Day 4.

Today is the day where I say "I think we made a big mistake."

The demo has progressed with the 2nd floor, back-end of the house removed (previously Satchel's bedroom) and the kitchen has been completely gutted. The basement has also been gutted and here we find set back number 2. The foundation is destroyed. It's roughly 100 years old and the engineer has never seen anything like it. When our contractor gives it a whack with the crowbar it crumbles. It looks like a mixture of earth, rock and brick.

Of course we have many options - all which will push us completely over budget.

I can't begin to describe how ill and depressed I feel.

Option #1: tear down entire house and rebuild (not really an option)

Option #2: rebuild foundation section by section - time consuming and incredibly expensive (not an option)

Option #3: rebuild a new foundation against original option which will decrease space in the basement by roughly 9" on each outside wall (one valid option to consider)

Option #4: build a new wooden-framed wall inside which if engineer approves would cost less and take up less space. (keep your fingers crossed that this will work out).

The engineer is bringing her big boss to assess the situation and recommend a solution.

I'm sitting here drinking red wine or self medicating as I like to call it. Mulling over everything and anything I can sell or cash in and what can be removed off the list provided by the contractor.

On the upside, tonight is Satchel's spring concert so we will be heading off soon to watch him perform in a play (I'm back, he was amazing!). And the contractor did find a piece of old newspaper dating back to July 1924. I've put it in a bag to send to school tomorrow with Satchel for show and tell.

Tomorrow is a clean up day for the demo crew so not much will be done outside of cleaning. Thank god it's Friday and the weekend is a long one!

I'm going to bed.