Today was not a good day at the project house. We are way over budget on costs because of an unexpected plumbing leak that has been there for who knows how long. More dumpsters and a truck were needed to hold all of the black moldy stuff. Some of the support we were promised fell through.

Miss Alice had a harder day releasing things, as well. Going through each item one at a time, she wanted to keep more than she was willing to sell at the yard sale — about seven bins to one. She also decided not to sell some things that we were hoping to use to raise additional money for repairs and clearing the yard. We’ll try again next week and see what she can do.

Kathy was frustrated, too, because Alice got upset over a $10 broken mirror and some of the items that were damaged by the hundreds of pounds of weight pressing down on them. One very precious bench that Alice’s husband had re-caned was damaged. Tools had been put on top of the bench, then boxes were piled on top of the tools, and a hole was punched through the caning over the years. Alice was expecting to see many items in the condition she last remembered them. After years in a moldy, dusty basement with leaking plumbing, the damage is done.

In light of Alice’s reluctance to part with many items, she and Kathy sat down to talk about whether we should keep going with the project, or stop and return the salvaged items to the basement. We decided to keep going for another day or two. Miss Alice promised to release more, but Kathy is concerned about whether or not she will be able to do so.

There was good news. The washer and dryer are working, and we already tested it out with a load of towels. The sump pump is working properly again. Our Ace Hardware guy has ordered a de-humidifier to help reduce humidity in the basement. Alice’s neighbor, Danny Hovey, a contractor, came to help us treat the mold problem and remove the half-eaten baseboard.

The basement is cleared except for behind the steps. We have a few more feet to clear — that will fill another dumpster. Tomorrow, we switch to the upstairs to clear the kitchen, hall and bathroom so we can get to the leaky plumbing. Our volunteers are coming from Shallowford Presbyterian Church to help with the clearing and sorting. It will be a busy day.

A long, hot and exhausting week, but many treasures were recovered, even as tempers flared. It is really tough to do something like this without adequate funds, but we are getting creative and working hard to give Alice her home back. With a little luck, maybe we’ll succeed.

—Reported and photos by Jackie Wells Smith

Photos for Day 5 below. View Day 6 report and photos.

Dumpster Number 3 is full of moldy things that were caused by the plumbing leak that had been there for who knows how long.

The city provided a dump truck for special pick-up. We have it mostly filled.

The collection of pottery molds are up for sale. Anyone want to make an offer? We have three manual kilns for sale, too.

Leaking pipes from somewhere upstairs. We can't get to the kitchen or bathroom pipes to see where the problem is. Everything underneath it was black with mold, an unexpected surprise.

This model train runs around the top of the rec room. It is dusty but still works.

Miss Alice sorting through the stuff. It was a little harder today for her to release things.