Back to house-rehab work in Chambersburg
(posted from home)
(This post covers 1 – 13 April, 2011)
----------------------------
Wednesday, 13 April -
I had a doctor's appointment this morning and took care of that then chased down a tennis-elbow armband. I had over-stressed it working on House 2 this Fall and have had some minor pain ever since. I'll use the armband when I hammer or otherwise stress that arm.
That afternoon I caught up the blog and had a long Skype video call with Orat. Labashi and I then watched a Nurse Jackie season-one episode.
-----------------------------
Tuesday, 12 April -
We had rain overnight and today so decided not to keep Drylok-ing the basement walls for fear of water intrusion. By mid-morning we were seeing evidence of water on the coving-- small beads of water totaling about six feet in length. I had painted one area and that was a mistake... the intruding water diluted the paint to the point you could see through it. Though the paint was more than twelve hours old it was still wet to the touch.
I borrowed Maypo's dehumidifier to fix this problem but it kept freezing up. I put a 500-watt flood lamp in front of it and measured the temperature of the grill at varying between 70 and 100 degrees yet the coils would frost over and quit dehumidifying with about 20 minutes. I later looked up the specs for the expensive Frigidaire dehumidifier and it's spec sheet said it would operate at a minimum temperature of 41 degrees. It might 'operate' but it doesn't dehumidify for more than 20 minutes and, worse, doesn't detect the ice. The room was 55.
We turned our attention to other projects. Labashi painted baseboard in the bedrooms and I tested all the outlets, fixed an outlet and a switch, and traced all the circuit breakers using my new 'Circuit Detective' toy.
We had supper with Maypo and family and then headed home, arriving at 2030. As we pulled in the driveway our headlights illuminated a dead deer under a pine tree in our front yard. I checked it out and called it in to County Control. We called our neighbor who said he had seen it on the way to work this morning. It had apparently been hit overnight.
-----------------------------
Monday, 11 April -
We drove to Chambersburg then spent the day painting but didn't seem to get very far. I only finished an end wall and maybe ten feet down the back wall while Labashi did about 15 feet of the opposite corner. I spent the rest of the time monitoring the contractors and taking pictures of their work.
-------------------------------
Sunday, 10 April -
We were at home today resting up but will be going back in the morning because we have contractors coming and want to be there while they work.
-------------------------------
Saturday, 9 April -
Cburg today. Labashi and I wanted to go home by noon but didn't make it. Maypo and I worked to find a roof leak (successfully), cleaned out the gutters, and fixed a problem with the first house's well cap.
-------------------------------
Friday, 8 April -
Cburg today. Still prepping the basement walls and doing the coving. We worked late tonight--- till 2200 to get the coving done.
--------------------------------
Thursday, 7 April -
We drove to Chambersburg this morning and started work on the basement. We're prepping to Drylok the basement walls. We spent the day cleaning and patching the walls with Fast-Plug hydraulic cement. We also did a moisture-survey of the walls and made a map for future comparisons of readings. We worked late-- almost 2200-- 'coving' the wall-to-floor joint the whole way around.
--------------------------------
Wednesday, 6 April -
Today we prepared for returning to our house-rehab project in Chambersburg. I organized tools and loaded the van practically to its limit with tools and supplies.
That evening we took Labashi's parents out to dinner at Cafe Bruges in Carlisle.
-------------------------------
Tuesday, 5 April -
Today I took it easy and celebrated my 'win' with the pole-light repair. I spent much of the day on iTunes and YouTube looking for new music. In the end I didn't find anything I was willing to buy. But I did enjoy seeing some of my favorites including Alizee (“J'ai Pas Vingt Ans”) and Mylene Farmer's concert intros.
That evening we finished 'Big Love' Season Four. This season has been a little TOO frenetic so we're ready for a break until next season.
-------------------------------
Monday, 4 April -
Today Labashi asked me to get rid of the old computer stored in our guest room. I dug out a monitor, keyboard, and mouse and fired up the old beast to format the hard drive, found a computer shop what would take the equipment and drove down there with the computer, monitor, and five boxes stuffed full of periperhals, cables, etc.
On the way home I got to thinking about my next steps on our front-yard pole light. I decided it was time to get out the shovel. I had decided I'd try to find the break by cutting the cable at the mid-point and testing both directions. If the break was on the light-pole side of the cable, that end is in the yard and therefore 'diggable', albeit a bit messy. But if was on the switch side, that goes under the front porch and is impossible ; I'd have to move the light to the other side of the sidewalk and dig a 75-foot-long two-foot-deep ditch around the opposite side of the porch and sidewalk for a new cable run.
Labashi thought she had told the porch contractor to run the cable along the house before pouring so I first dug where it would have exited and found nothing. I then tried the metal detector again and found a large target just off the front corner of the porch. I dug there and hit right on the problem. It was an improperly-protected butt joint the contractor made after cutting the cable to get it out of the way. He then built the forms and joined the cable back together just before starting the pour. As I uncovered the cable joint I saw two bright-green corrosion dots where the black and white conductors had been spliced. I cut the still-intact ground conductor, cut back to fresh copper conductors, stripped the wires, and tested continuity in both directions. Yep ; that was the problem.
