So... What are YOU doing? - Part 8

[Lamb]

Does that mean the cancer is gone completely?

Oh yeah, they got it all from the surgery. It's just that I've had to have scopes for the past 5 years and I'm all done with those now!! Yay!!!

 

[tango]

Oh yeah, they got it all from the surgery. It's just that I've had to have scopes for the past 5 years and I'm all done with those now!! Yay!!!

Excellent!

 

[tango]

This thread went quiet...

I've been building a temporary floor over a stairwell. I need to work on the walls and ceiling, and figured having a solid floor was a good way to start. So now I've got some beams fastened in place with some more lumber across them as a floor surface. Each individual beam will take my weight (I checked them all, one by one) so I can be confident that the collection of beams will take many times my weight. Which is handy, because it will need to support someone with a drywall hoist and a sheet of drywall.

For now I need to pull down some nasty lath and plaster and some damaged drywall. The damaged drywall won't be replaced as-is, I'm changing the shape of the space to make it a bit brighter in there. I may even add an extra light fitting, I'd just need to figure how to change the bulbs if I do.

 

[tango]

The temporary floor has worked very well. Being able to walk across the space where the stairs are has enabled me to pull down walls and ceilings.

So far I've got about 200 pounds of drywall scraps, about 180 gallons of cellulose insulation and probably 350-400 pounds of plaster scraps, as well as a huge pile of laths.

The laths are waiting for a friend who uses them as fuel, the plaster has already been taken away by another friend who uses it for projects I won't even begin to describe, and all the cavities are now insulated with nice fresh fiberglass. Everything is warmer now, which is also handy this time of year.

Now I just need to decide whether the stairs stay in place and I restud the wall I tore down, or whether the stairs are going and I make a more permanent job of the temporary floor joists. Both options are very tempting - the upstairs room that would expand into the space would become a nice sized room if it gained that much extra. It would just take away a few options regarding possible future use of the space.

 

[Stravinsk]

Phew! Busy day preparing food.

I made about 2 weeks worth of coleslaw (my own recipe) to freeze until I need it. In addition I did about 2.5Kilos of fries from whole potatoes, par boiled in a mixture of herbs and salt for freezing. I'm tired now, so I'm planning to do the other 2.5Kilos of potatoes tomorrow. Looking to save a little $$ and practice my culinary skills.

The last 2 days I cleaned my kitchen floor (most of it) which was in dire need of it. Hot water + salt does wonders!

 

[Lamb]

Phew! Busy day preparing food.

I made about 2 weeks worth of coleslaw (my own recipe) to freeze until I need it. In addition I did about 2.5Kilos of fries from whole potatoes, par boiled in a mixture of herbs and salt for freezing. I'm tired now, so I'm planning to do the other 2.5Kilos of potatoes tomorrow. Looking to save a little $$ and practice my culinary skills.

The last 2 days I cleaned my kitchen floor (most of it) which was in dire need of it. Hot water + salt does wonders!

I didn't know coleslaw could be frozen!!! I usually try to gobble it all up before it goes bad. I LOVE coleslaw.

My daughter came over with her bulldog last night and we went to look at Christmas lights displays and then watched the Wednesday series on Netflix.

 

[tango]

Not a whole lot going on with the house project in the last few days. I did pull down a lot of stuff and fit some new fiberglass into the ceiling space and between the living space and the stairs to the (uninsulated, very cold) attic. The difference in the thermal images is striking.

I needed to adjust the fiberglass because there are a few places where the design of the house lets it breathe (which is good) by opening the ceiling cavities to the outside (which really isn't good). What I plan to do is seal the open sections completely to stop the wind and noise, then drill holes in the floor in the attic and put vents in them so that the walls can still breathe. That side of the house gets the rain and the wind and the sun in the summer time so I don't want moisture driven into the living space causing condensation. If the hollow blocks can vent upwards and into the attic, the slate roof can breathe enough to let the moisture out again.

