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Aftermath - Day 3

baldmantom — Fri, 22 May 2009 18:45:01 MDT

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Aftermath - Day 3 - 2009_0522Image0001_resize.jpg

You can see here that the entire plot of land has been cleared of all debris and leveled. They also spread topsoil, seed and straw. Just plain wow. Way better than I could have expected.

Aftermath - Day 3

baldmantom — Fri, 22 May 2009 18:44:58 MDT

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Aftermath - Day 3 - 2009_0522Image0002_resize.jpg

There used to be a house right there. It's kinda surreal!

Aftermath - Day 3

baldmantom — Fri, 22 May 2009 18:44:55 MDT

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Aftermath - Day 3 - 2009_0522Image0003_resize.jpg

You're looking at yet another missing tree. I really can't believe they were able to get rid of it. It was so close to the fence, I thought taking the tree would destroy the fence. But... Also, note the chain-link fence. I had no idea that existed. Of course, I didn't know the other one existed, either...

Aftermath - Day 3

baldmantom — Fri, 22 May 2009 18:44:51 MDT

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Aftermath - Day 3 - 2009_0522Image0004_resize.jpg

They got rid of everything, including stuff growing on the fences. You're looking at the spot where the evil forsythia used to accost me when I was mowing. The fence post is not leaning, it was actually broken down at the bottom by that stupid, evil forsythia. I'll have to replace it sometime this summer...

Before - Side of the House

baldmantom — Wed, 20 May 2009 19:58:06 MDT

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Before - Side of the House - 2009_0512Image0029_resize.jpg

That fence enclosed a Lotus, prolly late 60s or early 70s. Our neighbors (the other direction) said that when they moved in to the neighborhood in '73, the car was already a broken heap and it never moved. The fence was built in the early 80s at the request of the township.

Before - Boaded Front Door

baldmantom — Wed, 20 May 2009 19:58:03 MDT

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Before - Boaded Front Door - 2009_0512Image0030_resize.jpg

The township boarded up the front door to keep the former owner out. They later relented and allowed him two days to remove his stuff. What was salvagable in there, I can't imagine.

Before - Top Level

baldmantom — Wed, 20 May 2009 19:57:59 MDT

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Before - Top Level - 2009_0512Image0031_resize.jpg

The house was a split-level house. The top level didn't look as bad as the lower level from the street, but then again it was hard to get a look at the roof. You'll see in a later picture that there was still some pretty harsh damage.

Before - View from the Front

baldmantom — Wed, 20 May 2009 19:57:55 MDT

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Before - View from the Front - 2009_0512Image0032_resize.jpg

Front view. You can see several holes in the roof from this angle. One is right above the door, another is right above the window. You can see all the way through to the back yard.

Before - Big, Gaping Hole Above the Door

baldmantom — Wed, 20 May 2009 19:57:52 MDT

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Before - Big, Gaping Hole Above the Door - 2009_0512Image0033_resize.jpg

The title says it all. According to the township maintenance people, there was so much damage inside that the two upper levels were inaccessible, as they had mostly collapsed.

Before - Damage to the Upper Level

baldmantom — Wed, 20 May 2009 19:57:48 MDT

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Before - Damage to the Upper Level - 2009_0512Image0035_resize.jpg

Here you see that the soffits (sp?) were mostly gone, and there was some pretty harsh damage to the siding. Interestingly, as long as that house has been in its sorry state, none of the windows had ever been broken out.

Before - Kiddie Toys In the Back Yard

baldmantom — Wed, 20 May 2009 19:57:46 MDT

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Before - Kiddie Toys In the Back Yard - 2009_0512Image0036_resize.jpg

According to our neighbors, the owner was a bachelor when they moved in in '73, and got married and had kids shortly thereafter. So, that equipment has likely been around since the late 70s or early 80s.

Before - View from the Back

baldmantom — Wed, 20 May 2009 19:57:42 MDT

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Before - View from the Back - 2009_0512Image0037_resize.jpg

Not much you can see from the back. The back yard was so overgrown, you couldn't see through to the other side, and you couldn't see much of the house itself. Oh, and there were various utility lines laying in the yard (electric, phone, cable).

