In the garden, and RAIN!!!! by SIGNYM

Quote:
Originally posted by SIGNYM:
SIX, you have experience painting. Have you ever used painter's tape? We're using the stuff from 3M that promises not to let paint "bleed" under the tape edge, and I've got to say that (unlike other tapes) this does a nice job leaving a crisp line when the tape is peeled off. But the tape is SO adhesive it's actually pulled paint off the wall. I know youre not supposed to leave i on more than 24 hours, so we've been careful not to tape unless we can paint/peel tape within that time period.

Any advice?

3M has always worked good for me. It's hard to explain exactly how "hard" I put on the tape, but unlike how I force the back of my pointer fingernail with my thumb into tape when putting packing tape on boxes or aluminum tape on hard drive magnets who's coating broke when removing them, easy does it when putting painter's tape on a surface. I usually use my thumb to put a smooth taught line on it, but not a lot of pressure. You don't want paint getting underneath the tape or what's the point, right?

That being said, I usually remove the tape immediately after I'm done painting whatever surface I'm doing. If I'm painting a wall, I'm cutting in with the paintbrush in the corners first, then I'm hitting the inside with the rollers. If I'm putting on more than one coat, I make sure I have time in a single day to let the first coat dry and put on a second one then immediately remove the tape after that. I don't like putting on the second coat after I go to sleep for the night because you're in danger of ripping off more than you want to when you finally get around to pulling the tape then.

I'm assuming that you were having problems with the paint that you just laid down ripping off with the paint, and not whatever you were covering? At least in my experience, that's usually the case if I need to do touchups. If you pull that tape off as soon as you can after you're done painting that should eliminate that problem.

But if you're pulling up stuff that was under the tape that you put down, you're putting it on too hard. In that case, Kiki's video would probably be a good place to start to find a tape with less adhesive power, but at the same time, I don't have that problem with 3M tape, so it's really just a learning process to know that you do it right the second time.

Good luck

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Nice to know that you're starting on your property! Does that mean that your friend's work is done? Has he passed inspection? Fingers crossed!

I'll believe it when I see it, but yeah, it sounds like it should start soon. My friend's work is hardly done. There's a TON more to do over there. We did pretty much do everything outside that needs to be done except for the outside of the garage, but there was a lot of damage done to the inside of the house from leaks.

I told him that this is because he has hoarders living in the house. Being a former hoarder myself, I know the mindset. It's got to be extremely tough for them now that they're in the position where somebody outside has to see what they live like. I'm sure they're mortified. They were happily sending their full rent on time every month just to keep him from going inside. It wasn't until the city contacted him because how bad the property looked on the outside and neighbors were complaining that he saw the hoard and the fact that they were letting the ceilings start to cave in without complaining to him about any of it. The house stinks.

But our main focus with him is to get the outside watertight, which I believe were right on the cusp of doing. And second to that is to continue to get good visits from the inspectors. They're working with him, but it needs to look as though there is continual progress being made. Quite a few things were checked off of his list, but they're coming back in a month.

Fortunately, if he can get his shit together, he should be able to do a lot of that inside work in several hour stints a few days a week after work without needing any help.

That being said, I did have a pretty serious talk with him tonight. I get the feeling that his Thursday visit is up in the air at the moment since he and his fiancee got in a fight at the wedding, or shortly after, because of how drunk he was. He said something about how he knows she means well but he feels like she's treating him like a child.

I let him talk a bit about it, but then I had to say my piece....

I used my own bad behavior and the fact that I practically ruined my own life with my drinking as an example of what he had better not do.

I started with saying that if he really loves her, which he says that he does, then he's going to have to take this seriously and realize that he's lucky he's got somebody who gives a shit enough to treat him like a child. I told him that I wasn't having any of that shit and I was going to do what I did and not let anybody tell me otherwise. That's why I just turned 40 years old and I'm single and didn't have anybody there for the last who knows how many birthdays. It's also why even though I've been sober for quite a few years now I'm still single. My mind is different. My teeth are an issue. Doors have closed on me that were still open before I sunk deep into the black. I also let him know that the Icehouse I saw him drinking the other day is the Devil's Brew that took me. He used to drink IPA's and expensive beers because he was more of a contissuer and enjoyed trying them out for the taste. When you're drinking Icehouse, you're just drinking to get drunk.

I let him know that I've been concerned for him for a while. I'd have conversations with him and a week later it was like they never happened. I didn't know what the hell was up with that until we started working together and I realized how much he was drinking.

I let him know while I was saying all of this that I'm the last person in the world to judge him since I've been through it all. I let him know about how I'd ruined not only my health and a lot of prospects in life with it, but a lot of relationships that I might never be able to fix.

I let him know how long I've been working at getting better, and that he's a part of that now. I let him know that I don't want to push him away by coming off as preachy. I let him know that I don't want to see what I let happen to me happen to him.

He knows. He said that he's realized that for decades he's been fine just smoking weed, and the alcohol was always just something he did with friends and he's worried that he feels the need to self medicate with the beer now.

He thanked me for being a friend.

I don't know where it's going to go from here. I don't know how much he's had to face any of this before. I don't know if others have been watching this behavior start to spiral for a while and didn't say anything or if he's been able to keep it a secret up until now. I'll be there for him. I do need to start getting my work done, but we're not done working together on his stuff too.

I'm hoping that whether or not his argument with his fiancee precludes him coming on Thursday that we can at least spend a few hours one day this weekend starting my stuff.

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Congrats on the AWESOME job decluttering! We're not quite there yet; still doing repairs and such. But I look forward to the say when we too will start tossing en masse!!!

Yep! Almost done here!

I didn't get around to going through the Christmas boxes for round 2 yet, but that's only because I've been busy until just now doing other stuff that needed doing.

Everything is down from the attic now except for what's packed, even a closet full of clothes that I had up there. Got another can of trash out, and 3 more boxes for Goodwill. Hoping to finish the Christmas stuff and the clothes in the next 2 days. After that, all that's really left is finding a home for the antique bedroom set, one of the other two full sized bed frames and sorting what isn't organized in the garage.

Do Right, Be Right. :)

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Monday, August 26, 2019 11:18 PM

Beautiful weather for the end of August into the beginning of September.

Flipside, I probably did something dumb today. Lightbulb blew out in the kitchen overnight. Well, I fixed it myself today. I am okay but it could have been bad. It's just that I am so used to doing things myself.

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Monday, August 26, 2019 11:20 PM

Still cleaning earrings. Just redid 5 pairs as when I first did them I realized that I didn't do a good job. One is a favourite pair of silver musical notes.

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Monday, August 26, 2019 11:21 PM

Do you mean it blew out and shattered?

If you did, how did you get it out?

That recently happened to me, and I was able to find a pair of needle nosed pliers with a rubber coating on the handles to get it out. I still should have turned the electric off before doing the deed, but I've been shocked by 110v before. No big deal. You guys use 110 up on Canada, right? Not risking your life everyday with 220v like they do in Europe?

In the future, if you've got some potatoes laying around, they're good for getting the bulb out. I didn't have any though.

Nice job on the work, btw Brenda and Sigs. Nice to hear that everyone is making progress to their goals.

Do Right, Be Right. :)

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Monday, August 26, 2019 11:25 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by 1KIKI:
Sigh. I'm jealous of you guys, making so much progress.

I guess I'll just have to keep on keeping on. (Though that includes keeping an eye out on the cat who hasn't pooped in a while, has a low appetites, and has thrown up the small amount of soft food I gave him, immediately after eating- I need to make sure he doesn't need an emergency trip to the vet ... and getting my phone fixed, whose screen just died (I think it's the power connection).)

Aaaaah... You'll get there too.

I know you're retired and not working too, but the difference is that I'm not retirement age and I should be working full time and not have the free time to do everything that I'm doing right now.

Just don't beat yourself too much about the days that you don't get anything accomplished. I've had plenty of those since I was laid off. (It's been 2 months and 2 days now).

You just got to bounce back and get to it.

If you're like me, you're going to find that you start having really good days where you're on a roll and you start to enjoy it. I hope you can feel that, because once you get there it doesn't even feel like work anymore.

