The Descent

At the beginning of this past week my future in-laws closed on a house in NE Portland. Given that the house is affordable and in NE this piece of real estate is a gem. The house was built in '46 and is terribly fatigued. Combined with derelict tenants and then vacant for a year gives the place a beat-in, down trodden look.
My task this week was to descend into the crawl space to cut up and remove the vapor barrier. This was the nastiest piece of work that I've done in a long while. Resplendent in my tyvek suit, goggles, face mask, and rubber gloves I stuffed my self in a 2X3 portal and descended into darkness. The dank air smelled like a used cat box with the acrid tinge of chemical rat poison. Breathing with difficulty through the mask I used a flashlight to illuminate the gloom. The space was festooned with detritus, rat carcasses, poison repositories, small puddles of unknown liquids. It was the most uncomfortable and disgusting place I've been since living in central Mexico. Six long hours later I finished clearing the worst. Sadly my work is not complete. There is still beetle damaged joists that need repairs, and pipes that need replacement. When that is all finished I need to lay down the new vapor barrier. Though the next descent will not be as hellish I do not look forward to it.