Phase II half-way there...

Phase II of the half-bath project is underway.  T and I spent Sunday dismantling a defunct chimney.  He said this was "the worse job yet" and "can we buy a real house now?"  Granted it was a 90 degree full humidity day and he had his head stuck in the attic removing bricks one by one with a hammer and a crowbar.

I had the fun job of throwing bricks out the 2nd floor window and then schleping them all to the rubble pile.  It was very hot and dirty work but we got the chimney more than half way down.

The bricks have a wonderful smoky charred smell reminiscent of many chimney fires.

Here are some lovely photos:

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Phase I is complete!

It's true!  Phase I of half-bath is complete.  Notice I did not tell you just how many phases there are...



Last week my Dad came down and we successfully removed the water heater from the kitchen and put it in the basement.  I know what a crazy thing to do - most people enjoy having a water heater in their living space...

The task went rather smoothly.  Our expectations around here are pretty low - pretty much you go into everything thinking that there will be some unexpected twist that will require a Plan B (or C) and an outlay of money.

Still, there were a few lessons learned...

1.  The water heater will not drain.  The bottom valve will not loosen.  We banged on it a bit but decided we were pressing our luck (and ensuring the purchase of a new one) so we moved it mostly full...

2.  When we shut off the hot water we found that the water lines seem to be crossed somewhere and at some point hot water is crossing into the cold?  Strange.

3.  We had a few extra wires when hooking it back up (it is electric and was connected to a timer that we dismantled).  Our electrician on call would not answer the phone so we did what any self-respecting do-it-yourselfer would do and winged it.  So far so good.  Hot showers have been had by all!  Thanks Dad!

If you give a house a cookie...

If you decide to redo your living room

You will want to put up new wallboard.

If you put up new wallboard

You are supposed to start with the ceiling.

If you start with the ceiling

You will need to fix the pipes

If you want to fix the pipes

You will need to renovate the entire bathroom

If you renovate the one bathroom

You will need first to put in a half-bath.

If you put in a half-bath

You will need to replumb the basement.

If you replumb the basement

You first need to fix the basement stairs.

If you fix the basement stairs

You will need to take down the defunct chimney

If you take down the defunct chimney

You will need to remove two more walls.

If you remove two more walls

God knows what projects you will find in there!

More walls come down

We call it an "open floorplan"...

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Our first good surprise...

Secrets under the vinyl

We have ripped all the vinyl off the front of the house in anticipation of replacing the original siding with hardy board.  Hardy board is a wood composite that looks like clapboard, but does not require the maintenance of wood.

When we removed the vinyl we did find a few surprises.  It appears that there were actually two windows on the upper level.  This makes sense as the one window looks a little lost up there.  I was planning on putting shutters on either side to help, but now I think we are going to put the other window in.  Yes of course that involves tearing out another wall and shifting things around yet again...

T also found some evidence of decorative trim on the left side (where he is pointing).  We hope to get the holes dug soon for the concrete window supports so we can remove the braces...  We also removed the front pine tree and hired someone to replace the walkway.  Progress!

Luv those Ducks

[caption id="attachment_266" align="alignleft" width="224" caption="Jack and Sweetie"][/caption]

The ducks are so big now.  T actually admitted that he likes them.  I caught him up in the middle of the night checking on them because he thought he heard a predator.  He went outside and saw two glowing eyes, but all ducks were safe in their pen.

Jack did have one scare.  He was watching a movie with his grandmother and did not go to put the ducks in until 9 p.m.  When he went outside he could not find them anywhere.  He came back in in a panic.  My Mother found him a flashlight and he finally located the ducks.  They were fast asleep in their duck house and had apparently put themselves to bed.  Crisis averted!!

[caption id="attachment_263" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="One of these things is not like the others"][/caption]

We have seen them fly recently.  Ducky (the mallard) flies out of the pool onto the ground.  The Pekins flap their wings, but don't get far.  We haven't clipped their flight feathers.  They are very bonded to each other and do not go far from their pen so I don't think they will be flying off (unless of course under attack and then maybe they should be able to try and get away?)...

The first crop...

Radishes are In

As you are aware, T could not be without his garden this year.  He did get off to a late start so his crops are a bit behind.  Not to mention the soil could use a bit of fertilization and nutrients (not many worms I am afraid).  This year we get what we get (and we don't get upset).

He did produce his first harvest of the year.  A bunch of radishes.  Funny thing is he doesn't even like radishes.  When I asked him why he grows something that he doesn't like to eat he told me that he had leftover seeds.  Apparently he just could not waste them.  Now the question is, what am I going to do with these (and are there any more coming...)??  I just asked "Is that it for the radish crop?"  and was met with the response "No there are plenty more!  There are about another TEN handfuls."  Great.  Just what I wanted.  Canned pickled radishes anyone?  Apparently they are easy to grow and it's the growing not the eating that makes the man happy.  Got to keep the man happy, even at the expense of uneaten radishes.