Cleaning up the mess in that space took a while. It's tricky now the staircase is mostly out of use because I can only move small things up and down the stairs - anything else has to go through the house and up or down the main stairs.

I also ordered some more sound proofing. That's supposed to be arriving today.

 

[Faith]

Sometimes I don't mind the commercial pop. I can't take it for very long though because it becomes annoying. Yesterday I had opera cranked really loud and was singing along LOL

I prefer Contemporary Christian or rock. My favorite all time rock bands are Queen and VanHalen.
One of my favorite Contemorary Christian songs is the Christmas song, Little Drummer Boy by For King and Country.

 

[tango]

Woot! My soundproofing material is here. Now I just need to figure out how to get it upstairs. This could be tricky. Ideally I'd take it up the stairs on the side I'm working on, but I can't do that because I've got a temporary floor in place there. So it will have to go through the house and round some tight corners.

The material will fit around the corners but it's heavy - each roll weighs 100lb - so I'd really rather not carry it any further than I have to without using one of my hand carts. I'll probably use the heavy cart to bring it round the outside of the house and then the smaller one to get it up the stairs and around indoors.

 

[Stravinsk]

I didn't know coleslaw could be frozen!!! I usually try to gobble it all up before it goes bad. I LOVE coleslaw.

My daughter came over with her bulldog last night and we went to look at Christmas lights displays and then watched the Wednesday series on Netflix.

You've probably researched it by now, but yes, you can, and it's generally good for around 3 months. Just don't use mayonnaise (guessing other milk-products applicable here too), and remove as much oxygen as you can from freezer bags before sealing.

 

[tango]

I got my soundproofing moved around. The big hand cart, rated for up to 700lb, could easily cope with two rolls at a time. It could have carried the weight of more of them but trying to lift something that weighs only slightly less than I do up steps is hard work so I was glad I didn't attempt to load up any more. Then I used the smaller cart to get them up the stairs - my wife took the handles to guide it while I stood underneath it and lifted the weight up the steps.

So now I have 500lb of vinyl in the room currently under construction. That should be enough to soundproof the exterior wall and the ceiling in there.

After shifting that lot I was aware that my muscles ached when I was in the shower. Between going for a run in the afternoon and shifting heavy rolls of vinyl around in the evening I shouldn't be surprised. I slept well last night....

 

[Lamb]

My husband and I walked a neighbor's package over as we did our walk. I guess he ordered his wife's Christmas gifts and meant to send them to another neighbor's house LOL He said there are more on the way!

 

[Stravinsk]

I successfully made charcoal today. What I mean is, it was the first time I deliberately set out to make it, instead of unintentionally by burning something then putting it out before it's done.

The process involved a metal trash-can with lid, propped up slightly above ground and an hour-long firelighter set underneath. I put in cardboard and old wood scraps. The lid was 7/8 of the way on (leaving a space for smoke to escape - important as sealing it would create an explosion). Process took about an hour. When the smoke from the lid opening was getting sparse, I put out the fire underneath and sealed it.

!! Waiting until it fully cools down is important. You don't want to open the lid and let oxygen in while it's still hot, as you could get a big flame and burn yourself !!

From here it's a relatively simple process of breaking down the carbonized substances into dust and making briquettes with a small amount of starch as binder.

Sort of excited about using my grass as a carbon source, I've heard this was done in Africa.

 

[1689Dave]

I'm studying the Bible and digitizing rare theology books for computer use. Enjoying the Lord and His manifold blessings.

 

[tango]

I need to finish off some computer work and get busy installing this mountain of vinyl I ordered. I've been a bit sidetracked lately finding and fixing drafts. I nailed a couple of nasty ones. It's surprising I still have any drafts at all by now but every once in a while I find one that escaped my attentions so far.

I've got something very nasty going on in the kitchen that leaves one entire corner very cold. I know there are some issues with the brickwork but physically getting at it is difficult. Yesterday when fitting some pipe insulation in the crawl space below I spotted something that might give me a quick win there. If it does that would be very handy - it means I can at least mitigate the problem with nothing more than a bundle of salvaged fiberglass.

