Enter At Your Own Risk

Today will be errand day. One of the stops will be at the waste disposal company to get info on having a dumpster placed for the old siding when it comes off. The guy doing the work would remove it but I think it will be easier, faster and cheaper to use a dumpster. We rented one a few years ago when we cleared out my Mom's house and it wasn't real expensive. It sure was easier than loading it up and hauling it to the dump ourselves.

Yesterday afternoon, I took a hammer and chisel to the tile walls in the ex-hot tub room. I knew it would damage the wall but woah nellie! The tile is laid directly onto the drywall. I tried a couple different methods and I think the easiest way will be to just cut the dry wall around the perimeter of the tile (thank you to the person who invented the multi-tool) and remove it in one piece. Or several if that's what it takes. That will leave an open wall, exposing the bat insulation behind it, an open invitation to rodents and insects. No thanks.

I prefer removing it and replacing the dry wall on the same day, which complicates things a little because installing the dry wall by myself isn't a choice so someone else will need to be involved. That will have to wait a week or two.

The other conundrum is that the bottom 18" or so of a wall that is common with the bedroom next to it is stone and concrete. Originally that was an outside wall. It has been painted white. On the opposite side, the bedroom side, someone had covered it with drywall and a small shelf across the top. Actually looks pretty good. So do I want to to do the same thing on this side of that wall? Maybe so.

If it had not been painted and was natural stone, I would leave it as I like that look here. Just not wild about the white paint. And I won't even consider sandblasting it (shudder!). This can wait till later. Maybe just leave it this way in spite of the white paint. Or paint it a different color? Meh.

I will call the spa company (who referred me to the removal guy) today and ask if they know a way to get rid of the chlorine smell. I think it has seeped into the concrete. Nothing online specifically addresses chlorine odor, mostly pet urine smells. I am hopeful the spa folks can help with that because it smells up that entire section of the house. I have a curtain across a door to prevent it from coming into the area in which I live but would like to have it open. We'll see. If anybody knows a solution, please jump in!
 

The spa company suggested leaving windows open, circulating air and that the chlorine smell should dissipate. I am doing just that. Sniff test of the concete does suggest now that it is going away. I think the remaining scent may be in the carpet in the hall just outside the door to that room. Will remove the carpet in the next week or so.

There is a small area in the front garden overgrown by lilac trees, that needs some cutting back. Not much, thank doG. I think today I will do that and add it to the huge brush pile that will be hauled off soon, I hope.

I am not supposed to lift "heavy" weights. No number was placed on that. I realized last night that my dogs weigh 15 and 20 pounds. I lift them each at least twice a day, onto and off of the bed. They can jump on and off themselves but it is risky and can cause back injuries. I will not take that chance! There is an ottoman at the foot of the bed but the old guy has a hard time with it. Too bad, so sad, I will continue picking them up until I can't.

Edited to add: I used to have a set of pet steps next to the bed. I may do that again. Not sure if the old guy will use them?
 
In town the other day, which is 2,000 feet lower in elevation than my home, it was 99F! When I arrived home, it was 86F outside in the shade and 72F in the house (no AC). I love this place in summer!

This morning, it was 58F outside. Windows were open and when I saw that, I understood why I was a little chilly this morning.
 

Some weeks ago, I decided to try growing a few vegetables. Bought five grow bags, two tomato plants, a japanese eggplant, a red cabbage plant and some onion starts, several bags of soil, and miracle grow for vegetables. Planted it all, kept it on a south-facing window shelf for a month (can't plant here till June 1, too cold). Moved it outdoors a few weeks ago, still in the grow bags.

Lots of tomatoes on those two plants. One is about ready to be picked. I am calling it my $200 tomato.
 
Busy week this week. Siding project is moving along well, although the section almost finished is the simplest and easiest. The difficult section will maybe be started today. The small dumpster will be delivered today for the construction debris.

Also, today the guys are scheduled to haul away all of the brush/trees that were piled up a couple of weeks ago. The small stuff will be chipped into a dumping trailer and the larger stuff that the chipper will not accommodate will be taken to the workers' house and used for firewood in their wood stove. I will be glad to have that gone. I may use a few yards of it in the front garden. I want to see it before committing to that.

Moving right along.
 
The clean up guy for the brush et. al., isn't able to come today, maybe not even this week. I told him, nicely, I would like it gone by the end of next week. He agreed that is doable. We shall see.