Do Right, Be Right. :)

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Tuesday, August 27, 2019 1:05 AM

Goodbye, kind world (George Monbiot) - In common with all those generations which have contemplated catastrophe, we appear to be incapable of understanding what confronts us.

Hey Jack

I appreciate the kind words. I am working 6 hours a day come hell or high water ... fortunately I have a 'hot weather' list of computer and desk work and a 'cooler weather' list of physical work. (It'll be months I think before I get to the 'cooler weather' stuff. It's been ranging 92 - 102 the last couple of months and I expect it'll be ranging that through October.)

It's just that things are piling up and disasters are happening faster than I can manage. I mentioned I had screen doors put in and an exterminator come to kill off a gopher.

But when I went to check to make sure there were no more gopher hills, I found that a critter (not a gopher, probably a raccoon) had literally ripped the siding off my house to get under the house. That was last Thursday. OK - too busy to get to it, put that on hold.

Then a couple of days ago I went to the pharmacy get my scrips that I have to have, and was told THE most important one was 'unavailable' - for months. Not until December. Except for a couple of mfgs where they thought they could try to purchase some August 30th, or another mfg where they could try to purchase some September 16. But it was all very iffy. They'd put in an order and see ... WTF??? After some frantic calls around and going back to the pharmacy they said that it's only the combo pill that's 'unavailable', they could call my doctor to split the scrips into 2. So I'm waiting till the 30th, if that doesn't work out I'm going to ask them to call and split the scrips because I can't, CAN'T, be without and I'm running low.

Then literally last night my phone broke, and it would be no problem to get a new one and have the info transfered over, except I'm not the person who has control of the contract, so I have to work out how to do that. (The last couple of times I needed a new phone, the SIM card from the old one fit in the new one, so I batted my baby blues and they sold me a new, unregistered phone to put my old SIM card in on the QT. But I can't do that now since the SIM card format is different.)

On top of that my cat has been really iffy. He hides illness well, and I have to keep up on whether or not he needs an emergency trip to the vet. (When he was about a year I noticed his appetite was off for a few days, and when I finally checked on how heavy he was hefting, he was skin and bones. He goes downhill quickly.) It sounds silly but I have to hand feed him and see if he's keeping it down.

And I have a crap-ton of important things to do paperwork-wise.

What really stymies me are the problems where I have to do that before I do this ... but I can't do that.

I feel like I'm trying to run in quicksand.

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Tuesday, August 27, 2019 1:42 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by 1kiki:
Hey Jack

I appreciate the kind words. I am working 6 hours a day come hell or high water ... fortunately I have a 'hot weather' list of computer and desk work and a 'cooler weather' list of physical work. (It'll be months I think before I get to the 'cooler weather' stuff. It's been ranging 92 - 102 the last couple of months and I expect it'll be ranging that through October.)

Wow... all the way through October! I feel for you. Did you get your A/C situation fixed? Without A/C that blower saved my summer.

Quote:
It's just that things are piling up and disasters are happening faster than I can manage. I mentioned I had screen doors put in and an exterminator come to kill off a gopher.

But when I went to check to make sure there were no more gopher hills, I found that a critter (not a gopher, probably a raccoon) had literally ripped the siding off my house to get under the house. That was last Thursday. OK - too busy to get to it, put that on hold.

Then a couple of days ago I went to the pharmacy get my scrips that I have to have, and was told THE most important one was 'unavailable' - for months. Not until December. Except for a couple of mfgs where they thought they could try to purchase some August 30th, or another mfg where they could try to purchase some September 16. But it was all very iffy. They'd put in an order and see ... WTF??? After some frantic calls around and going back to the pharmacy they said that it's only the combo pill that's 'unavailable', they could call my doctor to split the scrips into 2. So I'm waiting till the 30th, if that doesn't work out I'm going to ask them to call and split the scrips because I can't, CAN'T, be without and I'm running low.

Then literally last night my phone broke, and it would be no problem to get a new one and have the info transfered over, except I'm not the person who has control of the contract, so I have to work out how to do that. (The last couple of times I needed a new phone, the SIM card from the old one fit in the new one, so I batted my baby blues and they sold me a new, unregistered phone to put my old SIM card in on the QT. But I can't do that now since the SIM card format is different.)

On top of that my cat has been really iffy. He hides illness well, and I have to keep up on whether or not he needs an emergency trip to the vet. (When he was about a year I noticed his appetite was off for a few days, and when I finally checked on how heavy he was hefting, he was skin and bones. He goes downhill quickly.) It sounds silly but I have to hand feed him and see if he's keeping it down.

That's quite a list. :(

You're going to get through it though.

Not to instigate a pissing contest, but to show solidarity here, I've still got quite a few of the issues that I had at the beginning of summer that I'm either dealing with or haven't even started dealing with yet.

Hrmmmm... let's start with what I have fixed.

1. Racoon is out, and no more are coming back in.
2. The fixes from the piece of shit car I did last summer are thankfully keeping it hobbling along, but I still refuse to drive it further than about 35 miles just in case.
3. Most of my hoard is gone from the house and garage and I'm just trying to wrap the rest of it up and organize everything.

Next, the things I'm dealing with...

1. Looking for a job, dealing with the unemployment office. (Which seems to be extraordinarily helpful compared to Illinois. Something I didn't take notice of last time when I drank my way through it).
2. Finishing cleaning the hoard out.
3. Helping my friend deal with his major issues so I can get help with mine.
4. Getting my yard back under control.
5. My never-ending battle with the ants. (At least they're out of the house, even if they're still tearing the patio apart). Moles are a problem here too and seem to be tag-teaming the perimeter of my house with the ants.
6. Halfway done with the front steps, but I got sidetracked looking for that countersink set and did all this dehoarding first.
7. Need to fix some bad wood on my sub-facia in the front of the house and put all new aluminum up before I can put gutters up.

Things I've put off or can't get to without help.
1. The gorram porch floor is missing.

2. My front porch overhang is sinking and causing my roof to start bowing in. (I can't fix that until I get the back porch fixed because I don't want curious eyes poking around and seeing the back porch issues).
3. Still haven't fixed that drain pipe. (Same... need the back porch fixed).
4. I need to put gutters on the house finally (Ditto)
5. I need to pull up all the pavers on the patio and put massive amounts of poison down for the ants, then figure out a new porch in back. (I'm not putting any money into things like this for the house until I know for a fact that the back porch is going to be okay first).
6. All the other house rehab stuff I should have finished years ago (not until the porch gets fixed).
7. Getting these damned teeth ripped out and putting in dentures and a partial (This should be done right around new years).

Long story short... you're in good company.

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And I have a crap-ton of important things to do paperwork-wise.

Hope you're making a to-do list. It's the only way I keep my sanity.

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What really stymies me are the problems where I have to do that before I do this ... but I can't do that.

Tell me about it. That gorram back porch is killing me. So much depends on that one piece of the puzzle.

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I feel like I'm trying to run in quicksand.

If I'm not having dreams of my house falling down or my teeth falling out, it's those dreams where you're trying to run from something but it feels like you're running in slow motion.

But I'm having those bad dreams less and less frequently now that I'm actually working on my problems finally.

You don't have to do everything in one day. I know full well how it feels like you're getting nothing done, even when you're working all day at something, but eventually that done list will start getting bigger and the to-do list will start shrinking. Just keep at it.

And eventually the bad luck will let up and give you a break. Who knows? Maybe even a little good luck will come your way.

Keep your head up.

Do Right, Be Right. :)

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Tuesday, August 27, 2019 2:12 AM

Goodbye, kind world (George Monbiot) - In common with all those generations which have contemplated catastrophe, we appear to be incapable of understanding what confronts us.

Hey Jack - first off CONGRATULATIONS ON YOUR HOARD !!! That is a major, major accomplishment, and maybe you can even see me smiling for you all the way out here !!!

Anyway, I figured out how to get so many hours worked in a day, and that was to recognize I don't have the strength, energy, or stamina I used to. So I limit what I try to do physically under bad conditions. You can only do what you can do ...

THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU for sharing your list! It's not just me. THAT'S a RELIEF!!

