Saturday, January 19, 2013

This Old House, Again...

Remember the leak?  That well-hidden, inaccessable leak??

Yeah.

The leak is not anywhere where I can see the pipes.  The two-story add-on is behind the basement, so the pipes for the kitchen heater go through the basement wall.  The only way to access them is through the kitchen floor.  Two days ago, the linoleum bubbled up in front of the sink.  And, it's slowly growing.  Sigh.  It's starting to look like I will have to take up the linoleum, then the sub floor, to find the source(s) of any leaks.  Experience (hard mistress that she is) tells me that I will probably have to do some work on the floor joists too, at a minimum.  Just for drill.

So, in roughly the order of priority for the lovely old place:
  • New roof, all over
  • Find/fix leaks under the kitchen
  • Un-sag the laundry room (the add-on part is tipping away from the rest of the house)
  • Permanent electricity for the second and third floors
  • Shore up the first floor joists to level the first floor.
  • 'Artfully' shore the second floor (and hope that levels the third floor)
  • Re-model kitchen
  • Re-model bath
  • Make the back yard a thing of beauty.
That all should keep me busy and broke.

Wednesday, January 16, 2013

Morning View...

...from the office window.




I guess this what is meant by "freezing rain"?



Tuesday, January 1, 2013

New Year's Resolution

undefined

Somewhere in the blog-o-sphere, I read a bit on resolutions.  Instead of "Lose 50 pounds, give up drinking, and get the outstanding debts paid off", pick one word.  Post it on the fridge.  Put it in the car.  Make it your desktop.

"Humility" was the first word that popped into mind when I read that.

Dunno if I'm ready for that.  Of course, being the person Koda and Suzu might think I am is way tougher...