He hasn't been paid for two days of hard work a couple of weeks ago so...
 
Tree/brush guy called yesterday and asked if today would be good to haul off those huge piles. Yes, hopefully this time it will happen.

The work on the house siding continues. So far, a sill board and some studs have been replaced due to some serious rot. Removing the current board and bat siding is like opening a present from a fellow employee; you never know what you are going to find. One thing I have learned is that if something was built in a "non-traditional" way, there was a reason. Do not just poo poo it without doing the research!

We were hopeful that this project would take two weeks. It looks more like it will be three.

The young man doing this is truly amazing. Some of the lower parts of walls are built with stone and mortar. He has to cut the lower steel edge around these stones, like puzzle pieces, and he is doing an excellent job of that. About to start a complicated area. The wall goes below grade about 18 inches. Concrete blocks and a french drain are involved. This will add probably three days to this project. I feel for the guy, having to dig that all out and then put it all back. It isn't just for water protection. It also protects from hydrostatic pressure, snow melting and then refreezing, expansion and all that. Who knew?
 
Oh Dear.

Well, the wall with the concrete block/french drain thing is now open. The sill board has been replaced and two of the studs now have sister boards.

In the meantime, in an effort to plan what other materials we may need, he removed the bottom foot of a three foot section of another wall. Oh. My. doG. It appears there are two slabs, one poured on top of the other with the top one about four inches smaller than the lower one. And it also appears the sill board is resting on nothing but air. The sill board is about four inches above the concrete foundation. Whether that is for the entire section of wall or just a small part of it, we can't tell until the rest of the siding is removed.

It appears everything inside that wall, at least on the lower 12 inches, is rotten. Not just a little bit rotten. Rather completely rotten. Maybe it is just that small section. I am amazed the wall hasn't sagged. And if it is that entire wall, that nothing has collapsed. Somebody in years past did attempt to do some repairs inside that wall but what they did was just spray foam in there and covered the bottom 8" of the outside siding with a horizontal board painted to match. I knew from the appearance of the outside board there would be damage in that wall. But not to this extent. Holy crap.

One strange funny thing...in the wall that was completely opened yesterday, the one that is partly below grade, when the siding was removed, we found a door behind it. Yep. A solid wood door between studs, all framed in with a small window in it and the hole where the door knob was. That door when used would have opened onto a parking area that abuts the wall on that side of the house. If one exited that storeroom door, one would have to walk around the house to get to the front door to enter.

AND the bottom foot or so of the door was below grade. It was obvious it wasn't originally built that way. Apparently, they added a foot or more of dirt/rocks to the parking area next to that wall, making the wall below grade. Who would do that? My Mom. Sheesh. The good news is that those blocks/french drain worked pretty well. Not much had to be repaired inside the wall.
 
smiley said:
your body has become soaked over time with nicotine - intro-cellular and it needs to eek out? pain and patience should go together
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however here comes the really good news from an ex- addictions treatment service worker - I have seen a pattern emerge of course one does? - the more you work the less you smoke ; and the more more you work you don't smoke - the body chemistry is complex lets leave that - just keep working and of course I see that you are enjoying it too and there is in there a fighter I read it a few threads back - well wishes - as we say in the trade "you sure have some guts"
 
The contractor had to finish a job on another site yesterday, so it was a "holiday" from this project. The dog went to the spa, I went to hardware store for a few items, grocery store, bank. This morning, I will go to the lumber yard to get materials. Maybe coat some areas with the rubber coat stuff to protect in case of moisture intrusion.

All of the brush/trees clean-up was removed on Monday. They used a wood chipper for the smaller stuff, blew it all into a 24' dumping trailer. Wow. That was something to see. The chipped brush alone filled the trailer. That was the first load that was taken to the mulch dump. The stuff that was large enough for fireplace/wood stove, he took to his place. That was a second load. Then after that was done, he had half a load of construction debris from another job; he came by here and loaded up a lot of ours and away it went. Three loads.

I have rented a 3 cu yd dumpster for the construction debris. It was filled the second day of this project. It is supposed to be "tipped" once every other week; what we had piled up beside the full dumpster would have been at least another full load. Glad that is gone. Dumpster will be emptied today (I hope). I am pretty sure it will be full again in a few days, maybe week.

Ordered some additional metal siding and trim pieces, which I hope will be ready for pickup tomorrow. With Friday being a holiday, the next available pickup time would be Monday. The trim pieces are 10'6" long. My mini-van will hopefully handle that if it is placed between the front seats, over the console and onto the dash. Have done this before. Would love to get those materials before Monday. We shall see.

