The remodeling looked drastic. The neighbors stopped to gape as the crane knocked down walls, crunched the roof and scraped away walls.
 
To Cindy and Rudy Arkenbout, the demolition of their Paddock Drive home marks a turning point toward recovery, though.
 
"This, to me, is like a weight off my chest," Cindy said. She took a video as her home became a pile of rubble. She'll save the video to show a young nephew  who loves big machines.
 
There was no way to save the 3,200-square-foot home the Arkenbouts have owned for the past four years. Six different kinds of mold took hold after Hurricane Frances hit a year ago, they said.
 
"The guy who did the mold inspection gave me this list and said, 'Take it to your pediatrician,' because some mold can cause eye damage and skin damage," Cindy said.
 
They stayed in the wood-frame home with the help of air-purifying machines. But when Hurricane Wilma roared through in October, the Arkenbouts moved in with some neighbors.
 
"We stayed with Alan and Ann Gerwig during Wilma," Cindy said. "Our friends have been wonderful."
 
The Arkenbouts, who have two children, Daniel, 14, and Christy, 13, have lived in Wellington since 1993.
 
Last week, as the crane crushed the house, Rudy joked with friends who stopped by about the little "roof leak" he had.
 
Although their home was an older wood-frame design, they liked the "country" feel, Cindy said. Built in 1987, it was one of Royal Professional Builder's designs.
Royal Professional Builders built many houses in Wellington and Royal Palm Beach, where the company used to be based. Because Royal Professional's Wally Sanger is a friend of Rudy's, the family asked Sanger to build them a new home.
 
"We went to Port St. Lucie to look at some of the models, and when we went in one, I just fell in love with it," Cindy said. "Wally said, 'That's the updated version of your house.' "
Construction on their new home, which they will build on the same lot, will start as soon as the demolition is done, the Arkenbouts said.
 

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