how cold was our house? well, not quite as cold as this place, but a close second. (seriously, check out that link. it’s way more amazing than the rest of this post).

but no longer! the heat is on! after 22 days and 5 service calls, we have gas service and, happy surprise! the furnaces work. Ben stopped by the house last night and sent me this visual report:

there’s not much else to tell; we spent all week trying to get the gas on. the contractor cut down the remains of the drop ceiling in the basement. we shoveled a lot more snow. the snow has been drifting in strong winds and piling up against the fence, so that on one side of the yard the snow is more than 4 feet deep. i suspect we will be well into may before it all melts.

in the mean time, here are a few more “before” photos.

the living room looking into the dining room, 2nd floor unit:

some solid electrical work in the basement:

1st floor unit front door. or, what’s left of the front door:

this is what happens when you don’t heat a house for three years:

before. all the before:

fun fact: we bought the house without ever having seen inside the shed in the corner of this photo. now the snow is piled up so deep we can’t really get to it. but at some point we’ll have to saw off the padlock and see what’s inside. yikes.