That last wall and the accompanying concrete work will be an anxiety-ridden situation. There are a lot of electrical and plumbing in that wall. We discussed it yesterday and have a plan on how to avoid hitting any of that. Will probably start that next week.

I will breathe a huge sigh of relief when this project is finished. After this, the somewhat big project left will be to finish the inside of the hot tub room. That will be a walk in the park after this.
 
"It appears everything inside that wall, at least on the lower 12 inches, is rotten. Not just a little bit rotten. Rather completely rotten."
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We had a house built in Georgia with a stucco front. Five years later, when we were moving, the termite inspector discovered that the stucco had been put on incorrectly, not allowing for drainage, and inside that pretty peach stucco was nothing but black rotten wood. We called our insurance agent and she said perkily, "We had a meeting about this just this morning and we aren't going to cover it." What a racket.

You're awesome the way you keep rolling with the punches!
 
Things have been busy, although my busy-ness is mostly keeping an eye on everything and picking up needed materials, etc.

This is the home stretch of this project and oh! how glad I will be when it is finished. This week, the poor contractor dug a three foot deep trench next to the wall. This is very rocky territory! Piles and piles of busted concrete and large rocks. I feel so sorry for this young man. Yesterday, the new retaining wall was poured. This afternoon, the forms should be removed. Unfortunately, a lot of those very large rocks and dirt will need to be replaced; however, most of it will need relocating, wheel-barrowed to another area. Argh! After this, the work remaining will be much easier.

This morning, he plans to work on the house wall to at least get it closed in and rain proofed before the weekend. There is very little (almost no) support holding up the roof in that area and being a "worst case scenario" sort of person, I have been anxious about that. I believe the only thing holding up the roof is the wood siding that is still in place. I will be v-e-r-y glad when the sill plate and studs are installed.

Part of this side of the house is the garage wall. It has had two smallish (4" diameter) holes in the drywall inside near the floor for years. Yesterday, he cut off the bottom 6" or so of the plywood sheathing (water damaged) outside and there inside the wall between the studs were 4" deep piles of mice remains. Skeletons, etc. Dozens and dozens of them. We were both grossed out by that.

The really gross part of that is a couple of days before, I had opened one of those holes to try to see the sill plate, was it damaged, etc. I reached in and put my hand in there, moving that stuff around thinking it was dirt or rotted wood. I have a very strong (ex-nurse) stomach but when I saw that, I have to admit my stomach churned a bit.

We are coating the bottom 8-12" of any wood in the walls with a product called Rubr-Coat. It is an asphalt/rubber product that goes on like thick paint. That is what I have been doing while he does the hard work. In addition to that, ice and water shield covers the wood over that. Then the steel siding is placed, 1-2" below the plywood sheating.

Behind the steel corrugated siding, we are also putting those rubber strips along the bottom edge, manufactured to match the corrugation in the steel. (Mostly, those are used at the edge of roofs to prevent wasps, etc., from building nests under it.) We are using it to help prevent water infiltration from melting snow. Everything we can think of to avoid future problems. I don't know if this will work and the only way to know is to wait a few winters and remove the siding to see what is happening inside the wall. Not gonna happen.

Oh! And some new, strange musty odor is permeating the kitchen. I am so afraid it is a water leak somewhere, although the water lines run underground and the small bit that is above ground is visible and I see no leak. If it is underground, I don't think that musty smell would come into the house as water lines here are buried three feet deep. It did rain last week and I am afraid there may be a roof leak? I see no signs of it but I will NOT go into that mouse-poop infested attic to look. Please, God, I need a break. I am hoping it will just mysteriously disappear. It doesn't smell like dead animal rotting. I don't know.

July is the hottest month here, in the 90'sF, and that doesn't make this very pleasant work. Meanwhile, I have to stop here because he will be here soon and I'm not even dressed yet.
 
Yesterday was very productive. The concrete forms were removed, the dirt and rocks shoveled back into place to within a foot of the top of the retaining wall, which is also the bottom of the slab foundation. It is flush with the house wall above; in theory, snow sliding off the roof will fall to the ground below slab grade and not just pile up and sit there against the house wall for months, melting and freezing and seeping into the walls. Studs were placed, new bat insulation, plywood (OSB) sheathing now on. Monday the moisture barrier will be put on, then the metal siding itself. I think it will be finished by Tuesday pm. What a relief!

