![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Getting Better All The Time
Oct. 13th, 2012 01:48 pmWe snaked the washing machine drain this afternoon. There was some sort of blockage — possibly old dried-up soap, given that there hasn't been a load of laundry on that line for about two years — and the water now flows freely again. Maybe we can now safely do laundry in our house.
It dried up sufficiently around Fernley today that Lisa and I tackled putting the wood box back into place. We want it relatively level left-to-right and slightly angled back-to-front so that if any moisture does get into the box, it drains out the front. Rather than sitting it directly on the ground like it was last season, Lisa decided to set it on a couple of wooden runners, re-using some of the lumber that used to be floor beams before the contractor removed them. We got out the shovel and rake and level and excavated space for the runners that levels things the way we wanted. Then Lisa and I shoved the box back into place.
After the first attempt, we realized that we were about half a meter too far to the right. The door of the wood box, when opened, would hit the electric meter. So we had to drag the box back off the runners and repeat the process with the runners in the right place. Eventually we got it done and the box is now ready to have the rest of the paint applied (to the interior; Lisa had already finished the exterior). Lisa also plans on setting a piece of scrap plywood (it's actually the old roof of the box from last season, which cracked and had to be replaced) on the floor of the box after the box painted to act as additional protection. Then the box will be ready to accept a 3/4 cord load of firewood. The rest of the firewood gets stacked on the back side of the house with plastic thrown over it to keep off the occasional rain and snow.
Our plumber, Steve, moonlights as a chimney sweep on weekends. While Lisa and I were working on the wood box, he and his son arrived and they tackled cleaning our chimney. When he was by doing the plumbing work for his Day Jobbe last week, we told him that we wouldn't be able to afford the $100 until next month. He called later and suggested that it's easier for him to do the job now (he could group it with others in the area, and the weather is better now) and we could pay him in November. That's awful nice of him.
Not everything is finished here. Maybe it never will be. Lisa did get her Big Orange Van put back together, but the electric oil pump isn't working and she ran out of energy and time to work on it. This means we won't be able to even see if the van will start with the water pump repairs she made until the next time I'm home for an extended period, which probably won't be until around Thanksgiving. But we did get a whole lot of things done this past two weeks, and despite my complaining about all of the house repairs, eventually things do get done. Lisa says the house is getting better and better all of the time.
It dried up sufficiently around Fernley today that Lisa and I tackled putting the wood box back into place. We want it relatively level left-to-right and slightly angled back-to-front so that if any moisture does get into the box, it drains out the front. Rather than sitting it directly on the ground like it was last season, Lisa decided to set it on a couple of wooden runners, re-using some of the lumber that used to be floor beams before the contractor removed them. We got out the shovel and rake and level and excavated space for the runners that levels things the way we wanted. Then Lisa and I shoved the box back into place.
After the first attempt, we realized that we were about half a meter too far to the right. The door of the wood box, when opened, would hit the electric meter. So we had to drag the box back off the runners and repeat the process with the runners in the right place. Eventually we got it done and the box is now ready to have the rest of the paint applied (to the interior; Lisa had already finished the exterior). Lisa also plans on setting a piece of scrap plywood (it's actually the old roof of the box from last season, which cracked and had to be replaced) on the floor of the box after the box painted to act as additional protection. Then the box will be ready to accept a 3/4 cord load of firewood. The rest of the firewood gets stacked on the back side of the house with plastic thrown over it to keep off the occasional rain and snow.
Our plumber, Steve, moonlights as a chimney sweep on weekends. While Lisa and I were working on the wood box, he and his son arrived and they tackled cleaning our chimney. When he was by doing the plumbing work for his Day Jobbe last week, we told him that we wouldn't be able to afford the $100 until next month. He called later and suggested that it's easier for him to do the job now (he could group it with others in the area, and the weather is better now) and we could pay him in November. That's awful nice of him.
Not everything is finished here. Maybe it never will be. Lisa did get her Big Orange Van put back together, but the electric oil pump isn't working and she ran out of energy and time to work on it. This means we won't be able to even see if the van will start with the water pump repairs she made until the next time I'm home for an extended period, which probably won't be until around Thanksgiving. But we did get a whole lot of things done this past two weeks, and despite my complaining about all of the house repairs, eventually things do get done. Lisa says the house is getting better and better all of the time.
