Not much

Quick update so I don't let this lapse too long. Shed's due Monday so I've been clearing more stuff in the yard - raking leaves, putting all the scrap metal in one pile so I can haul it to Blue Star at some point, etc, etc. Borrowed one of Joe's aluminum ladders today so I could clear the gutters (stupid fall, stupid leaves). There's been a small drip at a corner by the living room and I finally got a look at that - looks like the metal separated slightly at a joint - tough to tell if it's bent, rusted, punctured, etc. I've tried an experiment that is unlikely to hold up that long but worth trying - plumbers putty. Since it doesn't really adhere it'll probably pull off at some point. I also wonder if it'll stand up to the temperature fluctuations outside. Eh, in the meantime it should keep that drip from happening at the next rainstorm.

There will also be a post soon on how I now have daylight on my basement stairs, but I want to use my new glass cutter first to finish that project completely. It'll all make sense when you see the pictures and I'm not typing this at 12:30am.

Doors and windows

In addition to trying to sort all my tools and supplies in the living room (that's where they've been since I don't have real space in the back room until the shed is built) today was spent painting windows, caulking a few of the storms, and finally finishing fixing (alliterative adventures abound) the porch door. Every window on the first floor is painted; almost all are ready for winter - I need to caulk the new ones in the kitchen and we should be good.

The door had two minor problems. First, it had settled (and I hadn't hung it super squarely to begin with) so the top far corner was rubbing against the frame. There's a simple fix using a trick I learned while hanging some drywall back in high school - wonderbars are just levers, and they let one person do two jobs. Prop the far side with the bar lengthwise:

It's actually best if you flip the bar over (so you are using the lever closer to the door), but this way might be necessary depending on how much clearance you have under the panel you're trying to level - fortunately my very nice old porch door is very worn on the bottom, so I was able to use it the 'right' way. In other words I messed up when I was staging this shot after the fact. Resuming the how to: Take the screws out of the top and middle hinge on the frame side. Press down on the wonderbar to bring the door square against the frame on the hinge side. Resink the screws starting at the top - you may have to go in at a slight angle to catch clean wood as opposed to the old hole. Chances are you'll be fine going straight - old doors tend to have a little more space between them and the frame, so if it's to the point of rubbing then squaring the door will probably move the hinge screw holes over quite a bit.

Problem two was mostly aesthetic. The strike plate was set for the aluminum screen door I took down. You can see where another strike plate used to be set further back, but this one didn't quite fit there. The result was that the door latched but wasn't flush with the frame - it butted out 3/8" on the far side.

I couldn't locate a smaller strike plate during a couple of shopping trips, so I went for the next best thing - carving. A few minutes with the jig and then a pocketknife got me a flush enough space to screw in the plate. I think I'm going to invest in a chisel set for all the wood I've got in this place though.

Properly hung door, seven painted windows, and a living room I can walk through. It's been a good Saturday, even if I didn't get out to the electrical supply place.

Sage advice

Years ago my grandfather said to me - and this was while I was in college - 'Be a plumber. The world is always going to need plumbers.' It should be noted that he was a film and television producer and did all right for himself and his family.

I don't know if I should have become (or still should become) a plumber, but I do know this: there is no such thing as a small plumbing job. In an effort to make my non-working spigot work, I decided to seal any joints and connections along the run. I've found that - and maybe this is just anecdotal - poorly sealed handles and the like can cause decreases in water pressure even if they aren't leaking themselves. In any case, it was worth a shot - some more plumbers tape, a wrench, and half an hour in the basement. Problems here were twofold, and all aspiring plumbers take note. First, the spigot was up a flight of stairs, out the back door, and around a corner, so testing it after making any adjustments required running back and forth. Have a partner, and a set of walkie talkies, to make things go faster. Second issue is an oldie but a goodie - know what's on and what's off. Same goes for electricity, but with plumbing you don't have things like volt testers to remind you if you're being a dumbass. Turn it off as early on the line as you're willing (I should have just shut it off at the main entry line - I wasn't using water anywhere else and the boiler was off). Long story short I've got a sweatshirt drying in the foyer right now. And the spigot still isn't working well.

Also today - found a storm window that fits the empty space in the dining room window storm, and removed the broken glass from the interior sash. I think I'll get that plastic shrink wrap for the winter though just to seal out any more drafts. Oh, and I need to caulk all the storm windows on the first floor at least to seal out drafts. Caulk is going to be my new friend this weekend. And those of you with purile minds can just leave now.

Tomorrow I'm planning on one last Lowes run coupled with a stop at an electrical supply place Dan Gregus highly recommends. If I pick up what all's on my list right now, I should be able to cap this Project Week with a highly successful Project Weekend. Updates as they happen.

And also today...

