Good Samaritans

It was a strange sort of day... cool, for April, a little damp with passing moments of sun...just passing moments.

So, I worked outside; slowly turning the old garage foundation (three sections: the largest...and most deteriorated...in the middle. I had previously broken up most of the concrete in the right section so I spent the morning picking up the pieces and piling them on the side of the fence by the railroad tracks. THEN I felt guilty about it but was too tired to undo the pile. At that point, this happened to come by:

{This is a track maintenance vehicle...one of several following each other...this one appears to clean up after the other ones that dump and "tamp" ballast between the ties} I chatted with the driver, a young man from Virginia that works with the maintenance contractor, for a while. As he left, he said something to the driver of a ballast spreader. As they left, he opened a wing of the spreader and pushed the pile of broken concrete all long the side of the tracks for about a tenth of a mile!

That afternoon, the two neighbors to the north of the house came over to help remove one of the brick posts on each end of the property...which stick into the adjacent driveways and have become a hazard to navigation. We dug down a foot...then two...then three. The thing (to our dismay) has a four foot base...probably more than the house does! Mike (top, right) tried to pull the post out with his truck only to have the line snap. About then, another good samaritan showed up...this one with a backhoe;

His name is Jay and that's about all we know. Jay picked up the four foot post with ease and deposited it in a hole in the backyard where it will become the base for Joyce's sundial at the center of the herb garden!



Maybe he was an angel?
Almost as good, he said he was a plumber!












Well, we know a contractor who is going to work on the kitchen and bathroom...we've decided to keep the laundry room downstairs instead...just too much trouble moving it upstairs in an old house (and nightmares about leaks).

Cya next time! Deano

Let's Change EVERYTHING!

Here's a photo of the front of the house TODAY; new brickwork and wood columns and an unusual yellow Rhododendron that we purchased from the garden center on Sunday.

We also planted a Red Maple and a Climbing Hydrangea (I'm not sure what that is). Here's more photos:



















Today is Joyce' birthday (I won't say how many). She celebrated the day by changing her mind about the kitchen! Mark, a contractor friend suggested knocking an outside corner out so we could expand things...good idea, but straining our already tenuous budget.

Why didn't they do this in the first place? I ask.

We've already spent over $10,000 on this project!








Well, work goes on and here Greg the mason is up on the roof inspecting the chimney...something neither of us should be doing at our age...............................................















Joyce received this nifty sundial/birdbath for her birthday that I will put on an old tree stump...it reminds us of how short life is and to value each moment...an appropriate thing for a birthday!



Next week...my special "birthday gift" for myself and the estimate for the kitchen addition...

Deano

THE BIG JOB

The Masonry Piers are being built at the front of the house to replace the ones that had been "bowing out." The original bricks are being reused. The front room need to be jacked up for the work to be done. Estimated cost: $3000 as opposed to a $14,000 estimate I received from another local contractor...who was rather arrogant, I thought ("I'm the best mason in Cincinnati, maybe the world")....think of that with his very German accent.




Joyce, for whatever reason, thought this would be a good time to plant Hostas...right where the boys were working!


In other news, we purchased this odd little bench at a yard sale and had a blacksmith make new footings for it. I believe it is made from an old railroad baggage cart.



I spent most of the day using a rented jackhammer to break up concrete from the old garage foundation. Four hours...one third of the job done...maybe. It was the most strenuous workout I've had in a long time and I'm a little sun burnt as well!

Meanwhile, a lady came and bought the old stove which I listed on Craig's list. She had lost her job and was living in an apartment so I reduced the price by one half.

Well, it's almost tax day and we didn't realize it at first, but we saved several thousand dollars via the "first time homebuyer's credit." It's not really for first time homebuyers...but for anyone who buys a primary residence after living at one address for several years...go figure.

Well, the weather is great; we need to get the bathroom floor done and the electrical work started in the next week. Bring your hammer and electrical tester and stop by!

Deano

The FENCE is DONE!

Well, here is the finished fence and gate...not quite dog proof yet! I plan on rocks in the front and maybe Impatients (sp.)

Ginger, of course, has figured out how to bypass the fence!!!

The backyard is littered with these star-like wildflowers, white with a slightly pink tint...I delayed cutting the lawn until they were gone.

I wonder what they are?

I really did not make much progress this week...the toilet upstairs is working but seems to have a small leak between the top and bottom of the thing...that's what I get for buying a Mexican toilet from the discount store! So much for my grandfather's advice: "You buy cheap you get cheap!" He didn't anticipate the world economy.

