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

[tango]

Long walks are the best time to hash things out!

Very much so. It's remarkable how a long walk can clear my thoughts and bring things into focus. A long walk in the woods is even better, but in this heat the mountains are a bit strenuous. And a long walk takes away the regular distractions of being at home.

My wife and I also found that a drive in the woods can be useful. A couple of nights ago we drove into the mountains to watch the sun set, then decided to stay around and watch the fireflies for a while. With no light pollution at all it's remarkable how many of them there are, and how bright they are. We both love fireflies, so we didn't leave until it was fully dark and even then we didn't really want to leave.

 

[tango]

Not such a fun job this afternoon. The bathroom sink was blocked. Usually it's a simple fix, nothing more than removing the U-trap underneath it and cleaning the plughole out. This time that didn't work, it turned out the blockage was in the pipe under the floor.

In the process of cleaning the pipework above the floor I also managed to block the drain from the bathtub, so I wasn't feeling particularly good.

After much jiggling I managed to get my pipe snake about 15 feet under the floor. Cranking it back and forth by hand didn't do anything so I used a power drill to crank it faster. It went back and forth several times with no sign of anything changing but then suddenly I heard the bathtub draining. I poured some water into the open pipe to see if it would drain away, and it did. So problem solved, although it wasn't exactly a pleasant thing to have to deal with. But now it's done, the sink and bath drain normally, and by comparison cleaning the air conditioning filters feels like an easy job.

But for now I'm kicking back with a coffee for a bit.

 

[Lamb]

I got up early to take my husband to his dentist appointment. The last time he went he had a lot of work done and he was in too much pain to drive, so this time I'm taking him, just in case they need to do something.

 

[Krissy Cakes]

Laying down on the couch and listening to music.

 

[tango]

I got my air conditioning filters cleaned. I tried using a vacuum cleaner on them but it didn't work as well as I hoped so I took them outside and gave them a good spray with an air compressor. It blew some dust out of them and when the dust stopped blowing they were visibly cleaner again.

Today I had to figure out how to get a metal cutting saw behind a base board so I can lift it out, which in turn will let me cut some laths away so I can fit drywall above the stairs. I've cut all the nails I can see are there but the base board still isn't lifting out, and I'm not seeing any obvious way to get something underneath it to pry it upwards. For good measure I put some temporary joists above the stairs so I could put a temporary floor that would let me get at the walls above the stairs, so I have to be careful not to bang my head on them. My sawzall is a bit too big to get into place cleanly, but my oscillating tool blades aren't long enough to reach the nails, so I have to use the sawzall and just go for as long as I can before I bend a blade badly enough I can't use it any more.

Tomorrow I get a day off breaking stuff, my wife and I are babysitting all day.

 

[Lamb]

My husband has a doctor's appointment this afternoon, so I'll be driving him to that. It's an hour's drive and I know the way better since I did it a lot years ago. I wish he'd find a doctor closer to home.

 

[tango]

My wife and I survived the day of babysitting. We had two sisters, aged 5 and 6, to look after for the day. We're very fond of them so we don't mind keeping them so their mom can go to work.

I concluded getting a sawzall blade behind my baseboard is an exercise in futility because a 9" blade won't quite reach and trying to run a 12" blade in a confined space when there's a load of plaster behind the nails means I'm just going bend my blades. So I bought a cold chisel, and then found it's not long enough so I had to take it back. Tomorrow I'm going to a bigger hardware store where I can get a 12" long cold chisel.

It turned out that although there are two nails only one of them actually holds anything in place. I have an extra cold chisel that was long enough to demonstrate the pointy end of the nail wasn't stuck into anything, but not long enough to work with the other nail. The problem is that I can't hold it in place accurately enough to bring any force to bear against it. Hopefully a longer chisel will do the trick. If not I'm not sure what my next move would be.

 

[Lamb]

My niece is calling soon to tell me about her trip to Europe.

 

[tango]

Trying to remove a section of base board from behind some stairs. It's one of the few occasions I've been thankful a length of board is made up of pieces because this has been a headache. Lots of nails from all directions, many of them almost totally inaccessible, such that I've had to cut into all sorts of things just to get enough access to get a tool into a tiny space to cut the nails. It's far from clear how some of the nails were hammered into place, let alone why. I had to dismantle the top half of the staircase, which now means I'll need to refinish some of the wood where I pulled nails out, but I can sand and restain the wood. It's red oak and must be nearly 100 years old so I'd rather preserve it if at all possible.

