Spacement

Everybody needs their own space, a place where no one else will mess with your stuff.  Bub’s space is his workshop in the basement.  It is the Spacement and I basically respect it.  Well, until an overwhelming smell of mold developed.

There are dreams of projects yet to come and the beginnings of project already started all in strategic plies that only Bub understands. I am discouraged to go into his lair and root around, potentially upsetting the gentle flow of his projects in motion.  But Bub has not been interested in doing any projects of late, and  his spacement has become a bit of a catch-all for stuff, overflowing into the rest of the basement . I have been busy this summer doing my own thing and basically have ignored the situation.

However,  about a month ago there became a notable  odor of mold coming up from the spacement, I was convinced that it was from some of the wood that he has stickered in the corner.   And there was a strong smell of gasoline on a couple of occasions, so I was more than ready to get started on hoeing out the spacement.  Last weekend I convinced Jed that he should come up and help out with some “projects” around the house.

Painting upstairs,  touch ups in the downstairs bathroom and rehabbing my office….. so we went around the house and he agreed that the basement smelled moldy and that we needed to clean it out and find the source.   So we did 4 dump trips and discovered a thin film of mold over almost everything down there. After pulling almost everything out of the front part of the room we found ground zero.

Jed bleached around everything and we saved only the things that we can treat with bleach to kill the mold.  Everything else has to go.  Then this morning we took the plunge to see how bad the problem really is. No wonder I have been having really bad headaches for the last month, only when I am home for a while……

All of this damage is from the sill on the deck off the kitchen.  Even with cleaning off the snow and ice every winter, we think that the flashing was not done properly when they built the house resulting in damage directly under the deck.  I have called Bernard, a local contractor that I trust, and hopefully he will help us get through the home owners insurance puzzle.  At least we are hopeful that this will be covered.  If not,  well a second job for me.  Can I get anyone a drink before dinner? ( I hated being a waitress, but you gotta do what you gotta do!)

Jed has been wonderful.  He moved all of Bub’s wood out the workshop today and has re-stacked it outside.  (don’t know if it can be salvaged for the flooring project Bub intended on doing) The rest of the wood that is bad needs a roll-away-dumpster which I will call for tomorrow.     I am hopeful that the cleaning and sorting will help Bub actually get some of his projects done, instead of overwhelming him when he gets too lost in the clutter.   Jed will build some shelves so that Bub can find his tools and projects.  Then perhaps he will come back and help me with the rest of my projects.    For now I am really grateful that Jed came up and that Bub is dealing with all of the cleaning and pitching well.  Thank goodness we found this now and not in a month when the weather would complicate everything.

Funny,  but I feel really lucky to have gotten to the bottom of the smell and now there is a clear problem that must be solved, Bub is on board and actually willing to have someone come in and help out.  Go Jedi Go!

PS.  Jed is 29 and single.  He is a hard worker and is really easy to get along with.  He lives in Andover NH and is looking for work, specializing in painting and light construction.    If you need any work done around the house, call him.  603-254-2143