The mason is supposed to start this week; jacking up the room over the porch and replacing brick columns...I like him, despite his "redneck" persona.

It is annoying dealing with contractors in this part of the country; they act like they do not need the work and often do not return phone calls. I REALLY need an electrician bad! and am working on that this week!

Well, I'm sitting in the backyard at the (old) house having a beer and watching the leaky garden pond and stream...they will be relocated too...when I get around to it!

See you next time! Deano

Just another Tuesday in Paradise

Well, the day began with Ray the fence guy bringing the WRONG gates.................the ones he brought are reminiscent of the detention yard at San Quentin. I guess the fence company missed the adjective "decorative" while taking my order! The new ones (four feet high with a fenestration on the top) are on the way...I hope.

While we were working, a couple came via Craig's List and purchased two left over cabinets that we couldn't fit into the plan...turns out they used to go to a church that we went to when I first moved here. Small world here in Cincy.

Then, Greg the Mason showed up. I got Greg's number from an advertisement on the local hardware store bulletin board and I realize this is a hazardous method of finding a contractor.

Unlike the previous three masons who have stopped by (Let's see; there's been Earl who has not stopped back as he promised to do several weeks ago, AND John's brother who complained about Mexicans while he was here (he has not been back either...It's been suggested I try a Mexican instead); AND Bernie...who I would term politely as arrogant and condescending (there are more colorful terms). Here's the scorecard: Earl, $4700; John's Brother, ? and Bernie, $14,000 (that's right, $14,000). I like Greg; he has an old pickup truck with a six pack in the back and accidentally cut himself on the aluminum sheathing of the front porch. My kind of guy!

Greg comes in at about $3000 btw.

He was the first to suggest that we remove all of the sheathing on the front porch so we could see what we were dealing with. So, I spent all morning getting Greg's revenge for him and removing all of the aluminum foil from the front of the house:

House sans
railings and aluminum flashing...we hates aluminum siding...it is going to die.
Actually, it looks much worse than this!

Meanwhile, I have put a working toilet in the upstairs bathroom while the downstairs bathroom remains a large hole. Unfortunately...I tried to repair a leaking valve in the basement and ended up removing said valve and twenty two inches of galvanized pipe.

Now this is interesting...you cannot connect iron or galvanized pipe with copper pipe...as the previous owners attempted to do. (You didn't know this now did you?...ok, neither did I). You need to use something called a "dielectric coupling" which allows the copper and the iron or lead to get along better. Otherwise, you will have the iron pipe full of rust at the worst possible time.

I know that I will get to Lowe's and they will not have one...or two...but we will see.

Hopefully we'll have the mason situation nailed down before the house collapses and a working toilet by the next installment...thanks for watching!

Deano

No, we're not burning heretics at the stake or anything...at least not lately...these are fence posts for the new fence. The weather turned nice after a rainy weekend, so Ray the fence guy showed (by himself) to start the job.

And while my back was turned, Mark helped him with something and Ray offered him a job as his helper hadn't shown up for several days. (Okay, I was expecting a CREW for the amount we paid for the fence!).



I spent the morning digging up weeds that had become bushes over the last few years, to get them out of the way of the fence. Some of these required that I get the Sears Craftsman Chainsaw working, after purchasing from one of me neighbor's drinking buddies last year.

I don't know anything about chainsaws...people from New Jersey don't do this. After a few swipes at a dead tree, and in view of Mark's new gainful employment, Ray, the neighbor's ex-brother in law, came to save the day!



The second tree proved hard to pull down...so Mark returned and it took all three of us to get it down!





That's Mark on the right, Ray on the Left


At least, I actually got an outside spigot working today...that's the first working water in the house

But we found yet more termite damage too...the whole downstairs bathroom will have to be gutted.


And then, there's this little number!! ======>

OK, let's play the "What do you think it is game?"

Huh? Ok, what is it?

No, the gutter is fine...there is some kind of underlayment falling out of the wall...but that's not the most serious issue here...look harder!

Yes, if you looked closely, there is a LIVE romex electric cable...in the gutter. This apparently was added by someone who desired an extra outlet in the upstairs bathroom...and the easiest way to do that, of course, is to run the electrical service outside of the house and up the wall.

And you thought you had seen everything!

Later!

Deano

Before and After Shots:

#1...January, 2010


#2...February, 2010

# 3...March, 2010:

Getting There!


Deano