This week there has been a construction worker of some kind in the building every day - because the realtor said that we had to get a few things done before we could put the building on the market.
As I walked through the building with the realtor the first day we met we came to a room in the basement that is mainly used for storage. I hate walking into this room and I never do. It's a huge room with a divider that kind of makes it into two rooms. It is the congregations sore spot. For many years of the congregations history this room was the love and joy of the congregation. Stories are told of a nice, cozy meeting space. The only room that had both heat and air conditioning. Bible studies, council meetings, small events and much more was held in this space. And then there was water damage. i get different stories from different people as to exactly how the water damage happened. My guess is that all the ways describes really did happen and it was the mass combination of the different water damages that got it into its current state. I was told of a water heater busing, a roof leaking and others - but, the room has be off limits for about 5 years.
When you walk into the hallway leading up to the room the tile is all ripped up and it is just the tar on the floor. When you enter the room the old tile is still on the floor but it is cracked and old carpet glue covers it. The walls are old brown wood paneling - the stuff popular in the late 70s and early 80s (it actually feels cozy because my own home was covered with this paneling when I was a kid). Then, you are hit with the smell of mold. It is so overwhelming. The room feels moist and you just do not want to spend any more time in there than you absolutely have to.
I could make many comments about how this is a lot of ways a symbol for the state of the congregation. How the congregation let this one room that was their pride and joy just lapse into something completely uncared for - but I think that might be another post for another time. This is about the realtor and selling the building.
When I took the realtor into the room(s) he took one look at the walls covered with black mold going more than half way up the walls and he looked at the tile floor which he recognized as asbestos tile and he asked me if he could leave the room. We continued the tour.
A few days later he called me and said that he could not work on a selling price because of the mold damage throughout the building. (Mold is also in the hallway next to that room, a boiler room, and the bathroom next to my office). He insisted that I get quotes for how much it would cost to do mold and asbestos removal. My next week was filled with giving tours of the building and getting quotes and getting back with the realtor. I was imagining huge numbers, like $20,000 or more. It's a lot of mold. But, the quotes came back and we would get all the mold removed and the asbestos covered (not removed) for $6,200.The realtor met with the council and said that we had to get the work done, that his quote for sale price was contingent on getting the work done. So, we approved getting the work done and it started right away.
On Sunday after worship a crew of 5 people and me and my husband took all the stuff out of the two rooms to prep it for work. I think this was liberating to the people helping. We threw stuff out, broke apart a cabinet that would not come out of the room, moved huge metal cabinets filled with just stuff out of the room. I was told that much of the stuff probably hasn't even been looked at in at least 5 years. Within an hour and a half the 2 rooms were completely empty and you could see just how bad the mold was.
On Tuesday the mold guys came and worked for 3 days. Tomorrow the tile guy comes. In a week this room that was depressing, in some ways scary, definitely unusable - morphed into a nice space. The paneling was ripped off the walls and there are exposed studs on the concrete, parts of the dry wall had to be removed because the mold damage was so bad. But, I can tell you, the current state of the room is 100 times better and I am happy it is done.
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