Tuesday, March 15, 2011

The Shed That Is No More!

Backyard update: The fence is completed!


Toot Toot! I have to admit, it's tough to share pictures when the backyard still isn't finished (LOTS of landscaping to do). But, we've got to celebrate the little victories along the way, right? RIGHT!

(Side note, the fence isn't finished in the photo above. You'll see the finished version in the photos below.)

All week long, I excitedly pestered Jonathon about the upcoming shed demolition. Sure, a handier/thriftier homeowner might be able to salvage a termite-ridden shed. They could patch up the rotted wood, they could move it halfway across the yard to a less eye-scorching location, and they could scour it until is sparkled. We are not such people. We are learning that there are some things worth doing for yourself, there are some (ok, LOTS of) projects that are worthy of hiring professionals, and sometimes, you just need to start from scratch.

The shed was one such project.

A week ago, the shed was sitting on stilts (long story), and was no longer structurally sound. Knowing that Little E would be living with us this week, we both felt uncomfortable leaving the shed in its current state. Sure we could have made the back yard off limits, but why put off the inevitable?

The question in our minds then became how to demolish the shed without it caving in on us. At first, we decided we would tip it over (away from the new fence). Let me tell you now from experience. Sheds are very heavy. Two adults cannot tip over a shed with just muscle and rope. (How many of you are saying to yourselves, "Well, duh!"?)

Plan B (and a much wiser plan at that) involved removing the roof first. Jonathon tackled the shed with nothing but a hammer at first, and within minutes, T, our awesomely handy neighbor came over to see what Jonathon was up to. Before we knew it, we had several crowbars of varying sizes (and got some stellar advice on how to tackle the job).

Within 30 minutes, the roof was gone.


The next step involved removing each wall, starting with all the braces and supports in the corners.

Check out that awesome termite action!


Now, in case you're wondering what I did while Jonathon was busy with crowbars and axes, I carried everything to the front of the house in the hopes that someone on Craigslist would take all the scraps from us.

Finally, we were down to the bare bones.


Two hours later, we carried the last of the materials around to the front of the house, posted our ad on CL and wondered if anyone would want termite-rotten wood full of nails. Within ten-minutes, we found someone, and within 30 minutes every last piece of wood, tin, and shed scraps was gone. Win win!!!

And now, our back yard (sans shed):


Yes, there is so much more to do. But I gotta say, it feels good to have this checked off the list!

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