I rode the GS up to the hardware store, bought an underground-cable butt-splice kit and an hour later had everything back together, tested, and buried. I was very happy to have Labashi flip the switch and see the pole light back in operation.
That evening we watched two episodes of 'Big Love' Season Four.
------------------------------
Sunday, 3 April -
This afternoon I rode the GS down to the Tollgate Starbucks to read the Times. It was such a nice afternoon that I decided to ride down to Holtwood Dam area. At the launch area I met two backpackers just leaving their car for a training hike on the Mason-Dixon Trail. They are planning a 40-plus mile hike on the Appalachian Trail this summer and are getting used to their packs and working up their endurance for that trip.
I then rode across the Susquehanna and then south to Susquehannock State Park. There I met a younger couple at the main overlook and we struck up a long conversation about traveling. As we spoke, another motorcyclist came along to check out the view and overheard us talking. He turned out to be Carl Millhouse, a very interesting guy who lives near the Shenk's Ferry wildflower area and has a very long history riding BMW motorcycles. I later learned that he has a very low member-number in the BMW owner's group. Member numbers today are well above the 100,000 mark and his number is in the mid-two-thousands. He has four or five BMW bikes, one he bought in Germany, and was riding a mid-Seventies model today. I loved talking to him about riding in Maine and his adventures in Europe. What an interesting guy...
That evening we watched the pilot and two episodes of 'Nurse Jackie' S1.
--------------------------------
Saturday, 2 April -
(No record for today.)
-------------------------------
Friday, 1 April -
Today I installed the toilet tank-to-bowl kit I bought earlier in the week. For some reason the tank was a bit crooked on the bowl and we didn't really notice it until the floor guys re-installed the toilet somewhat off-level. I corrected that as best I could and then mounted the tank and tightened down one side a half-turn more than the other to level the tank's upper edge with the line of the chair-rail on the wall behind it.
We also had to call the plumber back to fix a leak. As Labashi went to replace items under the sink we found a leak emanating from the faucet-mount plate. The shop sent 'Tom' over right away and he silicone-sealed the base of the plate. The manufacturer's design or installation instructions may have been a fault here. There's a rubber seal recessed under the plate but it appears to be recessed to far and the instructions pamphlet said nothing of having to seal it.
That afternoon we drove into town for something at Lowe's and stopped at Texas Roadhouse for their yummy baby-back ribs on the way home.
*********** END OF POST *************
(posted from home)
(This post covers 1 – 13 April, 2011)
----------------------------
Wednesday, 13 April -
I had a doctor's appointment this morning and took care of that then chased down a tennis-elbow armband. I had over-stressed it working on House 2 this Fall and have had some minor pain ever since. I'll use the armband when I hammer or otherwise stress that arm.
That afternoon I caught up the blog and had a long Skype video call with Orat. Labashi and I then watched a Nurse Jackie season-one episode.
-----------------------------
Tuesday, 12 April -
We had rain overnight and today so decided not to keep Drylok-ing the basement walls for fear of water intrusion. By mid-morning we were seeing evidence of water on the coving-- small beads of water totaling about six feet in length. I had painted one area and that was a mistake... the intruding water diluted the paint to the point you could see through it. Though the paint was more than twelve hours old it was still wet to the touch.
I borrowed Maypo's dehumidifier to fix this problem but it kept freezing up. I put a 500-watt flood lamp in front of it and measured the temperature of the grill at varying between 70 and 100 degrees yet the coils would frost over and quit dehumidifying with about 20 minutes. I later looked up the specs for the expensive Frigidaire dehumidifier and it's spec sheet said it would operate at a minimum temperature of 41 degrees. It might 'operate' but it doesn't dehumidify for more than 20 minutes and, worse, doesn't detect the ice. The room was 55.
We turned our attention to other projects. Labashi painted baseboard in the bedrooms and I tested all the outlets, fixed an outlet and a switch, and traced all the circuit breakers using my new 'Circuit Detective' toy.
We had supper with Maypo and family and then headed home, arriving at 2030. As we pulled in the driveway our headlights illuminated a dead deer under a pine tree in our front yard. I checked it out and called it in to County Control. We called our neighbor who said he had seen it on the way to work this morning. It had apparently been hit overnight.
-----------------------------
Monday, 11 April -
We drove to Chambersburg then spent the day painting but didn't seem to get very far. I only finished an end wall and maybe ten feet down the back wall while Labashi did about 15 feet of the opposite corner. I spent the rest of the time monitoring the contractors and taking pictures of their work.
-------------------------------
Sunday, 10 April -
We were at home today resting up but will be going back in the morning because we have contractors coming and want to be there while they work.
-------------------------------
Saturday, 9 April -
Cburg today. Labashi and I wanted to go home by noon but didn't make it. Maypo and I worked to find a roof leak (successfully), cleaned out the gutters, and fixed a problem with the first house's well cap.