There will be some touch-up painting required which I will do myself. Maybe some caulking here and there. At least now I know that all walls are as secure against water entry as possible and are structurally sound. What a relief! The roof over half of the house (the half that we have been working on) is good since it was replaced last year so no worries there. The other half was done about five years ago. I am not sure about the quality of that work but it seems to be okay for now.

It will be interesting to see if this will reduce the mouse presence inside the house. For two years, the traps were empty but this summer they have caught over a dozen. Of course, walls have been open so that doesn't help. I have accepted that living in a forested areas means one must deal with wildlife. My rule is the inside of the house is mine, the outside is theirs. Rodents, however, seem to ignore that rule. I have spent much time sealing any possible entry points but still those little boogers manage to find their way in.

I will take a few months off from any major projects, partly because I need the break but also because of $$$. Will do some interior work on the hot tub room, removing a bunch of tile from one wall while I still have the dumpster in which to dispose of the debris. Demolition is easy, lol. I may also have the electrician come in and run lines for outlets, etc. in that room while the walls are open on the inside. This electrician is nice to work with and does good work.

I will now get dressed and move the irrigation hoses to new locations. They have been sitting in the same spots for five days. Those areas should be well watered by now, lol. BTW, the water is coming from the creek. It is the only thing around here that is "free".
 
The boards and bats in this current work area had to be completely removed to place the studs and plywood behind it. There was (were?) none, nada. We intended to reuse them as they seemed at first glance to be in good condition. Since each seam had been caulked and each board had been repainted a couple of times, it is actually a mess. I spent today scraping off the caulk and chipped paint. These can't be sanded because it is rough cut lumber.

I was able to locate some new boards left over from last year in the lumber room that can be cut down to fit. Yay! The new stuff will serve to replace some of the old boards. I spent today priming the new ones and patching the nail holes in the old ones. Tomorrow, I will prime the back sides just as a sealer, which is probably overkill but gonna do it anyway. I will apply the final coat of paint after they are installed and the seams are caulked.

Funny, when I was in the lumber storage area, where the wood is laid flat across blocks, etc., I noticed something dark dart between the boards on which I was standing. Yep. Mouse! So I just stomped hard on the top board and smashed it. It died quickly. Of course, then I had to take the board out and wash it and also of course, it is one we will have to use. At least it had a coat of primer on it. Hooray for that.

Contractor returns tomorrow; he deservedly took the weekend off. There are two walls where the bottom 8" of the plywood sheathing was cut off due to water damage so the first thing he will do is replace that. I rubber coated those pieces this morning. Next will be the moisture barrier, then the metal wainscoting and trim. That will give me time to do the priming before he needs to place the boards and bats.

Two more days. Maybe one more after that to caulk and paint. There are a few other areas that need touching up; I will just walk around with a brush and bucket of paint and do that at my leisure. Leisure...whatever that is.
 
Dogs:

So my little male grumpy shihtzu, adopted from a local shelter, was never a barker. I had him for two weeks before he ever barked! Someone must have trained him to be quiet. Well, Chloe-the-Spaniel-mix barks at everything, even air I think. A squirrel has been running around in the blue spruce just outside the front door, jumping into the lilacs, etc. Chloe has been barking like crazy at him. If I go out there and look up into the tree with her, tell her "It's okay", she will pretty much quiet down and come inside with me.

However, my formerly quiet little grumpy shihtzu has decided he has to be backup for her. Now he is barking. He hears her bark and then he starts barking, too. She will be under the tree, bouncing up against the trunk, and he will be on the other side of the yard barking towards the neighbor's house. I believe he has no idea why they are barking. He is joining into the fray, however.

I have taken to using a spray bottle and squirting them with water when they do this. It has helped. With Chloe, a very smart little dog, now all I have to do is say "Squirt Bottle!" and she tucks tail and stops barking. The shihtzu was squirted for the first time today. He has no idea what is going on. Lol. He just shakes it off and comes into the house.
 
I gave up smoking in 1983 because a packet of fags was getting near a dollar a pack, I'm a tight bastard, even though I loved smoking.

Went cold turkey, after a couple of weeks I had to wash all my clothes , curtains etc because they stank of smoke, my first real test was going to a club having a few beers while people smoked around me.