Before - The Grill

baldmantom — Wed, 20 May 2009 19:57:38 MDT

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Before - The Grill - 2009_0512Image0041_resize.jpg

The poor little grill.

Before - The Wrecker

baldmantom — Wed, 20 May 2009 19:57:34 MDT

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Before - The Wrecker - 2009_0520Image0003_resize.jpg

This big honkin' machine showed up on Monday. Quite impressive!

Before - The Wrecker

baldmantom — Wed, 20 May 2009 19:57:30 MDT

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Before - The Wrecker - 2009_0520Image0005_resize.jpg

W00t! Down It Comes

baldmantom — Wed, 20 May 2009 19:57:26 MDT

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W00t! Down It Comes - 2009_0520Image0007_resize.jpg

There were probably 40-50 neighbors on hand for the demolition, plus news crews from the local media outlets and a smattering of politicians. There was quite a round of applause when the first blow was struck

Nice View of the Top Level

baldmantom — Wed, 20 May 2009 19:57:23 MDT

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Nice View of the Top Level - 2009_0520Image0008_resize.jpg

As I said earlier, most of the upstairs was inaccessible, so the previous owner evidently couldn't (or didn't want to) remove anything from up there. There was bedroom furniture, clothes, all sorts of stuff left behind.

Smash, Smash, Smash the House...

baldmantom — Wed, 20 May 2009 19:57:19 MDT

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Smash, Smash, Smash the House... - 2009_0520Image0009_resize.jpg

Oh, the joy!

... Into Little Bits!

baldmantom — Wed, 20 May 2009 19:57:15 MDT

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... Into Little Bits! - 2009_0520Image0013_resize.jpg

hee hee hee

Carnage

baldmantom — Wed, 20 May 2009 19:57:11 MDT

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Carnage - 2009_0520Image0014_resize.jpg

Yeah, we were pretty happy!

The Beginning of the End

baldmantom — Wed, 20 May 2009 19:57:08 MDT

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The Beginning of the End - 2009_0520Image0015_resize.jpg

The upper level was the last part to be demolished.

Almost Down

baldmantom — Wed, 20 May 2009 19:57:04 MDT

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Almost Down - 2009_0520Image0016_resize.jpg

It put up a bit of a fight...

Done!

baldmantom — Wed, 20 May 2009 19:57:00 MDT

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Done! - 2009_0520Image0017_resize.jpg

When all was said and done, razing the house took about 8 minutes.

Now Cleanup Can Begin

baldmantom — Wed, 20 May 2009 19:56:57 MDT

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Now Cleanup Can Begin - 2009_0520Image0018_resize.jpg

For cleanup, they filled the basement with junk, packed it down so the equipment could cross, then scooped it back out.

Making a Level Surface

baldmantom — Wed, 20 May 2009 19:56:54 MDT

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Making a Level Surface - 2009_0520Image0023_resize.jpg

You can see all the junk that they used to fill the hole in order to get across.

The Look at All That Was Left Behind

baldmantom — Wed, 20 May 2009 19:56:50 MDT

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The Look at All That Was Left Behind - 2009_0520Image0024_resize.jpg

If you look closely, you can see various articles of clothing, appliances, and furniture among the debris.

Loading Up the Salvage

baldmantom — Wed, 20 May 2009 19:56:47 MDT

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Loading Up the Salvage - 2009_0520Image0028_resize.jpg

Most of the metal was salvaged by the company who did the demolition.

Beach Ball

baldmantom — Wed, 20 May 2009 19:56:43 MDT

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Beach Ball - 2009_0520Image0034_resize.jpg

Right there by the tread is a beach ball which had somehow managed to stay inflated for who-knows-how-long...