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Hope you're making a to-do list. It's the only way I keep my sanity.

HA HA !! How MANY lists do you want to see?

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If I'm not having dreams of my house falling down ...

My nightmare dreams about my house mostly have to do with rain (which is weird b/c we hardly get rain here) and it's raining, and the entire drywall ceiling in every room starts bowing down with little streams of water running down off the low spots ... and then I look up and I see the underside of the attic roof (somehow) with rain just pouring in ... why that is my PARTICULAR nightmare idk ... but I really hear you on that!

Thanks Jack.

Quote:
Keep your head up.

You too.

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Tuesday, August 27, 2019 2:19 AM

I believe in solving problems, not sharing them.

Hey KIKI, don't forget, we're working in air conditioned space. I set the A/C in the zone where we're working to 78F, not terribly cool I know, but I'll bet it's a full 22 degrees (OR MORE!) cooler than what you're experiencing. Do you know what I'd be doing at 100F?

Nothing!!!

We had to go out for our teeth cleaning, and just walking to and from the car was exhausting! I think you can only realistically expect to get anything done beginning in October.

Altho I have to say, when I DO have to work outdoors in the heat I find it refreshing to wet my shirt down.

*****

Did a little something different for dinner today, did "southern style" ... collardgreens and bacon/onion (Dear Daughter had green beans bc of her food sensitivities), roast yam, and oven "fried" chicken, which I made from a modified ATK recipe. yum yum!

-----------
Pity would be no more,
If we did not MAKE men poor - William Blake

You idiots have been oppressing the entire sexual spectrum as long as you have existed. I can't wait for the day your kind is dead - WISHIMAY

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Tuesday, August 27, 2019 2:53 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by 6IXSTRINGJACK:
Do you mean it blew out and shattered?

If you did, how did you get it out?

That recently happened to me, and I was able to find a pair of needle nosed pliers with a rubber coating on the handles to get it out. I still should have turned the electric off before doing the deed, but I've been shocked by 110v before. No big deal. You guys use 110 up on Canada, right? Not risking your life everyday with 220v like they do in Europe?

In the future, if you've got some potatoes laying around, they're good for getting the bulb out. I didn't have any though.

Nice job on the work, btw Brenda and Sigs. Nice to hear that everyone is making progress to their goals.

Do Right, Be Right. :)

Sorry, I meant it just the bulb just died. And I stood on a chair almost on tip-toes to change it. Should have called the manager to do it. But sometimes I am just too stubborn for my own good.

Thanks. Still got more to go through and still more shredding to get at. And I will.

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Tuesday, August 27, 2019 2:54 AM

Goodbye, kind world (George Monbiot) - In common with all those generations which have contemplated catastrophe, we appear to be incapable of understanding what confronts us.

Signy

Does THAT sound good!

I also like mixed greens (collard, turnip, mustard, kale) w/ bacon and onion, polenta (organic, pre-made from TJs) instead of grits or corn muffins, and slow-roasted pork shoulder. Some time I'm going to get tired of the plain pork shoulder and make it bbq or pulled pork. But now is not yet the time!

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Tuesday, August 27, 2019 10:36 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by 1kiki:
Hey Jack - first off CONGRATULATIONS ON YOUR HOARD !!! That is a major, major accomplishment, and maybe you can even see me smiling for you all the way out here !!!

Thanks.

It feels amazing. Then to be able to go back into things I've already done and get rid of more? I'm infected with the purge.

I really had no idea how good it is to get it all out. I've got 8 years in this house now, and a fairly good idea of what I use on a regular basis, what I use seldomly but still holds value, and what I never use at all. I have no idea why I furnished every room in this huge house when it was just me here. I have a feeling once I start going through my clothes I'm going to wonder why I still have some from 10 and 20 years ago that I never wear and I've got enough to fill two bedroom sets and two closets when I regularly only wear about 5 pairs of jeans and a dozen or so tops.

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Anyway, I figured out how to get so many hours worked in a day, and that was to recognize I don't have the strength, energy, or stamina I used to. So I limit what I try to do physically under bad conditions. You can only do what you can do ...

That's good to figure out. I don't have the same limitations, but I've got my own. I would joke with people at work toward the end there who only saw "beast mode" Jack that I'm the laziest mofo they've ever known. I do waste a lot of days, and I admire people who live busy lifestyles and never seem to just relax. I honestly don't believe I could have ever gotten rid of this hoard if I was working full time. As it is now, even on the days that I do a ton of work, it usually takes me about a half pot of coffee and a good deal of time putzing around here and other places online, and sometimes a few good hours after I wake up before I even begin. That gets me in trouble sometimes because when I really get on a roll it's not uncommon for me to be up until 4 or 5AM working on stuff and then the next day is all messed up too.

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THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU for sharing your list! It's not just me. THAT'S a RELIEF!!

You're welcome. That was my intention. I know most if not all of that I've talked about here before over the last 6 months or more, but I thought it might make you feel better if I was to condense everything I could remember into a list to show you that you're not the only person that luck has taken a bad turn on of late.

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Hope you're making a to-do list. It's the only way I keep my sanity.

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HA HA !! How MANY lists do you want to see?

However many you want to make. That's what the support group here is for, right?

I find it therapeutic to list it all out myself. Even though that list looks daunting several months later, a lot of that is reasonably quick fixes compared to what I've already gotten done. Let's just say that most of that stuff isn't going to take the 3 months it's taken to dehoard the house. Once we get that porch situation handled, I'd say half of the remaining list should only take a few days to get done.

Making lists is such a great practice. But honestly, I haven't been doing my own to-do list yet other than this little journal of sorts I've been writing in this thread. There has just been SOOOOOOOO much to do that I haven't really needed to, and since I knew that so much of it is reliant on having that porch fixed first I didn't want to really worry about a lot of it until I could do something about it.

I figure once we get that porch done I'll make a proper to-do list for myself.

(Oh, BTW... I should probably add installing that blower fan and making what would have otherwise been a pretty miserable summer for me much more agreeable to the work that needed to be done)

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If I'm not having dreams of my house falling down ...

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My nightmare dreams about my house mostly have to do with rain (which is weird b/c we hardly get rain here) and it's raining, and the entire drywall ceiling in every room starts bowing down with little streams of water running down off the low spots ... and then I look up and I see the underside of the attic roof (somehow) with rain just pouring in ... why that is my PARTICULAR nightmare idk ... but I really hear you on that!

:)

Having had to replace not one, but two failed sump pumps in knee-high freezing cold water in the middle of the winter that turned my lips blue and ultimately required me to do so while naked and crawling around a 2 1/2 foot high crawl space, I can definitely relate with the water nightmares.

My other house nightmare is tornados. Since I don't have insurance ATM, a tornado would ruin everything.

Quote:
Thanks Jack.

You too.

You're welcome, Kiki.

Good luck.

Do Right, Be Right. :)

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Tuesday, August 27, 2019 10:54 AM

I believe in solving problems, not sharing them.

Quote:
Originally posted by 1kiki:
Signy

Does THAT sound good!

I also like mixed greens (collard, turnip, mustard, kale) w/ bacon and onion, polenta (organic, pre-made from TJs) instead of grits or corn muffins, and slow-roasted pork shoulder. Some time I'm going to get tired of the plain pork shoulder and make it bbq or pulled pork. But now is not yet the time!

Huh, that sounds good! I'll try it next time. I make a good ... no, according to the family GREAT "bbq" pork, so between the ketchup (red) and the greens (green) I'll have the "colors" covered (I try to do a greenish veggie and a not greenish veggie every meal, plus a "eat all you want and it won't make you fat" side ... maybe cauliflower would fill the bill).

-----------
Pity would be no more,
If we did not MAKE men poor - William Blake

You idiots have been oppressing the entire sexual spectrum as long as you have existed. I can't wait for the day your kind is dead - WISHIMAY

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Tuesday, August 27, 2019 11:25 AM

I believe in solving problems, not sharing them.

OMG, lists ... I have lists of lists of "things to do". MY personal home-related nightmare is about the framing coming apart. Must be from the townhouse that we used to live in that was real "flexible" ... If we slammed the front door the front window would shake. Well, I've poked my head up into the attic crawl-space of THIS house, and I'm none to thrilled about what I see up there, either.

