Still moving forward. Making progress, shredding plans. This week, we had a roundabout with the local government tax/utility office, as I wanted the water turned on and they wanted to see my name on a deed that I didn't have yet. Thankfully, the deed was on file, even if it hadn't made it down to their end of the hall, and the title company could pull an electronic copy for me to fax them. Had roofers in on Wednesday. Good news, the roof is in much better shape than feared. Bad news, they can't do the actual repairs until March, as we need several days above freezing. So they were back out the next day for patches, which will hopefully keep the water from causing more damage in the interim. Shred the schedule -- no plaster repairs until after the roof gets reflashed and coated in March. So the plaster guy ends up even further on the back burner, and I move on to demolition (including carpet removal) after I get the place conditioned and the holes in the ceiling patched temporarily. Today, got the water turned on and the chimneys inspected. Good news, weird news, bad news, but manageable. The coal grate is a coal-grate-style gas log, long disconnected. The buried fireplace has gas supply, too, as does an upstairs closet and bedroom! Line the chimneys or replace with new vent-free gas logs. The utility chimney was filled with debris well above the boiler and hot water duct connections, and should get a new liner and a repaired thimble, plus a new cap. The wildcard turned out to be the spare chimney, where (fears realized!) it turns out someone broke into the chimney to run an AC duct (and something else) from the attic to a back room. THROUGH A CHIMNEY! That will have to be undone.
So, time to schedule the plumber, get the gas supply piping sealed, and start testing the boiler and hot water heater. If everything is serviceable, on 2-3 weeks notice, I can get the chimney liner installed in a day, and if not, the new equipment may have very different venting requirements. The big disappointment is the roof, which I'd hoped to finish, rather than apply band-aids to. That means no finish work inside until the roof is repaired, so once the place is heated, it's on to removing debris, patching ceilings, and removing anything that needs removed, like carpet, closets, and baseboards.
