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A break in the rain...
Aug. 1st, 2009 10:04 pmMeans time to do some work outside!
Today, we had to make a Lowe's run to get some supplies. We have an issue with water getting under our house at the basement door, which I am willing to bet is the reason that that corner of the house has settled over the years. I came up with a low dollar solution (concrete threshold and regrading of the earth at the door) and a high dollar solution (a small foyer that would allow the installation of a full size door, but would require removal of the existing concrete steps and creation of new ones), and, being a bit on the poor side due to student debt, we decided to go with the cheaper solution of the concrete threshold. So, we picked up two 40 pound bags of concrete, and will do the work next weekend, or at least the next weekend that is dry enough to do the work.
But the big ticket item was a 24 ft aluminum extension ladder. Our gutters needed cleaning badly, as they were clogged with leaves and sticks. With all the rain we have gotten recently, this meant that our gutters would overflow easily.
Now, as you might recall, earlier this year we sold my truck of many years, and replaced it with an 91 Le Baron Convertible that I am slowly restoring back to pristine shape. (next up, bodywork).
Now, this means that we had to get from Lowe's back to house with the ladder. Although it was a 24 foot ladder, thanks to it being an extension ladder, collapsed it was only 12 ft. But there was still the issue of: we have a convertible.
Our solution was to drop the top (big surprise there), recline the passenger seat fully, and put the bottom of the ladder in the front footwell so that it stuck out over the rear seat and trunk. Jessica rode in the back behind me and kept the ladder from shifting too much, while I drove home.
Problem solved!
One we got home, I immediately put it to use by cleaning the gutters. It wasn't too bad actually, as the two highest and longest gutters were mostly clean (no tall trees on the side of the house, but give the cherries a few years ;-)
I did determine however that the gutter overflow problem at the rear, right over the entrance to the basement mentioned above, is due not to clogged gutters (although that did not help) but rather due to the fact that the gutter is majorly undersized. The gutter is only about 12 feet long, but the way that the roof slopes collect, I'd say that 1/3rd of the entire roof is draining to that one gutter. I see replacing that gutter with a substantially larger one in my future.
After all of that, we cleaned up and have relaxed the rest of the evening.
I have a few tasks to achieve tomorrow, namely replacing an old ungrounded cord with a new grounded cord on an antique linen mangle or rotary iron. (See http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q8ItAhVkkxM for what they can do.)
Plus, I need to put up a curtain rod in the dressing room.
Fun times!
Today, we had to make a Lowe's run to get some supplies. We have an issue with water getting under our house at the basement door, which I am willing to bet is the reason that that corner of the house has settled over the years. I came up with a low dollar solution (concrete threshold and regrading of the earth at the door) and a high dollar solution (a small foyer that would allow the installation of a full size door, but would require removal of the existing concrete steps and creation of new ones), and, being a bit on the poor side due to student debt, we decided to go with the cheaper solution of the concrete threshold. So, we picked up two 40 pound bags of concrete, and will do the work next weekend, or at least the next weekend that is dry enough to do the work.
But the big ticket item was a 24 ft aluminum extension ladder. Our gutters needed cleaning badly, as they were clogged with leaves and sticks. With all the rain we have gotten recently, this meant that our gutters would overflow easily.
Now, as you might recall, earlier this year we sold my truck of many years, and replaced it with an 91 Le Baron Convertible that I am slowly restoring back to pristine shape. (next up, bodywork).
Now, this means that we had to get from Lowe's back to house with the ladder. Although it was a 24 foot ladder, thanks to it being an extension ladder, collapsed it was only 12 ft. But there was still the issue of: we have a convertible.
Our solution was to drop the top (big surprise there), recline the passenger seat fully, and put the bottom of the ladder in the front footwell so that it stuck out over the rear seat and trunk. Jessica rode in the back behind me and kept the ladder from shifting too much, while I drove home.
Problem solved!
One we got home, I immediately put it to use by cleaning the gutters. It wasn't too bad actually, as the two highest and longest gutters were mostly clean (no tall trees on the side of the house, but give the cherries a few years ;-)
I did determine however that the gutter overflow problem at the rear, right over the entrance to the basement mentioned above, is due not to clogged gutters (although that did not help) but rather due to the fact that the gutter is majorly undersized. The gutter is only about 12 feet long, but the way that the roof slopes collect, I'd say that 1/3rd of the entire roof is draining to that one gutter. I see replacing that gutter with a substantially larger one in my future.
After all of that, we cleaned up and have relaxed the rest of the evening.
I have a few tasks to achieve tomorrow, namely replacing an old ungrounded cord with a new grounded cord on an antique linen mangle or rotary iron. (See http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q8ItAhVkkxM for what they can do.)
Plus, I need to put up a curtain rod in the dressing room.
Fun times!