-------------------------------
Friday, 8 April -
Cburg today. Still prepping the basement walls and doing the coving. We worked late tonight--- till 2200 to get the coving done.
--------------------------------
Thursday, 7 April -
We drove to Chambersburg this morning and started work on the basement. We're prepping to Drylok the basement walls. We spent the day cleaning and patching the walls with Fast-Plug hydraulic cement. We also did a moisture-survey of the walls and made a map for future comparisons of readings. We worked late-- almost 2200-- 'coving' the wall-to-floor joint the whole way around.
--------------------------------
Wednesday, 6 April -
Today we prepared for returning to our house-rehab project in Chambersburg. I organized tools and loaded the van practically to its limit with tools and supplies.
That evening we took Labashi's parents out to dinner at Cafe Bruges in Carlisle.
-------------------------------
Tuesday, 5 April -
Today I took it easy and celebrated my 'win' with the pole-light repair. I spent much of the day on iTunes and YouTube looking for new music. In the end I didn't find anything I was willing to buy. But I did enjoy seeing some of my favorites including Alizee (“J'ai Pas Vingt Ans”) and Mylene Farmer's concert intros.
That evening we finished 'Big Love' Season Four. This season has been a little TOO frenetic so we're ready for a break until next season.
-------------------------------
Monday, 4 April -
Today Labashi asked me to get rid of the old computer stored in our guest room. I dug out a monitor, keyboard, and mouse and fired up the old beast to format the hard drive, found a computer shop what would take the equipment and drove down there with the computer, monitor, and five boxes stuffed full of periperhals, cables, etc.
On the way home I got to thinking about my next steps on our front-yard pole light. I decided it was time to get out the shovel. I had decided I'd try to find the break by cutting the cable at the mid-point and testing both directions. If the break was on the light-pole side of the cable, that end is in the yard and therefore 'diggable', albeit a bit messy. But if was on the switch side, that goes under the front porch and is impossible ; I'd have to move the light to the other side of the sidewalk and dig a 75-foot-long two-foot-deep ditch around the opposite side of the porch and sidewalk for a new cable run.
Labashi thought she had told the porch contractor to run the cable along the house before pouring so I first dug where it would have exited and found nothing. I then tried the metal detector again and found a large target just off the front corner of the porch. I dug there and hit right on the problem. It was an improperly-protected butt joint the contractor made after cutting the cable to get it out of the way. He then built the forms and joined the cable back together just before starting the pour. As I uncovered the cable joint I saw two bright-green corrosion dots where the black and white conductors had been spliced. I cut the still-intact ground conductor, cut back to fresh copper conductors, stripped the wires, and tested continuity in both directions. Yep ; that was the problem.
I rode the GS up to the hardware store, bought an underground-cable butt-splice kit and an hour later had everything back together, tested, and buried. I was very happy to have Labashi flip the switch and see the pole light back in operation.
That evening we watched two episodes of 'Big Love' Season Four.
------------------------------
Sunday, 3 April -
This afternoon I rode the GS down to the Tollgate Starbucks to read the Times. It was such a nice afternoon that I decided to ride down to Holtwood Dam area. At the launch area I met two backpackers just leaving their car for a training hike on the Mason-Dixon Trail. They are planning a 40-plus mile hike on the Appalachian Trail this summer and are getting used to their packs and working up their endurance for that trip.
I then rode across the Susquehanna and then south to Susquehannock State Park. There I met a younger couple at the main overlook and we struck up a long conversation about traveling. As we spoke, another motorcyclist came along to check out the view and overheard us talking. He turned out to be Carl Millhouse, a very interesting guy who lives near the Shenk's Ferry wildflower area and has a very long history riding BMW motorcycles. I later learned that he has a very low member-number in the BMW owner's group. Member numbers today are well above the 100,000 mark and his number is in the mid-two-thousands. He has four or five BMW bikes, one he bought in Germany, and was riding a mid-Seventies model today. I loved talking to him about riding in Maine and his adventures in Europe. What an interesting guy...
That evening we watched the pilot and two episodes of 'Nurse Jackie' S1.
--------------------------------
Saturday, 2 April -
(No record for today.)
-------------------------------
Friday, 1 April -
Today I installed the toilet tank-to-bowl kit I bought earlier in the week. For some reason the tank was a bit crooked on the bowl and we didn't really notice it until the floor guys re-installed the toilet somewhat off-level. I corrected that as best I could and then mounted the tank and tightened down one side a half-turn more than the other to level the tank's upper edge with the line of the chair-rail on the wall behind it.
We also had to call the plumber back to fix a leak. As Labashi went to replace items under the sink we found a leak emanating from the faucet-mount plate. The shop sent 'Tom' over right away and he silicone-sealed the base of the plate. The manufacturer's design or installation instructions may have been a fault here. There's a rubber seal recessed under the plate but it appears to be recessed to far and the instructions pamphlet said nothing of having to seal it.
That afternoon we drove into town for something at Lowe's and stopped at Texas Roadhouse for their yummy baby-back ribs on the way home.
*********** END OF POST *************
posted by Bezabor&Labashi | 21:47
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