Off Line

We are off line. Even worse, we are off phone.

I noticed yesterday morning that I couldn't get on line. Later in the day, when I decided to call CenturyLink about the problem, I discovered our phone was out as well.

I called CenturyLink on Susan's cell phone and got their weekend repair line which was totally useless. I spent an hour on a chat with a guy who had me reset the router. I kept asking him about the phone line but he kept talking about the router. I finally got through to him that the phone line was out as well. He was unable to help me and transferred me to someone in the phone division.

This second gut began by having me reset the router. I said shouldn't we get the phone line back first. "Oh, is your phone line out too?"

You can't scream at someone in a chat. I can't keep the caps lock on.

This guy finally got me to someone who could work on the phone. I had to do this all through "Chat" as there is nobody to talk to on the weekends.

The phone person had me go downstairs and reset the phone block. It's a simple task of unplugging the cord and putting it back in. I went back upstairs to Susan's cell and said I had reset the phone.

She said she would be sending a technician on Tuesday and that was that.

After hanging up, I checked the phone and I had a dial tone. The phone bitch never had me check that.

The internet is still out so I guess I have to wait until the tech arrives on Tuesday, conveniently scheduled between 8 and 5.

CenturyLink, your weekend tech assistance is really horrible.    

Cabinet Problem

We have run into our first problem. The tall pantry cabinets are the wrong size. They are supposed to be 12 inches deep but the ones we have are 24 inches deep.

I will be calling Jess at Cabinet Pro tomorrow to find out what we do next.

In the meantime, I have some exciting pictures of my neighbor Nathaniel, cutting down a tree in his yard.

It was very loud!

Cabinets Arrive

The cabinets arrived today. There is no more room in the house.

It took the two guys about an hour to unload everything and carry it in.

Next we need to start identifying the various boxes and figure out what goes where.

We have hired a friend, Shaun, to help with installing the cabinets. He is coming over on Monday to help us get started. We are going to start in the pantry as that will be the easiest set of cabinets to install.

Final Priming

I am kind of in limbo here. We are down to end of kitchen prep and the cabinets are being delivered next Thursday.

Susan is putting primer on the kitchen windows. There’s not much for me to do for the moment. The next thing to do before the cabinets is to sand the floor to get out the high points.

That will be be next Monday I hope. So I’m going to do some small little stuff around the house and stay out of Susan’s way. Which is what I normally do anyway!

Heat Cable Installation Saga

I had a knock at the doorbell at 8:00AM today. It was Kyle from Over the Top Roofing. He was here to install some heat cable up on my roof where the ice dam forms. (Refer to Christmas Day 2022 Post)

I was expecting a call in advance of his visit so I could wire an outlet to plug into up there. We are going high tech by plugging the heat cable into a box with a thermal switch. That way, it comes on automatically somewhere around 32° and shuts off whenever the temperature is above that.

So my project for today is to get the outlet installed and wired.

Here’s what I have done so far. I drilled the hole for my wire and fed enough through to make the run. I’m heading over to the General Store to buy a box. I need to go out and scrounge some conduit to run the wire through. My only concern right now is whether I have enough ladder to reach my work space.

10:45AM: I finally found the right circuit to turn off (Circuit # 33) and I have successfully connected the wire to power.

Next, I have to see if I have enough ladder.

1:23PM: I don't have enough ladder.

To be continued... 

Arbor Vitae Revival

We had some work done on our Arbor Vitae hedge today that was long overdue. And as a result, not cheap. A crew of four showed up this morning and went to work on the shrubbery. They cleaned out a bunch of dead stuff, tied up sagging branches, trimmed the bushes and topped them off so we have a nice straight clean line on top.

Here’s how it looked this morning.

And here is how it looks now. Quite a difference! The crew from Star Pruners worked all day so I guess it was worth the $1,500 we paid them.

We’ve got to keep them healthy.

Unfinished Projects

We've had a pretty good week working on the windows.

