Foiled again...

Soldered, really. Here's tonight's fun project:

The two pipes with the blue handles are water pipes that are supposed to go to the washing machine I'm having delivered tomorrow. I forgot to double check the connections and find that the lower one - which is actually the hot water despite the handle color - just had a screw cap in the pipe end, but the upper one has a soldered pipe cap that my soldering iron won't be hot enough to melt. I'm not totally sure how I'm going to get that off before tomorrow. Moreover, I'm realizing these threaded pipe ends are unlikely to connect smoothly with the hoses for the machine. Hopefully a trip to the hardware store for some spigots will fix that.

Small Successes

More camera cleaning. Here are a variety of things I've actually done at the house over the last 2+ months.

This was the first fully successful project in the house, actually, which is the only reason I'm bothering with posting it - minor surgery to remove a shard of what may have been the previous doorstop's screw from the hole in the wall, then sinking the new stop into the barest sliver of good wood next to it.

All I wanted to do was replace the two broken door guides for my shower doors. But the generic ones Home Depot required some... modifications. As in, there used to be another upright portion on the bottom edge there, and there wasn't a screw hole in the originals. But hey, they both stay in place and guide the doors.

I hung it myself. And it even turns on! Its sister at the other end of the hall is still not up, though, because the wires in the attic might as well be replaced before I attach anything to them.

And now people don't suffocate while working in the back bedroom.

More on the attic

This is a project list more than a list of work done. Call me on it if I haven't followed up on any of this stuff in the next month.

1) I'm planning to replace much of the wiring in the attic - some of it is just old, the insulation on a couple of pieces appear to be a little gnawed (a while back - there's no signs of a recent critter infestation up there), and none of the old stuff - which is most of it - is grounded. Plus this is the easiest section to reach and replace since it's all exposed. Of course, it's probably over 100 degrees most days up there.

2) Once the wires are taken care of I figure I'll put in some more flooring as wanted to access the whole attic easily. I'm looking into insulation numbers too. A friend said that you typically need something like 7+ inches of blown insulation to achieve a satisfactory rating, but that would require me to either scrap all the flooring or build rails off of the joists and lay flooring on top of that. I'm wondering about the insulation factor of 2x4s, pink foam (or maybe those eco-friendly recycled blue jeans), and perhaps carpet or foam layers over the wood.

3) Question: How bad is this?


4) And here's a fun one. The house was built around 1894, remember, so it originally had gas lights before electricity was run sometime in the 1900s. The previous owner pulled out the old piping in the rooms he renovated, but there's still a long stretch in the attic. Actually it used to be longer, and interfered a little with the attic entrance, but half an hour with some Liquid Wrench and a real wrench got rid of 10' and an elbow joint. I'm looking forward to pulling up the rest, including an old valve that's still attached to one length up there. That'll go in the curio cabinet.

What to do with a large pile of wood

1) Build a step stool for reaching ceilings.

2) Build a sink stand for a portable slop sink (There's a pic around here someplace).

3) Put in a temporary floor in your attic so you can move around without fear of falling through a ceiling, and store stuff for a garage sale someplace other than the laundry room.

Stuck (un)

Finally. Four cutting wheels on a borrowed rotary tool to score the plaster and start to cut the wood, a screwdriver to chip the plaster out, a saw and a steak knife (long story) later and I could access the wheels inside the wall. The rope had in fact jumped off and was wedged between the wheel and the wheel well.


Snipped the rope, rolled the wheel to loosen the stuck section, and the window finally came down. Some new line and an assist from Marion later and I swear this thing moves smoother than before.

I haven't gotten a chance to look into options for the next part of this project, though - security. Right now there are a couple of heavy screws above the bottom sash to keep anyone from just sliding it up from the outside. There's probably a more elegant solution to be found, something custom that matches the old wood, maybe. Perhaps it can be located at Home Depot.

The Big Pile of Wood and Other Things

In an effort to both clear stuff off my camera before an upcoming trip and put my various scattered pieces of knowledge about the house in one place, I'm adding a few other categories to the blog - materials and tools, and projects that haven't been started. Maybe they'll help me get a better view on what can happen.

This post, of course, doesn't really cover either. But here are three things that have happened around the house in the last few weeks:

The College is renovating part of Severance (as well as several of the dorms) and Hans and I pulled all of this lumber out of a dumpster. Some pieces have cracks and splits but there's at least a 6' run on each stick that's good, most are 8-10'+, plus two long planks of 2x10 or 2x8 (I don't remember now). It's enough lumber to almost create a floor in the old 8'x8' shed out back, except I've decided to take the shed down and get a new one. Most of the quick constructions you'll see on the blog in the coming weeks are made from these 2x4s - free lumber is a good thing.

Speaking of the shed:

This is most/all of the stuff that was pulled out of there over two days. Some salvageable lumber, some salvageable other things, and then about 20 bags of trash. The bricks on the right came from a decades old attempt to create a floor. Not visible are the 20 or so flagstones salvaged from next to the shed. Thanks to Benny and Molly and Ellen for doing most of the hauling (for pay).

And speaking of Hans:


I just had to get this shot of Hans falling asleep on my couch mid-crossword.

By request: the house

A few wide shots of the house - taken back in January before I bought it, and before all the weeds and growth went crazy this summer:

More context shots as the situation warrants.

Yes, I also wound up buying the Landcruiser in a separate deal.

Update: Stuck

Attempts to fish at the stuck window's sash rope failed, partly because the wheel is farther down than I initially estimated. Unless someone has another idea I'll be cutting a new hole in the plaster and lathe as soon as I get the appropriate tools.

Strategery

I've decided on a new plan of action. Each day, I will do at least one thing on one of the larger projects that face me right now - scraping and painting the outside of the house, rewiring the attic (and a few other places), puttying a few holes so that paint can be reapplied as needed, etc. My thought is that in doing this I will a) keep myself moving forward and b) make some of the potentially overwhelming projects much more manageable over time. It's easier to paint the side of the house when 3/4 of it is scraped and primed, even if it took me 3 weeks to get there.