August 14, 2011

have you ever been to a landfill?

I can summarize this whole weekend in one word: demolition. Tear down, tear apart, tear out... every way you can get a bunch of old, dirty stuff out of a house - we did it. Some family and friends came over to help us, those kind souls. There are no words to thank them. Michael and I couldn't have gotten so much done without you guys!



We spent our Friday and Saturday nights ripping out the backsplash, cabinets, countertop, flooring, trim, sink and this horrible faux brick off one of the walls.

The people who lived here before us were obviously not the cleanest people in the world. It seems like everything in the kitchen had this thick layer of grease (and smoke) on it. It was refreshing to get all all the old stuff out, so we can eventually bring the new in.



Our hysterical friend Justin was our entertainment for the night. He may be wearing fashionable shorts and flip flops, but he can rip vinyl flooring out like a champion.

Also, it was so dark outside we had no idea how much dust all the demolition was creating. Until I took this picture and the flash revealed a ton of dust particles in the air. So unsafe for our poor friends! Michael and I invested in these awesome respirator masks that you will see put into use later...





The next day, Michael and I were on our own. We borrowed a truck and trailer from Michael's boss and loaded it up with all the stuff we tore down the night before.



See what the old cabinets and countertop looked like? Not okay.

Also - that's our backyard, up to that row of trees. Yay!



Then we drove to our local landfill, the dump.

Have you ever been to a landfill? I guess I didn't really know what to expect... but what I saw made me feel like I was just transported to another planet.



It was basically a huge HUGE huge pile of trash. These scary looking machines were pushing all the trash around to spread it out.

It was... gross. To say the least.





And I'm not a tree-hugger 'save the planet' kind of person. I try not to be too extreme in any area of my life, but I realized we should have recycled all this old wood and flooring instead of dumping it on this ever-growing pile of trash. It was honestly depressing to look around and see that we're just burying this stuff into the ground.

The smell was unbearable. And the BIRDS. Oh the birds were everywhere.

It was not pleasant.

So where was I while Michael was unloading everything?



Sitting in the truck wearing an obnoxious respirator mask.

It was a very interesting experience. I'm SO glad we got all that crap out of our house, and had a place to take it that is far away.



But I hope I never have to see this again.

14 comments:

  1. Wow it looks like you all got so much done! We also try not to take to much to the landfill and try to recycle as much as possible.

    ReplyDelete
  2. It must have been fun being so destructive! Hehe. Glad you had company to keep it entertaining :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. I love these house posts. Yes, I have been to a landfill and it really is disgusting. Just as you describe. I love seeing the progress you guys are making on the house. It's amazing how much you've done already!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Actually your wood and stuff does get recycled at the landfill. Construction debris goes on its own separate pile. Occasionally they scoop that pile up and grind it to form a kind of mulch that that they use for daily cover. This means they don't have haul in as much sand to cover the trash up. And so end's Davey's random fact of the day.

    ReplyDelete
  5. You're not a tree hugger?? Coulda fooled me... :)

    ReplyDelete
  6. I actually HAVE been to a landfill before. Sans mask. Yeah, it was unpleasant.

    ReplyDelete
  7. HAHAHAHA, oh Lion-head you crack me up. P.S. Michael is just so handy, creative, and strong. You picked a winner :)

    ReplyDelete
  8. P.S. This also reminds me of Allie who said that she has never taken out a garbage bag in her life!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Nice blog, The points which are included in this blog are really very informative for me. Thanks a lot for sharing. Enviro Disposal New York

    ReplyDelete
  10. For more information on the N95 and other NIOSH approved particulate respirator masks, visit our website: https://www.testextextile.com/product/n95-masks-alternative-kn95-masks-for-anti-virus-protection/ Different types are designed for specific purposes and offer varying levels of protection

    ReplyDelete
  11. No other company is anywhere near Nike Air Force 1 Cheap Outlet being able to match Apple in providing us with such seamless curation of our lives. Cheap Ray Ban Sunglasses The Italian novelist Umberto Eco famously said in the 1990s that Apple was like Catholicism, in that its followers had to adhere to one way of doing things, while Microsoft Coach Outlet Clearance Sale (you could say Google Fake Yeezys nowadays) was more akin to Protestantism, which gave followers more latitude to reach their own conclusions and organize themselves accordingly. Apple is unique among Internet giants in getting consumers to pay top dollar for its goods and services, while Cheap Real Yeezys companies like Facebook and Google rely instead primarily on an advertising model to subsidize their interactions with consumers..

    Everyone is talking Coach Outlet Online Store about Antoinette Tuff and the stunning 911 call she made during the Georgia school standoff. For New Jordan Shoes 2020 the first time, Cheap Jordans Online she met the woman who was on the other end of the line, 911 dispatcher Kendra McCray. Together they saved countless lives when aheavily armedgunman Michael Kors Bags Outlet barricaded himself inside theMcNair Discovery Learning Center..

    ReplyDelete