Peering Into the Back Yard

baldmantom — Wed, 20 May 2009 19:56:39 MDT

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Peering Into the Back Yard - 2009_0520Image0035_resize.jpg

Finally, we can start to see in to the back yard from this angle. Funny thing about that little grill. One of the workers who was running a bobcat ran over it and nearly hit the propane tank. We all scattered, and then let him know what he had done. He wisely removed the tank before returning to the bobcat....

Bobcat In the Back Yard

baldmantom — Wed, 20 May 2009 19:56:34 MDT

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Bobcat In the Back Yard - 2009_0520Image0036_resize.jpg

They used a bobcat to remove a lot of the underbrush from the back yard.

Loading The Non-Salvage Into the Dumpster

baldmantom — Wed, 20 May 2009 19:56:30 MDT

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Loading The Non-Salvage Into the Dumpster - 2009_0520Image0038_resize.jpg

Anything that couldn't be salvaged (concrete, furniture, appliances, clothes, etc.) was loaded into a dumpster and hauled away. They hauled out 3 dumpsters of just house debris, plus 2 with organic matter (trees and bushes).

Very Sad

baldmantom — Wed, 20 May 2009 19:56:26 MDT

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Very Sad - 2009_0520Image0040_resize.jpg

This was just sad. It's a childrens bible, given by the owner to his son before his wife left him and took the kids.

Hey, There's Neighbors Over There!

baldmantom — Wed, 20 May 2009 19:56:22 MDT

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Hey, There's Neighbors Over There! - 2009_0520Image0042_resize.jpg

It's kind of odd being able to see that side of the house.

More of the Back Yard Has Been Cleared

baldmantom — Wed, 20 May 2009 19:56:17 MDT

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More of the Back Yard Has Been Cleared - 2009_0520Image0044_resize.jpg

More clearing has been completed.

Scooping Out the Toys

baldmantom — Wed, 20 May 2009 19:56:13 MDT

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Scooping Out the Toys - 2009_0520Image0048_resize.jpg

After the bobcat pulled up the underbrush, they used the big scooper to remove it all.

More Debris to be Cleared

baldmantom — Wed, 20 May 2009 19:56:08 MDT

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More Debris to be Cleared - 2009_0520Image0050_resize.jpg

Big Scary Tree

baldmantom — Wed, 20 May 2009 19:56:04 MDT

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Big Scary Tree - 2009_0520Image0054_resize.jpg

This big, huge pine tree sat really, really close to the house opposite the demolished house. We were all anxiously waiting for them to get rid of it, because we couldn't figure how they'd do it without hitting the house.

Big Scary Tree Go Boom!

baldmantom — Wed, 20 May 2009 19:56:00 MDT

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Big Scary Tree Go Boom! - 2009_0520Image0055_resize.jpg

Absolutely amazing. The driver of the big scooper used the arm to remove branches from the side closest to the house, then just kept pushing it while moving the arm up and down the trunk until the whole thing came up, roots and all.

Aftermath Day 1 - Most Everything Is Gone!

baldmantom — Wed, 20 May 2009 19:55:57 MDT

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Aftermath Day 1 - Most Everything Is Gone! - 2009_0520Image0056_resize.jpg

The end of the day. The back yard is mostly cleaned, including most of the vegetation along our fence. Including the forsythia, which attacked me every time I tried to open the gate. There's still much to do, but it's a heckuva start!

Aftermath Day 1 - Back Yard Nearly Clean

baldmantom — Wed, 20 May 2009 19:55:54 MDT

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Aftermath Day 1 - Back Yard Nearly Clean - 2009_0520Image0057_resize.jpg

The thing you're not seeing right in the middle of the shot is a big tree, easily 50' tall, that was leaning toward the back of the property, where all of our utility lines run. There was late talk of that being left, but then the crew just came back and pushed it over, again without hitting anything. It was incredible!

Aftermath Day 1 - Hey, Another Neighbor We've Never Seen Before!

baldmantom — Wed, 20 May 2009 19:55:48 MDT

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Aftermath Day 1 - Hey, Another Neighbor We've Never Seen Before! - 2009_0520Image0058_resize.jpg

We're going to have to start mowing our lawn more often, now that our neighbors can actually see our back yard...