I got a bunch of weights re-strung with new rope on the deck windows. I'm almost done removing the paint and getting everything down to wood.

Today, I'm taking a break to work on a couple of other projects. The first one is to run a wire out under the eve where we plug in the heat cord up on the roof. I've just been up in the attic surveying the area and I am about to go back up and drill a little hole. Then I'll feed the wire through and have it sticking out the hole until I can get a ladder tall enough to reach the spot from the yard. The ladder I have is just a touch short.

The other project is something I have needed to finish from the remodel of the upstairs bathroom. The fan is vented into the attic but I need to install a vent on the side of the house so it vents properly.

Don't be concerned. I don't use that fan very much and it doesn't look moldy up there. But it is something I need to complete.

So...here I go!

I had a semi-successful trip back up to the attic. I forgot to take my headlamp with me and of course, my flashlight wouldn't stay lit. I managed to get a hole drilled for the fan vent. I plugged it with a little bit of insulation. 

I tried drilling a hole for the wire and was not as successful. I'm going to have to drill the hole from the outside and that requires the big ladder.

Glass Replacement Project

9:25AM: Today, I am working on rectifying a problem with this kitchen window.

While scraping off the old paint, we came to realize that the glass pane in the bottom section of the window is too small. There is a quarter inch gap on the end that was covered by glazing. The height of the glass barely meets the grill (mullion) at the top.

We decided to make it right and get a new piece of glass for the space. So that’s my main project today. I picked up the new glass yesterday and now I need to go out and remove all the glazing and points so I can remove the old glass.

10:45AM: The glass is in. It took me about 45 minutes to get all the old glazing out of the sill channels where the glass goes. Susan and I worked on both sides of the window to get it all cleaned up. Once everything was properly loosened up. The old glass pane slid right out.

Installing the new glass went very smoothly and it fit as well as I can expect in a hundred year old house. Nothing is square. I have several points in place and I think I’ll wait a little bit before I glaze it. 

By the way, I have discovered glazing compound that comes in a tube that I can apply with a caulking gun. It goes much faster and I think the final results are much better, much smoother looking. In short, more professional!

2:20PM: The glazing is done and the Glass Replacement Project has been completed.

I also spent time on scraping the above window that looks out on the deck. I shall say again that it is slow and tedious but I have nothing but time.

Zags Make the Eight & Midnight Guy

We have just returned from watching the Gonzaga Bulldogs Men’s Basketball Team advance to the Elite Eight in the NCAA Tournament. They had a come from behind win over UCLA and it was quite a heart pounding game.

We are home now and I am going to bed.

Later: I just chased away a guy knocking at our back door.

I was in bed when Susan came running up and said someone was at the back door. I threw on my robe and came down and pulled the curtain back that looks out on the back stoop. The guy was in his mid to late 20’s and complaining that it was cold. He seemed distraught and unhappy. I told him I didn’t know who he was and I wasn’t going to let him in. I told him to leave and he did.

It didn’t seem like a very Christian way to behave as he seemed mostly harmless, but I’m not going to let some unknown person into the house late at night when I’m in my robe and armed with only a bat. (Didn’t have time to grab the gun.)

This all happened at about 11:30.

Livin’ with Leaves

Spring is coming and the proof of that is the weather we’ve been having the last couple of days. We decided to take time off working on the kitchen to rake some leaves.

We had an early snow last Fall and had not raked up any leaves because they had not fallen. Then we get several inches of snow and everything comes down. Leaves, branches, shrubbery…it was ugly. You can refer to my posts starting on November 7th for a recap.

So we finally had a chance to get out in the yard and rake up the thick, wet, matted leaves. Over the last two days, we delivered 720 pounds of leaves to the dump. We are totally wiped out. I kind of re-injured  my left arm while lifting garbage cans of leaves into the bed of the truck.  Susan has a sore arm and a sore back.

But, we got it done and the yard looks like it might return.

So it’s back to the kitchen.

Down Draft Ducting Day

I woke up to another blanket of snow. Not sure how much we’re going to get but it is still coming down.

