house yesterday! Today was the first of 2 weeks’ worth of professional renovations likely followed by many DIY projects.
Today I met with:
- EMC Security
- Mayday Pest Control
- Home Depot
EMC Security was very easy. I showed my extreme homeowner prowess by asking if the sprinkler system box in the garage was the alarm box before locating it in a downstairs closet. Thankfully the house is already wired, and we can just transfer our service – for a fee of course. Every transfer (water, power, internet, etc) has a fee. These are definitely some of the hidden costs of moving.
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The pest control was the biggest concern. During our inspection, we found out that the house had a previous rodent problem (evidence being “droppings” through the attic and crawl space). Being extremely spoiled by living in a new construction house, I found this to be a whole range of emotions – disgusting, nerve-wracking, etc. Luckily this was all from a previous problem, and there wasn’t a current infestation (I’m cringing even writing that word) to worry about. Even though the previous owners had an exclusion done, they never had the attic or crawl space cleaned, which is what we took care of today.
The guy from Mayday was very professional, and I do NOT envy his job. He spent the first two hours inside, cleaning up the attic and even pulling off the trim under the sink cabinets when I told him the inspector noted a strong smell in that area. He cleaned an old nest (gag) out of a plumbing hole inside the trim and disinfected everything. He assured me the nest was old and that the smell will go away now that the cause was gone.
The next two hours he spent cleaning the crawl space which Josh described as “really gross” and even bought what I call a space suit for when he has to go in there. The Mayday guy went in there in his jeans and a Tshirt! Again, I don’t envy his job.
He showed me the entry to the crawl space when he finished – completely re-tarped and clean. I know the plumbers who are coming tomorrow appreciate his work since their job will be significantly less disgusting now.
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My last visitor was a measurement guy from Home Depot. We are replacing the carpet on the main floor – master bedroom and guest bedroom/office – since it’s the only carpet in the house that isn’t new. I had just gotten my lunch (thanks, Seamless!) when he showed up, but I didn’t have to do anything but show him the rooms to measure, so I finally got to eat (at 2pm, hangry). I brought the sample of the carpet we wanted to use and had my calendar ready to schedule an installation date, but apparently that’s not how it works as all he does is measure. Crossing my fingers to get the new carpet in before we move!
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Day 1 is done and wasn’t too expensive! Hopefully no one is grossed out by our new house now. I promise it’s clean; I’ll let you take a look in the crawl space if you really want to see. 😉
Tomorrow starts the plumbing work – replacing all of the polybutylene pipes – which is the most expensive. [wide-eyed emoji]
Sara Morrison 