Put up a small shelf in the laundry room, and picked up the permit for the shed. Hey look, I'm legal:

Quick fix

The dryer vent hose was just tucked in the back room's partly open window, which made for a draft when it was in use. To vent it out without keeping the window open - and this is temporary until I decide if the washer and dryer are staying in this upstairs room, and if so where to put a vent in the wall - I built a quick... I don't know what you'd call it, but it vents without keeping the window fully open. It's just a board that runs the width of the window with a hole for an old vent pipe I salvaged. The dryer vent is just attached to the pipe with a screw-tight pipe clamp.

Two adjustments were necessary. First, the window sash is very old and unevenly worn resulting in some gaps between the sash bottom and the board. I just ran a strip of self-adhesive weatherstripping foam along the board.

Second was the making the pipe clamp work - the vent hose is about 1.5" wider in diameter than the old pipe to which it's connected. Tightening the clamp would tear the hose and/or provide a bad seal. Again, the weatherstripping foam came into play - ran it around the pipe a couple of times to bulk up its diameter, then put the pipe clamp over that section and tightened down a little. Seems to be working fine - virtually no fog on the inside of the window so it appears all the air is going out the pipe as desired.
This still needs two minor things - some caulk or spray foam to plug the small holes between the pipe and the board hole; and some insulation between the glass panes to keep drafts from coming up since the window is still partly open.

Tuesday

Bullets, because it's been a long day:

- applied for permit to have the shed put in out back; looks like that will be fine
- hung a couple of pictures (long overdue)
- dragged all the old shed up to the driveway and sorted the scrap pile into aluminum and steel
- cleared some undergrowth from around where I plan on having the shed installed
- pulled down some broken branches that were stuck in other branches after that storm a few weeks back
- cleared some brush from the area around where the shed should go
- tried installing a missing storm window in the dining room. Having trouble finding one that's the right size - moreover, the sash cords are broken on that window and at one point the lower sash slammed down and I lost a piece of 100 year old glass. C'est la vie. Tomorrow I'll take that whole storm down and try and get something to fit.
- moved a lot of furniture and tools around in the living room because I had one half of Ian Wilson's band crashing overnight.
- older note but worth mentioning: cleaned several of the downstair's radiators' steam valves with vinegar and now have minimal whistling.

The worst thing on the outside of the house

At least I hope that's the case.

There are two big picture windows in the living room, both with some stained glass. The one on the west wall (which is the most exposed to the elements) looks like it hasn't been touched in decades - when I moved in, I could see some separation between the glass and the wood framing elements; the caulk is severely damaged on much of it.


Now, the storm window that's coming will go a long way to protecting this, at least for this year. I've had good success with plastic sheeting in the interim to keep the rain and some of the wind away. Tape on the inside plugs the biggest gaps to prevent drafts. I don't plan on working on restoring or in any way fixing the two sashes anytime soon - painting the exterior frame and getting the storm in is likely all I'll do this fall. However, there are two questions that this window raises.

The first is the obvious - how to best go about fixing the sashes, especially the multi-framed stained glass one up top? Any resources anyone can point me to would be much appreciated. The second is a historical one. Everyone who's looked at this glass has said the same thing - it's not original, and likely went in well after the other stained glass in the house. Is there a way to narrow down when the glass was installed - the color, the style of framing?

Sunday

No more creative a title than that. Today was a productive continuation of yesterday - swapped some lightbulbs through the town lightbulb exchange (Oberlin College students and town residents can turn in incandescent lightbulbs and get CFLs instead - totally free thanks to a donation from an anonymous alum), took my new jigsaw out for a spin (pictures hopefully tomorrow when the rest of that project falls into place), and painted several windows. Most of the windows have pretty weathered sills and surrounds - it's been a while since anyone painted the trim, let alone all the shingles. As long as the shingles aren't loose, they should survive the winter regardless of paint. The trim on the other hand really needed a good seal - I'll probably go over the sills and any rough spots with a second coat this week.

Once again I failed to take a before picture.
Just pretend the trim looks like everything around it.

Both of the big picture windows got attention today. Here's a before on the side window (see next post for more on this) which, like its sister in the front, will be getting custom built storm windows in a few weeks. Great note on that - I went to both Home Depot and Lowes to ask about custom ordering storms, just to see if the price was any lower than what I'd been quoted from an independent company. Neither could even give me a quote - the height and width (combined) of these windows was too large for their computers to handle.

Oh, and also mowed the front lawn - who wants to take bets that this won't be the last time I'll do that this year?

That worked surprisingly quickly...

This time of year, apparently all it takes is two walnuts and a squirrel will squeeze itself into a space barely larger than itself (there were no mid-size traps available at Lowes). I put it out last night as the sun was heading down and when I got up half an hour ago, I found... success!

