I walked into the 7.5 million dollar mansion with my eyes wide and jaw dropped. I gawked at the size of the main entrance. A winding staircase wrapped up to the upstairs while a gorgeous skylight cast shadows on the marble stairs. I got the grand tour of the upstairs. The master bedroom, the walk-in closet which was double the size of the master bedroom. The master bathroom connected the two together. White marble floors, a white marble shower, white marble counter tops, a gorgeous jacuzzi bathtub under a 6 foot by 8 foot stained glass window. The main office with beautiful redwood cabinets. Double glass doors lead onto one of two balconies. The childrens rooms were next. The twins slept on the north side of the west wing, while the youngest slept on the south side. All 3 bedrooms including a computer room had beautiful marble and granite en suites. A second winding stair case lead to the kitchen and dining area. To the west of that, the 5 car garage and north of there, the training and rehab centre. A lap pool, marble sauna, his and hers shower rooms, and 2 bathrooms all marble as well surrounded the work out area. Beside the garage were stairs leading to what used to be a games room.
Small holes littered one of the walls suggesting a dart board had once been there. In the middle of the room sat a regulation size Snooker table. The brilliant green felt suggested no one had used it in ages. A door lead to a cedar sauna which had been used as a storage room. Continuing through the maze of stairs, walls and doors, we walked into the main rec-room which housed an enormous fireplace which was never used, with good reason...it would take someone a year and a half of wood chopping to feed a fire big enough to head the room for one week. I sat in it comfortably...it was a dare. We exited the room, found two fully furnished apartments with kitchenettes, bathrooms and shared washers and dryers. We headed back up the stairs to the top floor and began planning the demolition of the top floor.
I spent 8 hours on my hands and knees slicing and rolling wall to wall carpet. My finger tips burned and blistered. My knees ached from the constant up and down action. My arms were rough and bloddied from the carpet tacks, and the rough underside of the carpet. My calves and hamstrings burned from the continuous stair climbing while carrying upwards of 40 pounds of carpet. I laid the old carpet down on the marble floor below to protect it from the dirty and muddy boots to come in the following days.
Day one was finished, day two welcomed me with open arms. Myself along with 4 others, a camera crew and television host began ripping apart the drywall, crown molding and any cabinets left behind by the previous tennants, who happened to be Alexander Mogilny and his family. We chopped, hacked, ripped and kicked the drywall apart in huge chunks and tossed them into a waste bin outside. Wall outlets sparked and zapped as we shorted circuits, insulation covered our arms making it itchy and uncomfortable, and outside a light rain began to fall.
After 4 days of ripping tearing and kicking the shit out of the walls, the insulation and ceilings needed to come out. I was handed the ugly task of insulation removal. I pulled out chunks of yellow itchy fibreglass insulation kicking up dust and ripping any remaining drywall off the stud screws. I noticed some odd discolouration on one of the pieces of insulation. I pulled on it as I normally did and as it fell on me, I regretted my actions immediately.
It felt like rain falling on my head, but I knew it wasn't rain. I knew immediately that it was ants. Thousands of black carpenter ants. Those large ugly sons of bitches. The rained down on me, running all over my neck and down my shirt. I shuddered at the thought of them making their way downtown. I grabbed the front of my pants and tightened them as tight as I possibly could have while shaking off. For the rest of the day I couldn't shake the feeling of thousands of tiny hairy scratchy legs swarming my body and flooding my senses. But that was work. For the first time in over a year, I felt proud of what I had accomplished at work. I smiled the whole ride home after my first week. I finally felt good about my job.
-Appleby
Small holes littered one of the walls suggesting a dart board had once been there. In the middle of the room sat a regulation size Snooker table. The brilliant green felt suggested no one had used it in ages. A door lead to a cedar sauna which had been used as a storage room. Continuing through the maze of stairs, walls and doors, we walked into the main rec-room which housed an enormous fireplace which was never used, with good reason...it would take someone a year and a half of wood chopping to feed a fire big enough to head the room for one week. I sat in it comfortably...it was a dare. We exited the room, found two fully furnished apartments with kitchenettes, bathrooms and shared washers and dryers. We headed back up the stairs to the top floor and began planning the demolition of the top floor.
I spent 8 hours on my hands and knees slicing and rolling wall to wall carpet. My finger tips burned and blistered. My knees ached from the constant up and down action. My arms were rough and bloddied from the carpet tacks, and the rough underside of the carpet. My calves and hamstrings burned from the continuous stair climbing while carrying upwards of 40 pounds of carpet. I laid the old carpet down on the marble floor below to protect it from the dirty and muddy boots to come in the following days.
Day one was finished, day two welcomed me with open arms. Myself along with 4 others, a camera crew and television host began ripping apart the drywall, crown molding and any cabinets left behind by the previous tennants, who happened to be Alexander Mogilny and his family. We chopped, hacked, ripped and kicked the drywall apart in huge chunks and tossed them into a waste bin outside. Wall outlets sparked and zapped as we shorted circuits, insulation covered our arms making it itchy and uncomfortable, and outside a light rain began to fall.
After 4 days of ripping tearing and kicking the shit out of the walls, the insulation and ceilings needed to come out. I was handed the ugly task of insulation removal. I pulled out chunks of yellow itchy fibreglass insulation kicking up dust and ripping any remaining drywall off the stud screws. I noticed some odd discolouration on one of the pieces of insulation. I pulled on it as I normally did and as it fell on me, I regretted my actions immediately.
It felt like rain falling on my head, but I knew it wasn't rain. I knew immediately that it was ants. Thousands of black carpenter ants. Those large ugly sons of bitches. The rained down on me, running all over my neck and down my shirt. I shuddered at the thought of them making their way downtown. I grabbed the front of my pants and tightened them as tight as I possibly could have while shaking off. For the rest of the day I couldn't shake the feeling of thousands of tiny hairy scratchy legs swarming my body and flooding my senses. But that was work. For the first time in over a year, I felt proud of what I had accomplished at work. I smiled the whole ride home after my first week. I finally felt good about my job.
-Appleby
elana:
Oh my god. Dude. Fibreglass and ants. I don't dig that combo at all.