So glad I did, I understand that a packet of fags is now over $50 (don't know for sure because it is illegal to display them) and you can't smoke anywhere except outdoors and 10 metres from an entrance (I think that is right). Adult smoking rates are down to 8% because of punitive measure introduced. Good on 'em

It could be that the tax has gone too far because there is burgeoning black market in Chop Chop (illegal tobacco) and the revenue from tabacco has plummeted.
 
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Yesterday evening, it clouded up and threatened a storm. Lightning, thunder not too far away, coming in this direction. Crap. I went out, dragged out some tarps and stapled them over the walls, which are enclosed but the OSB plywood was exposed. If it got wet, covering it today with the siding would not be a good idea. Stacked up the siding boards under an eave and covered them, too.

It didn't rain. How much ya wanna bet that if I hadn't done that, it would have?
 
The siding and wall repairs project is finished except for some caulk and paint, which I will do over the next few days/week. The tile wall in the former hot tub room is gone; that actually went pretty fast and easy. Now that interior wall is open so I will call the electrician tomorrow to run wires for a few outlets. The lower part of one interior garage wall was replaced. No more holes for mice to get in their and build their nests. Yuck.

I see only two spots where mice may be able to get in. One is a plumbing pipe that was cut inside and I believe goes to the outside. I will plug that hole with spray foam, probably tomorrow. The other is a small hole in another interior garage wall. Will screw a board over that for now. If they still get in after that, I don't know what else to do.

So one major project is pretty well finished. Hooray for that!
 
Every single job on this place has quickly become more complicated than it would normally be. I always warn any worker in advance that there will be a lot more to do than just the obvious with unseen problems, etc.

Yesterday, when the siding project was finished in the early afternoon, the young man doing all this work had the rest of the day unscheduled. This was two weeks of work, many repairs, cutting the steel siding to fit over rocks, lots of extra sealing against water entry, digging out large rocks, designing and pouring a concrete wall, and was not your average "siding replacement" job. He helped do a few small extra things around the place. I know from past experience that he always charges an embarrassingly low amount. We have had this argument a number of times. When I asked him how much I owed him for all of this work, he said $3,000.

He is young (25), has been on his own for a year or so. He charges by the hour, not by the job which is what most contractors do. When he said $3,000, I was in no way going to settle for that. I told him that I wasn't just paying for his time but for his knowledge and ability to think through problems and solutions. He is very creative and comes up with good ideas. He is always here when he says he will be. He listens to my goals, answers questions, considers any suggestions this old woman may have to offer. He will take on work that most people would refuse. Always cheerful and upbeat, works very hard, no breaks except for lunch.

Most importantly, I can trust him. We discussed this and this time, I won and paid him almost twice that amount. That was for his labor only. I purchased all materials, etc. When he saw the amount I paid, he said, "This is $60/hour." I replied, "No, this is for a difficult job well done." I also gave him most of the left over wood, two wheeled carts full. And I still think I got a good deal.

There are a few other jobs I will have him do but for now, it will wait a few months. They can be done in winter (inside) or can wait until next summer. Fencing comes to mind, lol.
 
GoodEnuff said:
Dogs:

So my little male grumpy shihtzu, adopted from a local shelter, was never a barker. I had him for two weeks before he ever barked! Someone must have trained him to be quiet. Well, Chloe-the-Spaniel-mix barks at everything, even air I think. A squirrel has been running around in the blue spruce just outside the front door, jumping into the lilacs, etc. Chloe has been barking like crazy at him. If I go out there and look up into the tree with her, tell her "It's okay", she will pretty much quiet down and come inside with me.

However, my formerly quiet little grumpy shihtzu has decided he has to be backup for her. Now he is barking. He hears her bark and then he starts barking, too. She will be under the tree, bouncing up against the trunk, and he will be on the other side of the yard barking towards the neighbor's house. I believe he has no idea why they are barking. He is joining into the fray, however.

I have taken to using a spray bottle and squirting them with water when they do this. It has helped. With Chloe, a very smart little dog, now all I have to do is say "Squirt Bottle!" and she tucks tail and stops barking. The shihtzu was squirted for the first time today. He has no idea what is going on. Lol. He just shakes it off and comes into the house.
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My dog is a dachshund, barking is a breed specific. We had a sweet shihtzu next door for a while. She would sit outside with her owners, but if our dog came out she would go inside, even though there's lots of space and a fence in between yards.

I would let my dog out the back door and she would sail off the back porch doing a belly buster into the grass -- the shihtzu owners said they could see her barking before she hit the ground.
 

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