Now that section is removed, so I can pull down the lath and plaster behind it, ready for a drywaller to fit the drywall. Next up is to build some boxing to run an air conditioning duct so that can be kept out of the way, then some fairly minor electrical tidying up work, and then I think I can start moving stuff out of the upstairs space so the drywaller can get at everything. I'll need to see if he can work around the radiators, there are two of them and they weigh somewhere north of 400lb each, so moving them isn't a trivial proposition.

 

[Lamb]

Watching Trump take questions from reporters before he goes to Scotland. It's nice having transparency from this administration, especially after the last one tried gaslighting us, hid the President from us, and wouldn't reveal the necessary truths the country needed to know. But I digress...

 

[tango]

Yesterday I got the boxing work done and the electrical tidying up, which was nice. I've got a couple of small things left to do in this space, then I can start moving the heavy stuff out to make room for the next stages.

 

[NewCreation435]

I'm watching training videos I'm required to watch for work and then going to pharmacy later to get my prescription. I've been having problems with fatigue, but today has been a pretty good day so far

 

[Lamb]

I'm watching training videos I'm required to watch for work and then going to pharmacy later to get my prescription. I've been having problems with fatigue, but today has been a pretty good day so far

I'm glad the fatigue has gotten better! I go through some days where it gets bad due to my thyroid meds, but it doesn't always last. So I hope that period is over for you too.

 

[tango]

Wow, this thread kinda died.

My work space in my house is surging forward. I recently had contractors in to hang and finish drywall, one room is painted, the ceiling fan is hung and connected, the power sockets are connected and protected with a GFCI, and the floor is mostly sanded ready for lacquering. Hopefully within a couple of weeks I'll have another contractor in to fit replacement windows in there, and then I can fit window trims. Another room needs a couple of radiators moved so I can get at the rest of the walls and then I can get that painted and make fresh window trims.

The room that I've painted is nominally where our new granddaughters will sleep - they are very excited at the thought of spending the night at our house and when they were here during the week they very eagerly asked to see "their room". It raised a few eyebrows at my local hardware store when I ordered very girly paint colors - they hadn't heard the news and were puzzled why I'd want that particular color scheme.

A downstairs room needs some stuff moved around and a little more electrical work done once I can get at the gap between two sockets to run a cable, and then that's dangerously close to being ready to drywall. The window contractors also have a door for me to replace the existing exterior door, which will be nice. Assuming they do a good job with the door I'll have them back to replace other exterior doors that are rather old and could use replacing.

There's one room downstairs that has no insulation at all, and if I can figure how to get insulation panels home from the hardware store I hope to address that before winter sets in. I might as well start saving money right away, and claim the tax credit before it potentially lapses. So I need to talk nicely to my friend with the trailer to see when he can provide transport for me.

 

[Lamb]

I've been doing a lot of outside maintenance, mostly painting. I'm sick of having to repair/paint rotting wood, but it's gotta get done.

 

[Vindicator]

Oh, cool thread.

Got home from work, and been catching up with some friends online. Waiting to talk to a friend who has a couple of services to attend today, but been having great fun fellowshipping, so hopefully Monday if there's not much time today. Checking through some threads on this forum, and seeing what's up.

 

[tango]

I've been doing a lot of outside maintenance, mostly painting. I'm sick of having to repair/paint rotting wood, but it's gotta get done.

Yick, that doesn't sound good.

I replaced one of my basement windows because the frame was badly rotted. I bought some treated wood suitable for prolonged ground contact and built a new frame. Getting the old frame out was interesting, but now I've got a new frame with interchangeable panels - a window for the winter months and an extractor fan for the summer months when it gets humid in the basement.

 

[Lamb]

Yick, that doesn't sound good.

I replaced one of my basement windows because the frame was badly rotted. I bought some treated wood suitable for prolonged ground contact and built a new frame. Getting the old frame out was interesting, but now I've got a new frame with interchangeable panels - a window for the winter months and an extractor fan for the summer months when it gets humid in the basement.

I bought some epoxy...I can't remember the name but it worked so well at getting hard enough and it's waterproof, so I don't have to worry about the spots getting spongy now. It just took a lot of time and effort. Not what I want to do at all.

 

[tango]

I bought some epoxy...I can't remember the name but it worked so well at getting hard enough and it's waterproof, so I don't have to worry about the spots getting spongy now. It just took a lot of time and effort. Not what I want to do at all.

That sounds like it should work as a long term fix. There are times that a quick fix to keep something rolling for another season works but they get tedious.

When I'm done using my big saws upstairs I need to take them back to the basement and work on another window. It doesn't need urgent attention, truth be told it's probably not going to get done until after winter now, but I'd like to get it replaced.

 

[Lamb]

I'm done with outside maintenance for now. Next is washing/waxing my vehicle once I get a day I don't need to do anything else.