So I have a "XXX's random list of things to do" where I jot down some of the things that I see that I'm likely to forget, but ... as I have said to hubby ... everywhere I look I see a DOZEN things to do, and I mean that literally.

Right now I'm working on several tracks:

Health for myself and family
Dr appointments,
Eye exams,
Surgery for dear daughter,
Formal therapy for dear daughter
Ending my never-ending sinus problem (have S aureus in my sinuses again, but will tackle it with oral antibiotic and specially-compounded antibiotic rinse solution)

House
Finish up after the consequences of the renovation (doorway moving and window replacment and complete replacement of all waste pipes) means finishing painting, clean up bathroom and get dear daughter moved back into her bedroom, stuccoing the holes that the plumbers left etc
Fix the fascia behind the gutters and either remove them or replace them with good stuff ... SIX, don't get the cheap Homx Depox plastic gutters, they sag, they leak, the seams trap leaves and debris and then they overflow ... sometimes towards the fascia side where they trap water and rot the wood. :-(
Declutter (given dear daughter's hoarding tendencies this is going to be an item-by-item struggle)
Renovate our laundry area and all four bathrooms. (Originally we were going to leave one of them alone, but dear daughter's compulsive picking impelled her to peel paint from the walls, door, and cabinetry in a random pattern. Plus the pumbing under the sink needs to be replaced and given the custom-sized sink and cabinet, plus the discovery of lead paint on the cabinet we'll just go with replacement)
Complete landscaping front yard and revise irrigation system all the way around.

Financial/legal
Get our family trust and wills updated, get a special needs trust written, limited conservatorship, durable power of atty between hubby and myself, also medical proxy and ... oh, whatever that thing is called that the hospital asks you about whenever you go in for a procedure
Xfer a credit union account from one FCU to another one closer to home. (They have been bouncing me back and forth, one doesn't work with "shared" institutions and the other one is giving me a hard time about wire xfers)
Get my Medicare application on-track
Get my Medigap insurance application started
Close out/ consolidate some of our accounts so they're easier to keep track of

Disaster-prep
Finish preparing for The Big One. It's coming. I know it is, I just don't know when.

Plus a few things I don't want to get into online.

I feel like a dog in a forest of fire-hydrants! But right now, my IMMEDIATE goal is completing the painting in dear daughter's room to her specifications so she and her major furniture can be moved back. (her hoard is going to be gone over, item by item)

Yep! Well, given all that.. time to get to work!

-----------
Pity would be no more,
If we did not MAKE men poor - William Blake

You idiots have been oppressing the entire sexual spectrum as long as you have existed. I can't wait for the day your kind is dead - WISHIMAY

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Tuesday, August 27, 2019 2:16 PM

Goodbye, kind world (George Monbiot) - In common with all those generations which have contemplated catastrophe, we appear to be incapable of understanding what confronts us.

Quote:
have S aureus in my sinuses again, but will tackle it with oral antibiotic and specially-compounded antibiotic rinse solution

I'm glad it's just that!

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Tuesday, August 27, 2019 3:21 PM

Goodbye, kind world (George Monbiot) - In common with all those generations which have contemplated catastrophe, we appear to be incapable of understanding what confronts us.

When it comes to lists - I kinda combine you two. Like Signy, everywhere I look I see many, many things to do. At the moment I'm not working off of any lists (except trying to keep up with the disasters like my meds and my phone and the critters / siding, as they come up). Because if I get bored with one thing I can always shift to another without having to even think at all. Every bit of stuff I do is all good.

But then ... my memory ... oy vey ...

When I think of something and it's especially vital and I can't get to it right away ... I write it down. I *have* to. Otherwise, I forget. So I have lists. And lists. And lists. AAAAaaaaaaand lists!

FORTUNATELY they're all in one appointment book. Yeah, they're disorganized. And I have to thumb through the book to find them. But they're there. And I know where they are. And that's what I need.

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Tuesday, August 27, 2019 3:26 PM

Well it seems that we can all make each other feel better by posting all of the shit we're collectively dealing with.

That's a joke, but it's also serious too. Drinking issue aside with my friend, I look at all the stuff he has on his plate on top of his full time job and it's a wonder he can even function at all. Seeing the struggles of others and empathizing with them puts your own situation into perspective. Well... at least I think it does.

Yeah Sigs. Thanks for the tip on the gutters. I already have a place I'm going to get them from that will roll out the exact lenghts I need in full lengths so there are no breaks to seal. On top of that, it's much higher quality construction, much wider gutters and it's cheaper to boot.

I'm not sure if that's the same all over the country, but I'd recommend anybody that is going to DIY gutters to price it out first at a legit place vs the hardware stores. I'm guessing the only reason that Menards and the other big box stores make any money off of the shit gutters that they push on people is because most people would just go into the job assuming that it would be cheaper that way and they end up screwing themselves 3 different ways.

Got another carload over to Goodwill today and put a cooler I haven't used in 10 years out on the street.

Going to centralize all of my clothes and linens in one room and start going through them, washing whatever needs to be washed, bagging whatever I'm not keeping and prepping for what is hopefully one of my last Goodwill drop off trips in my life.

Do Right, Be Right. :)

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Tuesday, August 27, 2019 11:58 PM

Managed to get grocery shopping done, vacuuming and paper recycling done today.

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Wednesday, August 28, 2019 12:30 PM

Beautiful sunny day here.

And I am off to the chiropractor.

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Wednesday, August 28, 2019 2:49 PM

So... didn't do the clothes/linens thing last night. I decided to do something else that was nagging at me and I wasn't even sure if I was going to do it.

I tore up the carpet in the furthest room away from the stairwell into the attic that was finished for some reason probably decades before I bought the house. With that overhang issue and my front roof, I'd noticed this spring that some of the plywood floor under the carpet had popped up in places which has been a huge cause of concern for me. Although this room (that doesn't need to be carpeted) doesn't have carpet down anymore, I'm glad that I did this to ease my mind. It's no big deal. It's not the nightmare situation I was imagining it to possibly be. There are two layers of plywood flooring. What's happening is a much smaller shift than I had imagined, and these floors were put down in the good 'ole days with straight up hammers and nails instead of screwed in. The slight shift that I will realign when I jack up the overhang and get it back to level just caused the edges of the 2nd layer of plywood to pop up about 1/4" under the carpet.

Sigh... Glad to have figured that out. One less potential catastrophe to give me house crumbling nightmares.

Worked with the state on some online resume action stuff. Things I know I could have done at home, but sometimes it's good to make appointments and do things like this outside of your own home where a million and one things can distract you from the task at hand. Probably did more on that front in 3 hours today than I would have done in months at home if left to my own devices.

SOMEBODY TOOK THE EXERCISE MACHINE FINALLY!!!!!

Idiot didn't read the sign I put on it apparently though. They left the brand new replacement computer/screen for it in the box that was set right on top of one of the legs. I sure do hope the one that was on there still works after having been out in the rain all day the other day. Going to leave the backup screen out on the curb until trash day, but I can't imagine any scenario where they'd come back to pick it up. Well... maybe if they haven't thrown the sign away yet they might actually read it and realized they didn't take everything.

Dummies.

Decided after emptying out all of the dressers to go through clothes that I'm going to keep the antique set afterall. Even though it's not as "masculine" as my folks old set from the 70's that was built like a brick shit house, it's made of much higher quality wood and it just really smells nice when you open the drawers. The set I was going to keep have that "old dresser funk" smell that seems to permiate any clothes that are left in there too long without the drawers being opened.

Another bonus to this set is that it has high legs so it's easy to clean under with a vacuum hose, and is just easier to move around on the pads on the legs than the other monstrous set.

Talked to my friend today too. He's working out his shit with his fiancee still, but it looks like he is going to still come over tomorrow after work so we can get those measurements and maybe pick up lumber. REALLY looking forward to that, but I won't get my hopes up until it happens.

Anyway... I've got more free time today than I thought I was going to have going into it. Need to figure out what I want to tackle next so it doesn't go to waste.