Today is the day we are installing the ducting for the downdraft fan. And when I say “we”, I mean Carter from Anderson Sheet Metal. It’s 7:45 AM and Carter is already down in the crawl space getting to work.

8:13AM: Here’s the first accomplishment, the vent.

He asked if I wanted brown or white for the vent cover. I obviously chose white because I thought it would be easier to paint with the dark green trim color. Now that I see it in place, I like it as is.

Here are a few more pictures of the process.

Carter is really cruising along.  He’s finished under the house and is installing the last pieces of duct pipe.

Yesterday I went into the crawl space to knock the glass out of this window. That is to be the route of the fan duct. Here is how it looks now.

9:17AM: Carter is finished. He will be returning in a couple of weeks to install the fan. That will mean, cabinets are going in. I just hope I'm not being too optimistic about that time line.

Here are my final pictures of the install.

It is still snowing.

Paint Scraping Tips

While Susan continues to mud and sand the walls, I have moved on from drywall to paint scraping. Susan wants to paint the windows the color of the cabinets. but they have been painted over so many times and so sloppily, the trim and mullions have lost all their detail.

We are bringing the detail back by pain stakingly removing the paint right down to the wood. The heat gun is an amazing tool for this however I found another way to easily remove paint.

You must remove the trim, trying not to destroy it in the process. Then you put it out on the deck for about three weeks and make sure the trim gets rained on and snowed on and is exposed to all the weather that winter has to throw at it.

When you bring them back inside and let them dry for a day or two, the paint becomes remarkably brittle and cracks away from the wood. All you need is a good putty knife to scrape away the loose paint. What remains you can easily take off with the heat gun.

I completed one whole set of window trim today. Pretty good!

Drywall Doneness

I am going out on a limb here and declaring the end of dry walling.

There might be little patch jobs here and there but I really think I've gotten everything.

Susan is mudding and taping now and hopefully, she'll be finished within a day or two. We still have a bunch of windows to scrape.

I however, m taking the rest of the day off to get caught up on a cartooning job I'm working on.    

Another Snow Storm

We had a nice little dusting of snow on Sunday. It was enough to run the snow blower, but just barely.

This morning, I woke up to another five inches of light fluffy whiteness. 

I know that picture above is a little dark but trust me when I say it shows a good solid five inches of snow.

I have been out and started to get ready for a blow. However, it is still snowing. It’s pretty light right now. I’m not sure how much more is on the way. My weather apps show there might but more snow in about an hour but no indication of how much.

I’m heading out now to blow. I’m not sure if I’m going to cover my whole area of responsibility or just the driveway and sidewalks.

I suspect I’ll do it all.

1 Hour, 55 Minutes Later: I did it all! I am beat. Barely have the strength to type. I’ll be back shortly.

1 Hour Later, 11:25AM: Okay, I am refreshed. I shall continue.

It appears the snow is done for awhile and I’m glad I got out when I did to get the snow blowing completed.

As I said, I did everything. The snow was deep enough and heavy enough that I had to go pretty slow and sometimes take only half a swath of snow.

So, I did the driveway, the alley, and the sidewalk for most of the block. it took almost 2 hours. But now it's done and I'm ready to face the rest of the day.

Yesterday, I completed the drywalling for most of the kitchen. I have a couple of places that I still need to do some repair work on. And I haven't finished the floor yet.

I'm waiting for a call from Craig at Anderson Sheet Metal to arrange an appointment to look at my ducting problem.

Susan is painting the window in the pantry as I write this. It's a big step forward but we still have five more windows to strip.

Tomorrow is a ski day so nothing will happen from me. I best try to be as productive as I can today.

Brick Wall

Well, I've run into a problem as far as dealing with my down draft fan for the kitchen island. I am running across information that is indicating that we may not be able to use the down draft the way we want.

I have decided to consult with somebody who knows more about this than I do.

I've called a guy at a place who does sheet metal, ducting and deals with gas. I'm hoping I can get some info from him on how to run the ducting for the fan.

