House Work
Last summer I remodeled a bathroom. It started out as a project to place a medicine cabinet on the wall above the lavatory. Next thing you know I'm installing bead-board, a new vanity, bamboo flooring, and a new man-toilett (more on this at a later date). At times it was the project from hell.
This summer I installed eight new windows, a front door, and a patio door (all myself!). I hired an outfit to install siding on the house and had a new roof installed. To have the siding installed I had to tear down the old deck. As soon as the roof was installed I started construction of the new deck, keeping a diary of the work. I'll add installments from time to time. Here's the first.
8/22/08
Tonight I only stayed a few minutes after work. Bought a box of beer on the way home and picked up some screws and a bib apron w/ pockets.
Once upon a time, when you went to your local hardware store they’d give you a hat or an apron w/ their logo on it as a gesture of goodwill. The bonus for them was a little free advertising and a happy customer that was bound to come back. The guy who handed you your apron or hat was most likely the store owner, or he’d been told by the owner to hand them out for any order over $???. Today, the store owner is 20 people on a board of directors who’ve probably never been to the store you frequent let alone the city you live in. The store manager is so wound up with meeting quotas and sales targets that he’s not giving ANYTHING away for free. You’re lucky to find someone in one of the “big box” stores that can help you find the 2 ¼” stainless #7 trim head, square drive screws you need let alone help you load $200 worth of lumber into the back of your truck. Does the lack of personal contact and goodwill make up for a small reduction in price? I guess change is not entirely a good thing.
I digress.
I got home, changed clothes, and started haulin’ tools to the back yard. The help I had arranged for decided they had better things to do tonight so I was on my own. Trust me, I’m extremely careful. I realize that I’ll be older on my next birthday and that I can hurt myself if I’m not careful. I hate it when that happens. So, instead of having four hands I had to make do w/ two and tax my gray matter a little more. It just takes a little extra time and a few extra “key strokes”. Gray matter did well this evening and is already plotting for tomorrow.
I got the two side pieces mounted to the ledger board and two 4 X 4 posts mounted to them. I also got the joist hangers mounted to the ledger board. It didn’t rain, but the humidity was pretty high. After three hours I was soaked to the bone. Tomorrow I hope to connect the side together with the center post and braces and to start loading in the 2 X 4 x 16 joists.
The only hitch is the old steps. They have to go first thing tomorrow. Once they go I’ve got to make pretty good time getting things back together. I’m glad we’ve had so much rain lately because they’ve lifted the burn ban. If I’m lucky, I’ll be able to burn the last of the old deck this weekend. I should go out and get some marshmallows and hot dogs.
This summer I installed eight new windows, a front door, and a patio door (all myself!). I hired an outfit to install siding on the house and had a new roof installed. To have the siding installed I had to tear down the old deck. As soon as the roof was installed I started construction of the new deck, keeping a diary of the work. I'll add installments from time to time. Here's the first.
8/22/08
Tonight I only stayed a few minutes after work. Bought a box of beer on the way home and picked up some screws and a bib apron w/ pockets.
Once upon a time, when you went to your local hardware store they’d give you a hat or an apron w/ their logo on it as a gesture of goodwill. The bonus for them was a little free advertising and a happy customer that was bound to come back. The guy who handed you your apron or hat was most likely the store owner, or he’d been told by the owner to hand them out for any order over $???. Today, the store owner is 20 people on a board of directors who’ve probably never been to the store you frequent let alone the city you live in. The store manager is so wound up with meeting quotas and sales targets that he’s not giving ANYTHING away for free. You’re lucky to find someone in one of the “big box” stores that can help you find the 2 ¼” stainless #7 trim head, square drive screws you need let alone help you load $200 worth of lumber into the back of your truck. Does the lack of personal contact and goodwill make up for a small reduction in price? I guess change is not entirely a good thing.
I digress.
I got home, changed clothes, and started haulin’ tools to the back yard. The help I had arranged for decided they had better things to do tonight so I was on my own. Trust me, I’m extremely careful. I realize that I’ll be older on my next birthday and that I can hurt myself if I’m not careful. I hate it when that happens. So, instead of having four hands I had to make do w/ two and tax my gray matter a little more. It just takes a little extra time and a few extra “key strokes”. Gray matter did well this evening and is already plotting for tomorrow.
I got the two side pieces mounted to the ledger board and two 4 X 4 posts mounted to them. I also got the joist hangers mounted to the ledger board. It didn’t rain, but the humidity was pretty high. After three hours I was soaked to the bone. Tomorrow I hope to connect the side together with the center post and braces and to start loading in the 2 X 4 x 16 joists.
The only hitch is the old steps. They have to go first thing tomorrow. Once they go I’ve got to make pretty good time getting things back together. I’m glad we’ve had so much rain lately because they’ve lifted the burn ban. If I’m lucky, I’ll be able to burn the last of the old deck this weekend. I should go out and get some marshmallows and hot dogs.
posted by steve | 5:48 PM
1 Comments:
I'm just making sure I can log on.
lana
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