February 19, 2017

Yesteryear
One year ago today: February 19, 2016, a generic day.
Five years ago today: February 19, 2012, his daughter was pregnant.
Nine years ago today: February 19, 2008, remember Dirtflinger?
Random years ago today: February 19, 2011, on statutory law.

           Old meets new, that’s what you see in this junction box. The 1946 wiring was cloth covered and expected to last 25 years. A duplex outlet goes here ([n the picture] but I didn’t have an extra and this turned out to be a full day. I did a lot of the dirty work today. Digging under the footings, slipping shims while lying in the dirt, cutting out old termite lumber, and getting dust from every nook and cranny into my every nook and cranny. The major task of the day was re-routing this wiring around the new window cutout. Nearly two hours.

           Then I got to the window. It’s not a matter of just making a new frame and making the cutout. The length of header exceeds the limit for a single 2x4”, so that’s the unit I built up y’day. It’s dried and ready to install, so I piled the supplies near the old cutout and worked on the north side of the house until noon, when the shade made it easier to work on the east side.

Picture of the day.
You first.
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           Adding the shims to the foundation is akin to fine tuning the house level. What odd characteristics, as I get it close to factory level, you can look under the house and see it raised some of the joists a bit. These are the same joists JZ and I cut down to fit. After a few hours, the joists resettled to the new positions. There was a slight bounce to the floor before, that is completely gone now. It looks and in a way sounds like walking on concrete. I chose the back room to do first, my thinking was that I had to know what I was up against. Now I see the living room floor has to come up also. I was hoping to kind of get away with not doing that.

           Here’s a better look at some termite damage. This was on the window sill, the termites need water every day, so it was collecting in some of these obvious spots. Relax, every spot of it that was found has been completely cut away and replaced. There is zero termite damage in the areas of the house that have been renovated.
           I found working alone more enjoyable than I thought. Just me and the cats. To keep the work interesting, I had to learn to cut angles. I’ve never done this successfully before. At least not on the scale of cutting lumber. I’m also working with deck screws. They are pricier than nails, but the tradeoff is that it is far easier to tear out a mistake.

           The building has those old angle pieces to keep the walls square. The new window opening reaches almost to those diagonals, right between studs. So I had to cut some 47.5° angles, shown below. Working alone with the materials outside and all but the cutting tools inside means lots of running back and forth. I had to knock off when the sun set, but I’m satisfied with the progress. It was too nice a day to not work. Normally I’d head up to the laundromat. Sunday is the one time in this town you can have the whole place to yourself.

One-Liner of the Day:
“I live in the past because the housing’s cheaper.”
           I have most of the inside framing in place, but not the header. That has to be done carefully so I don’t bring the wall crashing down on my hard hat. Slate that for tomorrow, for lots of reasons. I want full daylight, a fresh day, and neighbors who are within shouting distance. It’s not unsafe, I just prefer to be careful.

           There’s a self-rewarding satisfaction to this work, and that sense that finally something that was talked about for fifty years is now actually being done. I rented my whole life, although I’ve owned commercial property, I’ve never myself lived in it. The last time I renovated a building, I was 21 years old. That’s the old nurse’s residence. But that was different, like it was a slap together repair not meant to last beyond the time it took to flip it.

           This house has to last until I’m gone. Hence it isn’t like work and I’m already used to documenting various activities. You only see about one picture in twenty. There are thousands of photos of every bit of work done on the place. If I ever sell it, I can show that it was done right. Or, ha, ha, I just thought of it—you could say the only corners that were cut were the ones with termite damage. Sharp, if I must say so myself. Tell you what, let’s see some stats for this month.
           I’ve spent $95.64 on lumber, $66.32 on tools, and $44.29 on consumables (nails, glue, screws, sandpaper). Total renovation materials this month so far, $320.54. It is nice to work without a deadline and without concerns of hourly wages or profit. I know that adding that window to the east wall will cost me less than $100 but add $5,000 to the value of the house. And the experience gained with that will go directly into the front room for the same treatment.
          Did you know I initially turned this house down because it had bad curb appeal? But once that double window is put up and that porch is built, add $35,000 to the sale price. Easily. Also, the uneven floors were not apparent from outside, but now that the one wing is back to spec, it truly does make the place look much sharper. I look forward to taking on the big job. Obviously, I am psychologically deriving a lot of contentment from this work. So now I find out . . .

ADDENDUM
           And yes, I’m aware I called the wood putty “hard as nails” when that is the slogan for some glue, and the correct saying was “hard as rock”. But that is just further proof how unaffected I am by metaphorical advertising. Tell me what the product does, don’t give me a pitch. And yes, I’m also aware this example was a simile, not a metaphor. Way ahead of you. No I am going to go read my newest book, a tale of North Korean arms sales. How dare those Koreans sell weapons, who do they think they are? Boeing? General Dynamics?
           And another product, this hurt-free Band-Aid antiseptic. Lately I’ve got my share of scrapes and the fact is, it stings like any other, but they add an topical anesthetic to the mix and that part is not that effective on me. So I get this nail scratch, and believing the label, I pour it on. If I did the rain dance, it is going to pour for a week. Yeow!
           The I watched another remake of the old ancient legend medieval thing. But they always kill the dragon. Now there’s none left. Don’t they ever stop to think the dragons are just another bunch of guys, you know, at the end of the day just trying to put food on the table?


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