My original plan is not working out. I have an alternative but I need to know if it's workable.

In the meantime, I still have to finish closing in the floor and then I'll get to drywalling and the taping and mudding that goes with that.

More details to follow.

Remodel Remodel Remodel

I am surprised to discover I haven't posted lately. I guess we have been making so much progress that I haven't had time to write.

Most of the electrical work is complete. We have a new sub panel and a bunch of new circuits.

Susan continues to work on stripping the many layers of paint off the windows. She has about 25 hours into the window in the pantry. She has been working with heat guns and strippers and scrappers. She went out yesterday and bought a new heat gun at Harbor Freight. It has made all the difference and she says she will never strip paint with anything but a heat gun.

I've been working on closing up the floor. I'm getting there but it's slow. I think I have figured out how to deal with the venting for our down draft fan. I'll know more in the coming days. 

Once I've finished the floor, we can finish drywalling and get the mudding and taping accomplished. At that point, we should be ready to start installing cabinets.

I don't think we're going to make our one month deadline. It's okay. We're not suffering that badly with our makeshift kitchen arrangement.   

Workin’ on the Weekend

I haven’t been posting but that doesn’t mean we haven’t been working. Except for a Ski Day on Thursday, we have been making progress.

We made really good progress on Wednesday when Jerry was here. We created chase ways to run wire for all the outlets and switches we want.

We are adding a sub panel below the main panel because it is just too full. We’ve made lots of accommodations to separate some circuit and reduce the load.

The one that had me concerned was moving the light switch in the Pantry to the other side if the Dining Room door. I ran the wire yesterday through the holes we drilled and it is hooked up and working  like it should.

I also ran wire for the dedicated microwave outlet and more wire to reduce the load on the outlets on the southeast corner of the kitchen.

Today I kicked ass on the old drain pipe shown above that was at one time the drain for the sink in the original kitchen. It’s hard to believe that the pantry area was once a kitchen. It's so tiny.

I hammered this 2x4 into place between the wall studs to create a brace for the vent pipe to sit on. I know it’s not very pretty but nobody but you is ever going to see it again.

We have to run out and get some caps for those two cut pipes and then I can patch the wall.

I think I’m going to spend the rest of the day cutting up an old cabinet for more fire wood.

It’s still winter here.

Smells Like...

We have been plagued with the smell of skunk for three days now. Tonight is the first time I have noticed that I haven't noticed it. 

It rolled in pretty strong last night while we were watching TV and I smelled faint whiffs periodically throughout the day.

Electrical Jerry was here today and we started mapping out what needs to happen for the wiring. It took some work and the schedule sheet we have for the electrical box is not terribly accurate. We'll be fixing that.

In the meantime, I spent about 200 bucks on more wiring stuff and Jerry will return tomorrow to continue the wiring project.

Gassy Monday

It is 8:45 and we have a new gas line into the kitchen. Two guys from Anderson Sheet Metal showed up at 7:45 and they were done in an hour. I’m pretty impressed. I was quoted $1,134.00 for this job. I hope the estimator over estimated the time it would take and the final invoice will drop a little.

So now that the gas line project is out of the way, it’s time to continue with electrical considerations while Susan will continue taping and mudding.

I’m trying to get some prep work done because Electrical Jerry is coming tomorrow and I have to get the most out of his valuable time.

But What About the Yard?!

I woke this morning to the smell of an angry skunk. The whole house had minor but distinct smell of skunk. It's still here at 3PM. It's cleared out of the neighborhood but you definitely notice it when you come into the house. Maybe a skunk has moved into the basement.

We did more work in the kitchen today. Susan worked in the pantry with more mudding and I tore out more drywall for my wiring.

It's a half decent day out today with the thermometer hitting 40ish. I was outside looking at the front lawn and it does not look pretty.

The lawn is coated with thick wet leaves that will take some intense, prodigious raking to get up. I would prefer to wait until the leaves dry out a little more but that could be April.