Do Right, Be Right. :)

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Wednesday, August 28, 2019 7:20 PM

Nice. Somebody just took my old mini-fridge from my drinking days and the busted computer monitor.

Found it odd that they took a busted computer monitor and didn't take a box with scrap wire that was under it though. Worth a few bucks even if he didn't bother to strip the rubber off the copper.

Wish I had something else that was ready to put out for the light haulers, but I still have some decisions to make on manageable stuff that still can go out from the garage and there's no way I'm getting that bedroom set out to the curb without some assistance.

Already have 2 1/2 cans full and it's not even garbage day. And the lawn and all my yardwork is already done too. Strange not having a super heavy load of work to do in a rush to get the trash out on garbage day.

I think I'm going to take it easy the rest of the night, enjoy my dinner that's going to have some homegrown tomatoes added that a neighbor gave me while I was mowing my lawn, then finally get to sorting through the clothes and linens tomorrow before my friend comes over to start our game plan.

Do Right, Be Right. :)

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Wednesday, August 28, 2019 7:52 PM

I believe in solving problems, not sharing them.

Hey SIX, sounds like you managed to give your friend lot of advice. I wonder ... the two of you are in very different situations. He "has" a lot - a lot of connections, but also a lot of responsibilities. I wonder if he was thinking to himself ..That SIX, he's a lucky guy. He can do what he wants, when he wants, without having to think about anyone else A little bt of the grass being greener on the other side, perhaps. It sounds to me like you did a pretty good job describing the downsides of your lifestyle. Maybe gave him a little bit of a wakeup call ... not just about drinking, but about other things too. I hope he takes your discussion to heart. I hope he can solve the dilemmas that seem to be so stressful to him.

*****

Yesterday was kind of a dud. Took the dog for her usual walk. Did KP. Started the dinner. Had to get more painter's tap, a couple of 2X4s for hubby, a new edger's brush, and some weedkiller ... but before that I had to fill a car tire ... turns out all of them were low ... but before that we had to drag the compressor out from under a pile of lumber. Refill the washer fluid. Hose the car off, it was filthy. Also grab some essential groceries that we were missing. By the time I got done it was 3PM. Hubby wanted me to watch something (45 minutes). Then I was so sleepy I nodded off ... for over an hour! Gave up on the idea of painting and just finished fixing dinner instead.

So we're painting today.

The flaw with the painter's tape is that the sealer didn't stick to plaster. How does THAT happen? But we just repaired the holes as best we could and are painting today.

Speaking of which ... this was my break. Back to work!

-----------
Pity would be no more,
If we did not MAKE men poor - William Blake

You idiots have been oppressing the entire sexual spectrum as long as you have existed. I can't wait for the day your kind is dead - WISHIMAY

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Thursday, August 29, 2019 12:28 PM

Goodbye, kind world (George Monbiot) - In common with all those generations which have contemplated catastrophe, we appear to be incapable of understanding what confronts us.

"The flaw with the painter's tape is that the sealer didn't stick to plaster." UH ... no primer or sealer?

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Thursday, August 29, 2019 12:34 PM

Goodbye, kind world (George Monbiot) - In common with all those generations which have contemplated catastrophe, we appear to be incapable of understanding what confronts us.

As for me, yesterday wasn't the hottest day ever, but BOY was it humid! So I didn't manage my 6 hours.

I just wanted to explain that whole '6 hours' thing. If I do anything physical at all under adverse conditions, I poop out in an hour, maybe two. And I'm finished for the day in the literal sense. But if I limit myself to easy stuff, I can keep going.

It looks like we ALL have the stack of before I do this I need to do that - except maybe Brenda! Anyway, yeah, I too need to get going on stuff.

See ya!

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Thursday, August 29, 2019 9:47 PM

I believe in solving problems, not sharing them.

Quote:
Originally posted by 1kiki:
"The flaw with the painter's tape is that the sealer didn't stick to plaster." UH ... no primer or sealer?

There were areas where some wall repair was done ... where a bookcase was pulled off the wall, a built-in desk removed (to be able to replace the window) and a door frame replaced, so some areas had been freshly plastered for repair. We wiped the dust off the plaster (spackle, probably) with a damp rag, then coated it with drywall sealer. Then we coated it with the specialty sealer (because I found that after I found the first). But when we taped it for painting and pulled the tape off afterwards, the sealer failed right at the plaster, there was no sealer left on the wall whatsoever, just bare plaster.

Between yesterday and today we managed to get dear daughter's room (wall stripes) almost entirely finished. There is just a little bit near her doorway that needs doing, plus a few touchups here and there. We could have done a better job, but given that we had no idea what we were doing and my overall lack of energy and dear daughter's overall lack of troubleshooting skills, I think it came out really well: The stripes are straight, the lines are crisp.

Now dear daughter gets to clean the paint drips off the floor! I refuse to get involved! I told her a million times ... "Watch your drips because you're going to have a big cleanup job!"

Now comes the cleanup job! Yes, we had long cardboard pieces to catch the drips, but dd would mange to shift it away from the wall, and she'd let big drips hit th cardboard ... no big deal ... but then she'd step in them and track paint around. No matter how many times I told her not to. Sigh. Well, maybe the pain of cleaning up will get to pay attention next time.

-----------
Pity would be no more,
If we did not MAKE men poor - William Blake

You idiots have been oppressing the entire sexual spectrum as long as you have existed. I can't wait for the day your kind is dead - WISHIMAY

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Thursday, August 29, 2019 10:39 PM

Work today. Got back and did my dishes, cleaned some more earrings. Found another couple of broken ones. I am now down to 1 earring tree still to tackle.

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Thursday, August 29, 2019 10:57 PM

Goodbye, kind world (George Monbiot) - In common with all those generations which have contemplated catastrophe, we appear to be incapable of understanding what confronts us.

Quote:
Originally posted by SIGNYM:
... some areas had been freshly plastered for repair. We wiped the dust off the plaster (spackle, probably) with a damp rag, then coated it with drywall sealer. Then we coated it with the specialty sealer (because I found that after I found the first). But when we taped it for painting and pulled the tape off afterwards, the sealer failed right at the plaster, there was no sealer left on the wall whatsoever, just bare plaster.

I was wondering! I thought you were doing sealer! My experience says it was badly applied by whomever did it. Generally one applies joint compound or whatever in thin layers with drying, some sanding, and wipe-up in between. But if you apply it it too wet/ thin over a dry spot, or don't remove the sanding dust before re-applying, you'll get a poorly bonded later. :( DANG NAB IT!

Quote:
Originally posted by SIGNYM:
Between yesterday and today we managed to get dear daughter's room (wall stripes) almost entirely finished. There is just a little bit near her doorway that needs doing, plus a few touchups here and there. We could have done a better job, but given that we had no idea what we were doing and my overall lack of energy and dear daughter's overall lack of troubleshooting skills, I think it came out really well: The stripes are straight, the lines are crisp.

THAT SEEMS LIKE A BIG BIG ACCOMPLISHMENT!!! YAY!! I hope you're as pleased as I am for you!

Quote:
Originally posted by SIGNYM:
Now dear daughter gets to clean the paint drips off the floor! I refuse to get involved! I told her a million times ... "Watch your drips because you're going to have a big cleanup job!"

Now comes the cleanup job! Yes, we had long cardboard pieces to catch the drips, but dd would mange to shift it away from the wall, and she'd let big drips hit th cardboard ... no big deal ... but then she'd step in them and track paint around. No matter how many times I told her not to. Sigh. Well, maybe the pain of cleaning up will get to pay attention next time.

-----------
Pity would be no more,
If we did not MAKE men poor - William Blake

You idiots have been oppressing the entire sexual spectrum as long as you have existed. I can't wait for the day your kind is dead - WISHIMAY

Sigh as well. What is the cleanup remedy? I hope not too error-prone.

What do you think of how it looks? What does DD think?