Just released the critter into the arb. He was healthy enough to scoot from the trap to a tree 20 feet away in about .003 seconds, so I think he'll be fine.

Now to fully patch that hole in the porch eave so this doesn't happen again. This task will be made much easier, I hope, by the fact that I FINALLY bought a jigsaw. After several trips to Jamie's without stumbling across a solid one for cheap, I caved and decided that fixing the eave, building a vent slot for the laundry room, etc, etc were more important than bargin hunting. I may have failed flea marketers everywhere, but at least my house will not have unnecessary holes in it this winter.

Also done yesterday - ordered the shed, put up the second light in the hallway (thank you again, wire clippers!) and... something. I must have done something else yesterday. I need to keep two lists - things to do and things I've done. Yes, I realize this blog was supposed to be the latter.

Excitement! Adventure! Explosions!

No, not really with the explosions. Actually, not really with the other two if you don't find boiler maintenance to be exciting or adventurous.

The boiler's water level sight was coated with rust and other sediment, so I took the opportunity to, as my neighbor Joe put it, get to know my heating system. Monroe's Heating is right up 58 and Tim, the owner, was able to stop down today for a full cleaning and inspection. Gave me plenty of do-it-yourself pointers (including 'clear out the sight glass like you'd do with a gun' - a point not lost on this former Boy Scout, although it's been almost 15 years since I've done that), spotted a couple of potential trouble spots and told me what to look for to know something has to be replaced, screwed everything back together, and headed off.

Minor snag though - he detached the wires powering the starter by hand to shut off the power (not recommended, but doable if you know where to grab and not grab - I always flip the breaker first, but then again I've been known to look both ways and still step into oncoming traffic) and thus was reattaching and capping live wires. I think one of them was loose as a result which kept the burners from kicking on when I turned up the thermostat this evening. Ten minutes with some electrical tape though and things are running fine.

Except for the last part of today's adventure. Heat comes on, normal radiator noises, some of the abnormal radiator noises I've been meaning to address (see below) - and then a new noise from the radiator in my bedroom (which I could have sworn I turned off) which sounds suspiciously like water splashing on the floor. Somehow the valve had been turned upside down and had bled out a good half cup of water. Fortunately I caught it and mopped everything up before it could damage anything.

What all this means is that I've just added a significant (in terms of time) project to my Project Weekend - getting all the radiators in shape. I've been hearing some bad whistling on the downstairs radiators and have been meaning to clean them out - you can literally screw apart the valve and tap/blow out most blockages, and vinegar and hot water works for anything worse. The color of the water on my bedroom floor tells me that there are probably deeper clogs in each unit, which means putting some vinegar into the boiler* and doing some brush and wire work on the inside where the valve screws in. A couple of units also have excessive sloshing sounds, meaning I should level them to make sure water runs all the way back out and down to the return piping. After all that I should still bleed each radiator before winter, but pulling the valves to clean them technically overbled them. This will probably be a two-part project, then. 1) Clean the valves and level the radiators to eliminate unwanted noises; 2) Let the boiler push air and water back into all the radiators, then go through and bleed as necessary to ensure even heating.

*Careful with this if you have a boiler system of your own. It's not caustic, but it can still do damage. Plus my system is a pretty simple steam system - yours may not like the home remedy approach (assuming you have an annual professional checkup anyway your boiler company should be able to tell you the risks and benefits). Moreover, and here's the 'planning' part of all this - if you've ever cleaned out an iron by putting vinegar in the tank, you know what steamed vinegar smells like; not bad, but not what you want around your house all day. You'll need to leave windows open to let the smell dissapate - shouldn't take long, but unless this weekend's temperatures get back to the 60s, the vinegar treatment may have to wait 'till spring at my place.

You know what's useful?

These things:


Thanks to them, the new light in the upstairs closet is finally installed, and (since it's mid-line on a circuit) the light in the laundry room is now back on.

And it only took an hour and a half (although fifteen minutes of that was searching for my wire strippers. Which still haven't been located. Whatever - bedtime.)

This was the old fixture. Clearly it needed replacing:

With friends like these...

I should have more people over more regularly. It's not just the multi-person projects that get done (painting part of one of the exterior walls, for example), something about having other people around gets me more active, to the point that I'll swap a couple of mismatched cabinet handles in the kitchen (that I've been staring at for months) while we're all standing around and chatting.

Sarah and Mike stopped over today and we did the above plus: mapped out shed dimensions to make sure I'm placing it well; installed a new jack in the basement to replace one that was missing (!); moved all the tree limbs that came down in the storm the other week to the front for city pickup; and I just put some plumbers tape on a valve in the upstairs shower to stop a small drip.

Pictures soon.