 

[Stravinsk]

I'm getting a kick out of turning my garbage and garden waste into charcoal. Overgrown rosebush, clipped and now charcoal. Overgrown grass, clipped and dried and now charcoal. Unused cardboard, same. Paper same. Plastic too. Can't do it with glass or aluminum cans so those get recycled.

I cut down a passionflower vine some years ago only to discover I didn't get all of it and it's still growing. That's good, because I was sorry I cut it down. Today I took a generous amount and made a simple alcohol tincture. Passionflower is a sleepy time herb.

 

[Stravinsk]

Poker today was brutal.

I'm deep stacked and my main nemesis (also deep stacked, but not as much as mine) likes to shove post flop after some money has gone in. At first I assumed this was on top pair or better (set or overpair), but on a J 2 8 flop he decided to shove and I had AJ, and the pot was raised preflop....so screw it, he may have an overpair but I have to see it this time. Turns out he had AQ no pair and his only out at this point was a Q. Got him.

Then it went crap. I landed a set on the flop and shoved. He had the larger set. Ugh.
Then I pursued the nut flush (highest flush) on another board and hit my draw on the river. I bet and he shoved. The board is paired, so there's a possibility he has a Full House, that beats me. Can't let it go. I call...and there goes my stack. He had a full and knew exactly how to get me. Ugh.

2 pair against another player. I shove...he calls and lands his miracle trips on the river.
Again 2 pair against another player. I shove and he lands a better 2 pair on the turn.

I raise 88 and land a set on the flop. Bet and on the turn he lands a straight with 74 as hole cards! Arrrghhh!!! Bloody fish calling my raises with 74!!!!!!!

Down down down my bankroll went today, all on hands like these. I started getting really angry and frustrated so I just called it a day.

 

[tango]

Stuffing fiberglass made quite a difference to my cold corner but not as much as I first thought. I know there are still brickwork issues that need to be addressed, but they are still almost impossible to get at.

To get at one area requires emptying a corner floor-level unit and cutting a hole in the back of it so I can get at the space behind it. That's tricky because it's a very awkward space to get at and work in, and of course when I'm done I have to patch it up (at least kinda sorta patch it up) before putting everything back in.

To get at another area means emptying all the crockery out of a wall unit, figuring how many edges of it are sealed against other things (likely three, if not more), taking it off the wall, then cutting a hole in the wall behind it. That would create a space that was easier to get at and easier to work with, but taking a unit off the wall is the sort of thing where if there are unexpected nails that rip things apart there's only so much I can do to patch it up afterwards. And the chances of unexpected nails holding things together are pretty high, based on experience so far.

On a positive note, if I can get at the space behind the wall cupboard I don't need to get at the space behind the floor unit because I can pour insulation into the gap and it should fall down into place.

In the meantime I've been putting sealant into the gaps around my insulation panels. It's very hard to cut things to fit precisely when wall studs aren't straight, and each gap gives cold air a chance to seep around the panels. Adding sealant stops that from happening, and most of the seams are now sealed. The ones that aren't are the patches I couldn't reach so I'll need to get my ladder into place to finish that off. I went through 16 tubes of sealant in four days and have another 10 in the basement to work with.

 

[Lamb]

I got up extra early to go to the grocery store. It opens in an hour so I can take my time getting ready. My dad sent home some duck eggs for us to eat for breakfast and they're really filling.

 

[tango]

Finally started to move forward with the house again. I took a few days off, not so much a planned break as a "lack of motivation" break. It's surprisingly enthusiasm-sapping when I need tools that are in one part of the house moved to the furthest point.

At least now I've got another room fully insulated with my panels and all the edges sealed. Now I just need to figure how best to fill the spaces in the eaves overhangs to keep noise, cold and bugs out and then I can start hanging the soundproofing vinyl.