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Thursday, August 29, 2019 11:26 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by SIGNYM:
Hey SIX, sounds like you managed to give your friend lot of advice. I wonder ... the two of you are in very different situations. He "has" a lot - a lot of connections, but also a lot of responsibilities. I wonder if he was thinking to himself ..That SIX, he's a lucky guy. He can do what he wants, when he wants, without having to think about anyone else A little bt of the grass being greener on the other side, perhaps. It sounds to me like you did a pretty good job describing the downsides of your lifestyle. Maybe gave him a little bit of a wakeup call ... not just about drinking, but about other things too. I hope he takes your discussion to heart. I hope he can solve the dilemmas that seem to be so stressful to him.Y

Yeah. It's hard to get a read on him. I usually don't get him to give me any info. He stays so positive about things in general, it's only a few times now that I've seen his anger get the best of him, which never used to happen back in the day. I was actually surprised I got him to admit the thing about him worrying about feeling the need to self medicate with beer.

We didn't talk about it at all today, but that's because he was here to kick ass and take names. (more on that later, I'll just say that he didn't crack open a single beer until we were wrapping up for the night).

It was a GREAT day. Two full cans of trash and a can of recycle stuffed to the brim are gone. All the stuff I put out this week was picked except for that box of scrap wire, which I just threw out. I'm done dickin' around with that stuff.

Two bags of washed clothes in my car ready to go to goodwill. Did about 6 loads of laundry today.

Sadly, my bud brought a bike with him in his car for some reason, so he wasn't able to take the torpedo heater out of my garage yet. :(

But we made good progress today in only 3 or so hours. Picked up all of the dimensional lumber for the framing, along with the nails, screws, construction glue for the caulk guns and some metal joining pieces. Pretty impressed that it only cost roughly $200.00 so far for all of that. Plywood isn't going to be cheap when we get to that point, but we decided against buying it today since we knew we weren't going to get that far. Got everything in my garage without anyone being the wiser.

Took up a lot more of the flooring. No safe entry in and out from the back I'm afraid until more work is done. Need to use a ladder to even get in at the moment. Have a section of the wall on the south end jacked up on one side of the door, but his second jack wasn't any good. He's going to get some from his old man and hopefully get him to come out and give some advice or maybe even lend us a hand. All in all, I'd say it was a great day. I'll feel much better when it's solid and the floor is back in. I'm hoping I don't have to wait too long for him to come back. I think he realizes we can't just sit on it now though.

Got some "homework" to do before he gets back. I'm also hoping that I can finish all of the clothes and linens tomorrow too. I'm going to keep all of the extra towels and stuff for now, maybe put them in bags and keep them in the garage. I think I'm going to have use for a lot of crap towels with the work coming down the pipe. :)

My brother should be coming some time late next week too, so we can move the bedroom set I'm not keeping either out to the curb or to stage it in the garage until we get a few sunny days so it doesn't get rained on and somebody takes it. Then I'm going to move the other set into the master bedroom and my other bro will have much better sleeping arrangements when he comes in for Christmas this year.

Anyway.... pretty amped up right now. I'll probably be having a late night even though I'm exhausted.

Glad to hear we're all making such great progress. Keep on keepin' on ladies!

Do Right, Be Right. :)

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Thursday, August 29, 2019 11:36 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by SIGNYM:

The flaw with the painter's tape is that the sealer didn't stick to plaster. How does THAT happen?

Not to raise any alarms since it's likely a very minimal amount of moisture otherwise you would have noticed severe damage or at least some cracking and crumbling by now, but the plaster walls have probably had some level of moisture from inside the house.

Quote:
Old plaster from the 19th century was based on lime held together with sand and animal hair. Around 1900, gypsum plaster began to displace lime plaster because gypsum didn't need the animal hair binder and cured within three weeks rather than 9 to 12 months. But whether lime-based or gypsum-based, plaster's biggest enemy is moisture. The first symptom of a moisture problem is a fine white powder on the plaster surface caused by soluble salts that migrate to the surface of the plaster. If the wall stays wet, the plaster eventually will crumble.

You've probably got a fine powder on the surface, so the tape was actually sticking, but what it was sticking to wasn't sticking to the rest of the wall. Even just washing plaster in preparation for work could be enough moisture to leave behind a residue.

Not sure if you figure it out yet, but I might try putting up some primer first if it remains a problem. For a job like that, I'd probably use Kilz. If you make sure to put good cloths down and wear crappy clothes, as well as using cheap rollers and brushes that you can immediately throw away after, you're better off using the oil based Kilz too. That stuff is virtually impenetrable once it's up. The water based stuff is good too, better than most other brands, but I swear by the oil based stuff. Just be sure to throw the shit out when you're done. It's not worth trying to clean it out. If you have other stuff to primer at the same time it might be worth just doing it all in one go before dumping the garbage.

And for cleanup, get some mineral spirits. Even though you're throwing out the roller sleeves, you'll want to wipe the roller tools themselves down real good with a rag soaked in mineral spirits so that oil paint doesn't gunk up the works and ruin the tool.

Oh... and if you use the oil paint, when you take off your painting clothes just let them dry out in the sun or something for a day and then they're safe to wash so you can use them again. I'm sure it goes without saying, but you don't want to put clothes that have any wet oil based paint in your washing machine.

Do Right, Be Right. :)

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Thursday, August 29, 2019 11:54 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by 1kiki:
As for me, yesterday wasn't the hottest day ever, but BOY was it humid! So I didn't manage my 6 hours.

I just wanted to explain that whole '6 hours' thing. If I do anything physical at all under adverse conditions, I poop out in an hour, maybe two. And I'm finished for the day in the literal sense. But if I limit myself to easy stuff, I can keep going.

It looks like we ALL have the stack of before I do this I need to do that - except maybe Brenda! Anyway, yeah, I too need to get going on stuff.

See ya!

Trust me, I got the 6 hour thing. I'm probably the only one here that can truly empathize with you without having any A/C at all. At least you have one room to retreat to when it gets bad. You're having a MUCH hotter summer than I have, and this was our hottest one for about 5 years. But I do remember those miserable weeks where my thermostat on the second floor was reading body temperature. Ugggghhhh...

Just do what you feel you can right now. It won't be hot forever. I'm sure there's plenty of smaller stuff that needs doing in the mean time.

Do Right, Be Right. :)

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Friday, August 30, 2019 2:45 AM

No work for me next week so plenty of time to do little things around here. Got some flat headed screws from my boss's husband and hopefully one of them will fit to repair my mom's jewellery box.

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Friday, August 30, 2019 9:24 AM

Good luck. Next week is cool by you, no?

Do you have a Home Depot by you, or a Menards? If that screw doesn't fit, I'm sure you could take it to a place like that and ask somebody there to help you get the right one.

Do Right, Be Right. :)

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Friday, August 30, 2019 1:05 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by 6IXSTRINGJACK:
Good luck. Next week is cool by you, no?

Do you have a Home Depot by you, or a Menards? If that screw doesn't fit, I'm sure you could take it to a place like that and ask somebody there to help you get the right one.

Do Right, Be Right. :)

Next week is. It means no rushing around. Still have things to do but just bill paying and such.

There is a Home Depot or Rona just into another city that I can reach by bus quite easy if none of these screws work. I can do that if I have too.

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Friday, August 30, 2019 1:08 PM

Wet today. And I have somethings to do.

Looks like a soggy end to August up here in BC. Suppose to rain off and on over the weekend according to the weather news I heard on Wednesday.

Hope it dries out for September.

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Friday, August 30, 2019 2:53 PM

Yeah... the rain sucks. Looks like it's supposed to rain here again Sunday, which means we can't work on my friend's house outside. Might not be the worst thing in the world for me though since we've started my work and we'd have a roof over our heads for most of what needs being done.

Just got a call from my friend, btw. He's coming back tonight.

Unfortunately though, that means he's not going to see his old man to get more jacks before he comes over, and we really can't do anything else until we get one. Stores around me don't have what I need, so I've got to do some traveling to pick it up. They're cheaper than I thought they would be though, so that's a plus. I can't think of anything else in particular I'd ever use it for, but for 20 bucks it's probably not a bad tool to have in my box.

Do Right, Be Right. :)

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Friday, August 30, 2019 5:49 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by 6IXSTRINGJACK:
Yeah... the rain sucks. Looks like it's supposed to rain here again Sunday, which means we can't work on my friend's house outside. Might not be the worst thing in the world for me though since we've started my work and we'd have a roof over our heads for most of what needs being done.

