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?