Thursday, August 05, 2004
Keeping on keeping on
Another week. Five resumes went out and a reminder letter to one district. I haven't received any calls since the Boonton HS interviews.
I also called the Division of Pensions to see what's holding up my pension checks. I got that straightened out, I hope.
The house has taken the rest of my time. I got some high strength mortar mix and plastered the wall where the steps go out under the porch. Water was pouring out of a hole in that wall. I also put tar on the foundation where I thought the water may be getting in.
One night I couldn't sleep and searched on the Internet in the computer room for a while. I heard mouse noises in the wall, so the next day I put out the mouse poison in the traps near the steps. No more sounds.
I finished up in the front basement. It's still damp, but the moisture is now not going upstairs. Still, I have some pipes to insulate, but I can do that later. I am tired at the end of the day, but I have trimmed an inch off my waist and toned up my flabby muscles.
Next door they are creating a house on the back of Steve and Susan Anderson's little place. It is two story, with a basement, a walk-in attic and a two story deck outside. There are all kinds of little gables on the outside.
A project that I was particularly proud of was reversing the polarity of a solar charger for the car. It now works correctly. Before, I discharged my battery. It's so cool to get energy from the sun for free! I'd like to have a panel in the roof to reduce the need for electricity in a car system, which is made with gasoline powering an alternator. The hybrids are the best, though. They really should have a panel in the roof to increase mileage!
I also called the Division of Pensions to see what's holding up my pension checks. I got that straightened out, I hope.
The house has taken the rest of my time. I got some high strength mortar mix and plastered the wall where the steps go out under the porch. Water was pouring out of a hole in that wall. I also put tar on the foundation where I thought the water may be getting in.
One night I couldn't sleep and searched on the Internet in the computer room for a while. I heard mouse noises in the wall, so the next day I put out the mouse poison in the traps near the steps. No more sounds.
I finished up in the front basement. It's still damp, but the moisture is now not going upstairs. Still, I have some pipes to insulate, but I can do that later. I am tired at the end of the day, but I have trimmed an inch off my waist and toned up my flabby muscles.
Next door they are creating a house on the back of Steve and Susan Anderson's little place. It is two story, with a basement, a walk-in attic and a two story deck outside. There are all kinds of little gables on the outside.
A project that I was particularly proud of was reversing the polarity of a solar charger for the car. It now works correctly. Before, I discharged my battery. It's so cool to get energy from the sun for free! I'd like to have a panel in the roof to reduce the need for electricity in a car system, which is made with gasoline powering an alternator. The hybrids are the best, though. They really should have a panel in the roof to increase mileage!
Sunday, August 01, 2004
Behold! Handyman Worketh!
The much needed repairs on the house are listed on the refrigerator door. As they are completed, they are scratched off. So far, I have reinsulated the steam pipes under the living room, insulated the floor and covered the joists with a 6 mil plastic to keep the moisture from migrating upwards. I changed the lighting, switch and outlet in the basement to 20th century standards and insulated the hot and cold water pipes.
The next project was to tear off and replace the old clapboard above the computer room. It was only a small triangle of area, but unsightly. I also repositioned the gutter so the water would run to the down spout, not away from it and drip on piano lesson clientele.
Next, I began to work on the leaking basement. I took out the bricks leading to the outside basement stairs and relaid them in sand that would lead water away from the foundation, not to it. Then I began patching up holes in the cinder block where water was spouting out. I plan to then paint it with UGL paint to do the final seal.
There is still the window sills to do, repointing another basement wall, and laying down some tar at the foundation to keep the water from seeping down there. If I can motivate Donna, we have four 6X6 windows that need reglazing. We got a heat gun to do this. So this time off work has allowed me to get many projects completed to bring this house up to standard.
The next project was to tear off and replace the old clapboard above the computer room. It was only a small triangle of area, but unsightly. I also repositioned the gutter so the water would run to the down spout, not away from it and drip on piano lesson clientele.
Next, I began to work on the leaking basement. I took out the bricks leading to the outside basement stairs and relaid them in sand that would lead water away from the foundation, not to it. Then I began patching up holes in the cinder block where water was spouting out. I plan to then paint it with UGL paint to do the final seal.
There is still the window sills to do, repointing another basement wall, and laying down some tar at the foundation to keep the water from seeping down there. If I can motivate Donna, we have four 6X6 windows that need reglazing. We got a heat gun to do this. So this time off work has allowed me to get many projects completed to bring this house up to standard.