Just got a call from my friend, btw. He's coming back tonight.

Unfortunately though, that means he's not going to see his old man to get more jacks before he comes over, and we really can't do anything else until we get one. Stores around me don't have what I need, so I've got to do some traveling to pick it up. They're cheaper than I thought they would be though, so that's a plus. I can't think of anything else in particular I'd ever use it for, but for 20 bucks it's probably not a bad tool to have in my box.

Do Right, Be Right. :)

The rain does suck but soon will be heading into autumn so got to expect it.

Too true on tools. Never know when you are going to need something out of the ordinary.

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Friday, August 30, 2019 8:18 PM

I believe in solving problems, not sharing them.

DONE!

-----------
Pity would be no more,
If we did not MAKE men poor - William Blake

You idiots have been oppressing the entire sexual spectrum as long as you have existed. I can't wait for the day your kind is dead - WISHIMAY

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Friday, August 30, 2019 11:28 PM

Screws I got from my boss's husband don't fit. So I will have to go to the Home Depot or Rona in the next city. Have to be next Friday as Monday is a holiday and I don't plan on doing much.

It is so nice not to have to worry about the weather to take out the garbage, which I did earlier before watching some tv.

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Saturday, August 31, 2019 12:07 AM

If you feel comfortable doing it, I would bring the jewelry box with you. I know you don't have a car to leave it in until you find somebody who will for sure help you out. But really, even if you can't find somebody to help you, they should have a pretty vast hardware section where you could thumb through stuff yourself until you find one that fit.

Speaking of big box stores, I was just in the largest one I've ever seen in my life. I had to make that long trip to a Menard's for the jack I needed since the one a mile away didn't have it in stock. I'm glad I did. I've never seen a two story home improvement store before. It literally dwarfs the one by me.

Speaking of jacks, I'm so glad I sprung for the 12 ton instead of the 4 ton. Mine is WAY beefier than his was, and was the right tool for the job. His, sadly, wasn't. Gave us a good scare there when it actually failed on us at one point. Fortunately, we already had the new wood we were putting in for it to land on and we just hadn't jacked it down yet. I just shit my pants when I heard my house fall like that.

Had the same thing happened on the other side of the door where my 12 foot jack was put before we had a much larger section of new wood put in, that could have been catastrophic.

That being said, we had another amazing night otherwise. While he was making some cuts, I dug a trench around the back part of the house where the cinder-blocks were creeping their way inward, and while we had everything jacked up we were able to get them all straight again. Going to do some research on how to tuck point and what materials to use, and also how to give everything a good seal down there to keep as much moisture as possible out.

It's SO nice to have a solid frame around the door again. There was literally nothing under the threshold for over a year now since the wood was rotted out and crumbling. We also got new sills and outside joists on the north end of the house as well to replace the bad stuff. :)

We didn't rush into putting up new joists yet though. We want to make sure we're putting up everything right so the floor is level when we're done. He's going to go work out at his house tomorrow, but he wants me to stay here and get some stuff done this weekend before he comes back. I've got a few windows to seal up good so the new wood doesn't get damaged, as well as figuring out how to get those cinderblocks taken care of. He also wants me to do a double dose of ant poison since we did upturn another swarm of them while I dug that trench out.

What is kind of hilarious, and makes me feel much better about this situation, is that it's apparent that this is not the first time that somebody repaired this floor before. We discovered two things I hadn't noticed before while I was underneath today. The first is that in the worst area, there were already two joists that were married together, which is blatant evidence that somebody had "fixed" this problem before. Also, the three joists closest to the house where the wood is healthy and there haven't ever been any problems are only 2x8's that go flush across from end to end. All the rest of them are 2x10's that were notched out to fit on the sills and under the wall frames.

When we're done it's going to be built like a tank. Not like the shoddy work those amatures did.

And to think, I was worried that I'd only be doing a temporary fix and sticking the next owner with a potential mess. Our work is going to be fine when it's done. It was the jagoffs that lived here before me that stuck me with the bad porch that was waiting to fall down.

Oh yeah... we're also going to build in an access point somewhere in the room so I can get back down there if I ever need to without having to tear up part of the floor again.

Do Right, Be Right. :)

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Saturday, August 31, 2019 3:11 AM

Goodbye, kind world (George Monbiot) - In common with all those generations which have contemplated catastrophe, we appear to be incapable of understanding what confronts us.

"how to give everything a good seal down there to keep as much moisture as possible out"

You can go a few different ways.

First of all, how high is your water table? If it's at or above the lowest level of your foundation, you may need to install a foundation drain (plastic pipe) which is installed in a trench along the bottom of the outside of the walls; so that ground water runs by gravity to some drain system. Then you can waterproof and install textured polymer sheets on the outside of the foundation walls, so that surface water also drains down along the outside of the foundation to the pipes and away from your house.

If your problem is surface water, if you're downslope of an area that water drains from, to your house, try to divert it around your foundation. You can put in a subsurface tile system to drain water soaking into the soil away to some drainage point. Make sure to contour the dirt around the foundation (hill it up) so water runs away from it (doesn't puddle around the foundation) and collects elsewhere.

It also helps to have your gutters discharge at some distant, downhill point from your foundation, again, so it runs away from your foundation.

If you're going to try and install a dry well, don't put it within 12' minimum from your foundation. That keeps it from weakening the dirt's lateral support of the foundation's weight. Farther is better.

And do you have expansive soil? If you've substantially dug out around the foundation, it would be better to fill with gravel near the wall and non-expansive fill elsewhere.

Just a few things I've learned by experience and the experience of others.

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Saturday, August 31, 2019 10:18 AM

I believe in solving problems, not sharing them.

Yeah, what KIKI said! Especially the part about sloping your yard so water runs AWAY from the foundation. Good reason to get gutters because it keeps the water from running off the roof right close to your house. (Also, that broken drain pipe, which is in the front - correct? - could also be pumping a lot of water very close to your foundation. That needs to be fixed, too!)

But I'm curious: Don't block walls have rebar? I thought the block wall was supposed to be on some kind of footing, and reinforced with rebar. But maybe because this is a porch and not part of the house per se, it's not expected to carry much load, so maybe I'm just overcomplicating things.

Quote:
Speaking of jacks, I'm so glad I sprung for the 12 ton instead of the 4 ton. Mine is WAY beefier than his was, and was the right tool for the job. His, sadly, wasn't. Gave us a good scare there when it actually failed on us at one point. Fortunately, we already had the new wood we were putting in for it to land on and we just hadn't jacked it down yet. I just shit my pants when I heard my house fall like that.

Jeezuz, SIX! THAT would have exercised my blood pressure for sure! I'd probably have to go sit down and recover for 30 minutes if something like that had happened to me!

-----------
Pity would be no more,
If we did not MAKE men poor - William Blake

You idiots have been oppressing the entire sexual spectrum as long as you have existed. I can't wait for the day your kind is dead - WISHIMAY

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Saturday, August 31, 2019 11:05 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by 1kiki:
"how to give everything a good seal down there to keep as much moisture as possible out"

You can go a few different ways.

I'm all ears... or eyes, as it were.

Quote:
First of all, how high is your water table?

I'm probably not qualified to answer the question other than saying that it's "very high". I do live on the outskirts of what is the lowest pocket in the entire area, but if I were to get flood insurance it wouldn't be the $2,000 per year variety. I did get quotes for shits and gigs a few years back and it was roughly $450 per year. I'm pretty sure people who live a block behind me and especially 2 blocks behind me would be paying the maximum.

The ditch across the street from me is probably 6 feet higher than the land my (tri-level) house is on, and when we have these crazy rain springs and early summers (like we've had for 5 years straight now) there are times where it's pretty full for short stints. (I heard before that ditch was made back in the 60's that the area would regularly flood to the point where a neighbor used to kayak down the streets to make sure everyone was alright).

