House Complete!

This is a journey that started in August of last year when an inspector came to the house to assess our mold status. Well, I guess this journey started when my doctor decided to test me for mold exposure after all kinds of other tests failed to deliver a smoking gun for a constellation of health issues. But the actual "oh, shit, we got lots to do" moment came with the August 2024 inspection.

The mold inspector had a lot of concerns, and the data came back with five rooms of the house needing remediation. We started preparing for that process in mid-October and began the work in late October. We lost our kitchen just before Thanksgiving. The remediation in the main living areas of the house was at least limited to specific areas such that we were able to live in the house and work around the inaccessible parts. So the house was livable but awkward with furniture and boxes blocking hallways here or taking up garage space there. And during the active remediation phases, there was constant aggressive white noise from air recirculators.

Once remediation was complete in a given area, we had to repair all the walls that were cut open in the process. We took the opportunity to replace the carpeting with hardwood flooring in the three rooms where the carpet had to be removed during remediation. The spouse and I painted a lot ourselves to save some time and money.

The kitchen was the one space that we knew would be extra complicated and take more time. The cabinets and countertops had to be removed to access the walls, so we decided we may as well do the kitchen renovation project that's been on the ToDo list since we moved in. We got a temp sink in mid-December and at least have always had space for a folding table kitchen complete with a microwave, toaster oven/air fryer, and instant pot as well as constant access to our fridge. We made do.

The last of the remediation and repair was complete the first week of February. And the kitchen at least became fully functional ten days ago, but yesterday they finished the backsplash. So now, finally, the work that kicked off last year is now fully done.

Last week when the kitchen became functional, I had planned to get the last of the stuff in boxes squared away and just generally put the last bits of the house back together. But when I came into the kitchen to start that work that first evening when the sink, dishwasher, fridge, oven, and microwave were all back in place and online...I was hit with such a wave of exhaustion. All the anxiety and stress was suddenly gone, and I came down hard from the release of all that excess vigilance and chaotic pressure. I collapsed on the couch and watched TV or played some video games and just allowed myself to switch off fully in a way I hadn't since October.

Now that the finishing touch is complete and everything is back in its place, we've got a little celebration planned. One last takeout splurge from this long stretch of Too Much Takeout. Paired with a bottle of sparkling wine from New Mexico. And something excessive for dessert.

I'll think about the fact that there's more carpeting to replace with flooring and three bathrooms that need refreshing later.