My Simple House

The Purell Story

By Tara - Friday, October 12th, 2012

So we impulse bought a house. Yes, I did say we and no it is not the royal We it was an actual joint craziness. Having been through a round of renos once, we saw the potential in this disgusting old house and were all full of plots and plans on how to fix it up and make it our own. Full to bursting with ideas, we immediately engaged our kitchen guy (who did the custom cabinets in our current house) and roped in a general contractor who happened to be an old work colleague of my husband’s (who gave up the headaches of the corporate world to be his own boss in the reno business a number of years ago). We psyched them up and brought them to the new house for a walk through pre-closing so we could get moving with our lofty reno plans and be ready set go when the time came for possession.

So, 3 elderly gentlemen and one old lady were living in this place and they spent their days drinking beer and chain-smoking inside (hence the frat house nickname). One of them had a dog who would occasionally pee on the floors. Do you think anyone ever did any cleaning? Definitely not! When we went for the visit, we spent about an hour in the house, with one of the good ole frat boys floating around along with the cute but pee making dog, talking through plans and taking measurements. Isn’t the place supposed to be empty when you book a visit?? Anyways…. Cobwebs, nicotine stains on the walls, peeling paint, leaking kitchen sink and scary ass basement, we combed through the whole place. I still can’t believe people actually lived there it was so gross?!! Experienced guys both, the kitchen guy and our GC maintained their business professional hats throughout the visit. Then we exited the building.

Once outside in the fresh air, our kitchen guy made a beeline for his truck and pulled out a bottle of Purell. A generous squirt in hand, he considerately then offered the sanitizer to our GC who said, “While I don’t normally use this stuff, I’m feeling the need today,” and he promptly squirted double the amount into his own hands. By this time, my husband and I were laughing but let me tell you, we took some too.

If the contractors are grossed out by the place, do you think that should be cause for worry? Nah….

A couple of weeks post Purell incident, we finally took possession of our new house. An exciting moment in anyone’s life, full of possibilities for the future and inevitably a bit of sadness for the home that you’ll be leaving behind. Of course on closing day, we did what any couple would do when given keys to your new home; we drove over to see it. Full of excitement for the reno plans that were taking shape via phone, email and drawings, we eagerly walked up to the front door. After trying every key multiple times, we finally managed to get the door open. Did I mention that the doors and locks also need to be replaced? Anyhow, we walked into the front hallway and stopped to breathe in and absorb that exciting new house feeling… And then I promptly gagged from the stench (Remember nicotine stained walls and dog pee smell? Doesn’t smell any better post removal of the cause of said smells!) and I had to step over to the window for an actual breath. That unfortunately put me face to face with a water damaged window and a nice fat spider. Back away slowly… Now while not one of those ladies who shrieks at the sight of a bug, let’s just say I’m not overly fond of spiders. So, welcome to the house!

We did our walk through, checking to see that cupboards and closets had been emptied and talking about next steps. Here we go, the planning is about to imminently become reality. Reno rollercoaster and unexpected surprises here we come!
Oh, and once we left I promptly went to the grocery store and bought some Purell.

 

 

 

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