Quote:
If it's at or above the lowest level of your foundation, you may need to install a foundation drain (plastic pipe) which is installed in a trench along the bottom of the outside of the walls; so that ground water runs by gravity to some drain system. Then you can waterproof and install textured polymer sheets on the outside of the foundation walls, so that surface water also drains down along the outside of the foundation to the pipes and away from your house.

I'm not sure exactly how extensive they system is, but there is one installed already. I've heard it referred to as a "French drain". The sump pump well in my crawl space under the first floor at the front of the house has a large ingress hole to it where this water constantly comes in during storms and especially these wet springs. The ingress hole to the drain is probably around 6", compared to the 2 to 3" drain pipe the sump shoots the water up and out of. (This is where the break in the pipe is, right outside of the house).

BTW... I'm pretty sure you've read it before, but to get an idea of how much water comes in that ingress pipe to the sump, if my power is out or the sump dies, my house will flood if it's not in the middle of a dry August.

Not once, but twice this has happened. Both when the water was near freezing (once in February and once in November). The first time was the worst, when I had to take off all of my clothes at one point to avoid hypothermia when I would get out to warm up in between messing around down there. My lips turned blue. I was so delirious that I didn't even turn the breaker off before plugging the new sump pump in even though I was kneeling in knee deep water up to my navel when it went on. I'm lucky to be alive, honestly.

Quote:
If your problem is surface water, if you're downslope of an area that water drains from, to your house, try to divert it around your foundation. You can put in a subsurface tile system to drain water soaking into the soil away to some drainage point. Make sure to contour the dirt around the foundation (hill it up) so water runs away from it (doesn't puddle around the foundation) and collects elsewhere.

The one thing I can say about the construction of this home is that they at least did a good job with the sloping of the land. There really isn't any point around the perimeter of anything where any water pools up. This all is a little jacked up because I haven't put gutters up yet, but when I do I will make sure to regrade everything.

Quote:
It also helps to have your gutters discharge at some distant, downhill point from your foundation, again, so it runs away from your foundation.

Yeah.... This should be cool in the front of the house. I'm a bit concerned with the back though if we keep having these insanely wet springs. I'm not joking when I say my back yard has become a marsh at least 3 times in the last few years. I'm talking days or even weeks at a time where I can't even walk back there, let alone mow it, because I'm ankle deep in water that's on top of the grass.

Fortunately though, this pooling doesn't occur right near my foundation in the back of the house, even with the gutters. As long as the springs don't get worse in the future, I can't imagine that when I have gutters done correctly that this will cause me any more problems than I've been having.

I do get some minor leaks into the living space in the basement (the back side of the house. But these have been few and far between over the years and only occur when my backyard is a marsh. But when it does occur, it's quite a bit. I only have really nice ceramic tile flooring the main room, the hallway and the bathroom and bare concrete in what could be a 3rd bedroom when it's finished now, but I would say that it isn't unheard of for me to have up to two gallons of water all over the floor when it's worst. Hopefully if I get the roof water far enough away from the back of my home with gutters it won't just creep back and into my house anymore.

Quote:
If you're going to try and install a dry well, don't put it within 12' minimum from your foundation. That keeps it from weakening the dirt's lateral support of the foundation's weight. Farther is better.

Dry well? What is that?

Quote:
And do you have expansive soil? If you've substantially dug out around the foundation, it would be better to fill with gravel near the wall and non-expansive fill elsewhere.

Where I dug to reposition the cinder blocks was just pretty much sand mixed with dirt and gravel. It's where the ants and moles have played hell around the perimeter and the stone patio porch that looks like shit now.

I'm just going to fill it back in with whatever when I get the seal on the cinder blocks for now. That whole patio paver crap has to come up at some point so I can put enough poison down that nothing can live there for 1,000 years and then figure out what I want to do to beautify it. Low on my priority list at the moment though.

Quote:
Just a few things I've learned by experience and the experience of others.

Thanks for the tips!

Do Right, Be Right. :)

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Saturday, August 31, 2019 11:19 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by SIGNYM:
Jeezuz, SIX! THAT would have exercised my blood pressure for sure! I'd probably have to go sit down and recover for 30 minutes if something like that had happened to me!

Haha. Tell me about it.

It didn't really phase me though, surprisingly. Both of us were outside of the porch, although very close when it happened. It was a huge WTF! moment for sure though. But we realized right away that the new stuff we put in we did a great job on though. Half the weight of a heavy shingled roof just fell on it, and it didn't budge. Rock solid!

We didn't have time to mess around though. The other side of the door had not been completed yet as far as tying everything in and if my 12 ton jack failed I could have been looking at a porch that was in need of professional work.

I couldn't believe how loud it was though. It was only up about 1/8 of an inch.

Oh... I will have before/after pictures. :)

Not sure if I want to do it yet, but I might even put selfies we've taken while doing the work too. I'm feeling a lot better about life in general now and maybe I'll feel adventurous enough to do that at some point.

Do Right, Be Right. :)

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Saturday, August 31, 2019 1:22 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by 6IXSTRINGJACK:
If you feel comfortable doing it, I would bring the jewelry box with you. I know you don't have a car to leave it in until you find somebody who will for sure help you out. But really, even if you can't find somebody to help you, they should have a pretty vast hardware section where you could thumb through stuff yourself until you find one that fit.

Do Right, Be Right. :)

I've thought about taking it with me to the store but I noticed that it has a small gouge on the lid and I don't really want to do any more damage to it. I was thinking that I could take one of the other screws out of the box and take it with me when I go to the store. That might be a better idea. I will think on it.

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Saturday, August 31, 2019 1:23 PM

Laundry day for me in a minute then some other chores to do. Later peeps.

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Saturday, August 31, 2019 1:36 PM

I believe in solving problems, not sharing them.

Dry well ... basically a well-hole filled with gravel. The land is sloped... or drains pipes are laid ... in such as way as to lead water to the dry well, where the water has an easier time sinking down into the gravel and from there into the subsoil. It can be simple or it can be complicated.

-----------
Pity would be no more,
If we did not MAKE men poor - William Blake

You idiots have been oppressing the entire sexual spectrum as long as you have existed. I can't wait for the day your kind is dead - WISHIMAY

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Saturday, August 31, 2019 1:52 PM

I believe in solving problems, not sharing them.

I really wonder about the hydrology around your house. It may not be as bad as you think, you may be mostly dealing with surface water. If I understand your sump pump situation, it pumps water out to a 2-3" pipe which is broken near your foundation (Probably due to settling) so the water may just be "recirculating" a lot.

Where I used to live, the water table was really high, but there was a lot of rain and surface water as well, so wet basements were always an issue. On top of that, the soil was very heavy clay, so if it rained it took forever for the water to soak Since our backyard butted up against other backyards and they were (of course) sloped away from the houses, the back property lines were lower than everyplace else and turned into a marsh every spring (IN winter, it would freeze over and as little kids we would go "ice skating" on the puddle) So dad asked the city if he could break into their storm system and installed a drain in the back ... end of water problem at the back property line.

That might be good place for a dry well, since that's where the water seems to want to go anyway.

Still, when there was a lot of rain, water would come flooding up the floor drains in the basement, and not just storm water but sewer-water too. Eeew. That remained a huge problem until the city got its ass kicked by the state environmental department for sewage overflow into the nearby creek, and actually ... finally, after decades of neglect ... cleared the main storm drains et voila! Problem solved!

One more thing: I noticed on my last visit that the upper part of the basement wall ... right next to the driveway, in fact, was buckling a little bit. That was where the downspout was, and the diverter wasn't long enough to lead the water away far enough from the house. A new diveter solved the problem.

-----------
Pity would be no more,
If we did not MAKE men poor - William Blake

You idiots have been oppressing the entire sexual spectrum as long as you have existed. I can't wait for the day your kind is dead - WISHIMAY

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Saturday, August 31, 2019 2:01 PM

Goodbye, kind world (George Monbiot) - In common with all those generations which have contemplated catastrophe, we appear to be incapable of understanding what confronts us.

Hey Signy

I'm SO happy for you that you're DONE!!

!

How did that specialty sealer work out for you (except for those areas where the plaster/ joint compound failed)? How did the tape work out for you (no bleeding under the edges)?

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Saturday, August 31, 2019 2:17 PM