(internet is getting hooked up tomorrow – more regular posts to follow. In the mean time, here is what we’ve been up to)

From what I have been hearing, a sewer surprise in the basement is more or less a rite of passage for Brownstone homeowners. With the smell now mostly gone, the several pounds of baking soda I sprinkled on the floor are making the basement look like an outtake from the movie Blow – I expect Paul Reubens to casually walk up our basement stairs anytime now,  covered in white dust. Anyway, hopefully the poop chapter is done.

The leak was caused by a massive clog in our sewer pipe. Turns out, someone who lived here before we did had a habit of flushing paper towels. While I didn’t witness it, I was told by the hubs that a geyser of grossness (Poop. It was poop). shot out of the pipe as soon as the plumber opened the trap. The contents of the pipe, which were seemingly pressurized, landed on the floor of the basement.

No amount of cleaning and disinfecting was getting rid of the smell, so I figured “what about baking soda?” and spread an enormous amount of it all over the floor. Turns out it works (and makes the air salty). Anyway, it was everywhere – hence the Blow reference.

These past few weeks have been dedicated to moving, moving in, and getting some of the less sexy work done – anyone care to see our new electrical panel in the basement?

Huba huba!

How about the new gas meters? Ooooh!

And let’s not forget the fact that the water meter no longer drips on the electrical panels. Indeed, our basement has been the center of activity lately.  With the mechanicals all getting a once over, we will now be moving on to stuff that is actually  visually interesting.

Wall colors and a revamped garden apartment entrance coming right up!