Category: lakehouse

And it will be hot, wet, and sticky. Because HOUSTON! Cooler at the BOL, but I’ll be home this week and it will be Summer. Details mixed and variable.

Spent the day Sunday working on the window install and a couple of other things. W stayed to help a few hours longer than she originally thought she could. There are some things I just need help with. And she did those things. Then I did more work after she left.

Today I’ve got a very early kid taxi commitment, then possibly a pickup south of Houston. I won some stuff to sell at my upcoming hobby show, and pickup is this week. I’m sure I’ll find other stuff to do today, but I’m not sure what yet. Probably I’ll end up at my secondary location where I can put stuff in the dumpster because I’ve got a load of mixed debris in the truck. Then I’ll probably move some stuff to the shop.

I’m talking to a new auction company about doing a consignment of all the stuff I’d normally send to my buddy. I hope they will take it. Time to clear some space and make some money.

And all the usual stuff will be happening too.

Stack.

nick

Hot. Yep. But a bit less humid than I feared. Still soaked to the skin working outside. More like that today too. Sunny and in the middle 90sF…

Did a lot of work to get the roof watertight until I can get the roofing guys here to tell me how to fix it for real. W got the ceramic tile surrounding the old hearth up. I’ll still have to grind some but she chiseled up a lot. And she learned to cut the grass and run the mower. She moved all the saved bricks to a pallet near my “resource piles.”

Today I’ll finish the trim out around the window and secure it in place permanently. We figured out a trim detail for the old soffit to integrate with the new window, and I have a plan for the trim details. I don’t have casing for the inside so that will have to wait until next time.

She’s leaving early to meet the kids coming back from their weekend stuff, and I’ll keep working until dark like usual.

I’ll be pulling more stuff from the stacks to finish the install. Stuff coming off the stacks, who would have thunk it?

Stack all the good things.

nick

Gonna be hot and humid up here. National forecast shows clear today and tomorrow, but that just means sun and humidity. Yesterday was sunny in Houston but I’m pretty sure we stayed under 100F at my house. W said she hit a little rain on the way up, but only sprinkles. Localized weather is always a crapshoot in this part of the world.

Yesterday was mostly spent doing office stuff, but then I spent more than an hour and several hundred dollars at Lowes buying trim and flashing, and stuff I think I’ll need up here. Didn’t make it to the chiropractor, and I’m hoping I don’t end up regretting that.

Because today is going to involve some work. Mowing the grass will happen Sunday afternoon, but working on the window and roof repairs will be a priority. I hope to be dried in, ie. weathertight, by the end of today. That will still leave the finished roof, and exterior wall finishes (since we don’t have the stuff, or even a plan,) but as long as the housewrap is on and the flashing is done, it’ll keep the rain out.

I’m going to need professional help, or at least advice, on the metal roof repair. And someone, **cough**, will have to decide what to do about the little bit of exterior wall that needs covering…

The list is long, the spirit is mostly willing, but the arms are weak…

Stack. It’s easier than working.

nick

Who knows what today’s weather will be like. We weren’t supposed to get much from Bertha, but some parts of the Houston area got more than an inch of rain. We got a bad thunderstorm but it didn’t last. It did knock down the temperature. It was only 78F when I went to bed. So today could be more of the same, or it could be just a summer day here in the swamp. We’ll see.

I did a lot yesterday. Got my tenant taken care of. Did a pickup in Alvin and another on my way home, while driving through storms that were pretty strong. It was dark as night in places. And a lot of water fell from the sky. Like every t storm, we had localized flooding and high water, but it didn’t last. Finally got home in time for a brief power outage. Changed the batteries in the lanterns, but that was about it. I’m critically short of AA batteries though. I’ve been trying to get to Costco and return a whole package that went bad in storage, and to get more for the stockpile, but didn’t make it yet. So I used the D cell lanterns. I’ve gotten several boxes of D cells in the auctions lately. Big and heavy, but they do last a long time.

Today I might make it to Costco. And to Lowes to get the trim I need for the BOL window project. If it’s not raining, W and I are going up this weekend. Both kids have other plans with other people, so we’re free to do what we want. And I want to wrap up that project.

Or we’ll stay home and work the list here. I’m still on strike so there are parts of the list I’m ignoring, since I don’t do anything around here… Kid mentioned how high the grass in the back yard was last night. Yup. ‘Cuz I don’t do anything around here. I don’t know if I can hold out. It’s in my nature to just fix stuff when it’s wrong. I have to resist dozens of times a day even on little stuff like cleaning the sink or picking up something on the floor. Petty. Yup.

Meanwhile, stacking continues, albeit at a slower pace. But the journey is the goal…

nick

Should be hot here at the BOL, and in Houston. It was hot yesterday and most of the day was saturated. There was a short period where there was some shade and a cool breeze off the lake, but thankfully, I was working either inside, or in a giant hole in the wall.

I did get the window mostly installed. I got some sheathing up, and some flashing tape. I still have housewrap and more flashing to do, as well as figuring out trim details and what I want to cover the foot of wall above the window and below it. I might put the brick back eventually, but probably not this year.

With my buddy helping to steer, and a “skate” under the window, it wasn’t as hard or scary as I expected to get the window in place. I bought the skate years ago, but knew where the box was in the shed within 2 feet. Worked a treat too. Prepping win! Now if I could just find the leftover housewrap I’m pretty sure I have somewhere…

I was supposed to go home last night and be meeting the A/C contractor at 8am to replace my coil unit, but he couldn’t get the warranty approved. We’re going ahead with the replacement and will try to get the compensation afterward if needed. The family will all be home Sun, and I need the air working. So I’ll be up early to head home, and meet the guy at noon.

Three years. The enshittification of everything is spreading. Even a brand like Carrier uses mexican factories and NAFTA (and what replaced it) to destroy the working class and make the financial shenannegans boys happy. Warranty payouts are three years away boys, let’s make those quarterly numbers! That’s a problem for future us…

All the more reason to buy older proven stuff when you can, to buy for quality and longevity when you can, and to have spare parts if they are available for simple things.

There will be a reckoning. Some people are not going to like it.

Meanwhile, stack money. It’s the universal prep.

nick

More hot and humid? Or more overcast and relatively cool? Only time will tell. Yesterday was hot and humid when the sun came out but it got cold and windy before too long. And I set up the umbrella for shade… But just as I finished up it came down in buckets.

Fortunately, I had finished for the day. Well, with brick removal. I’d have done another hour or two of carpentry getting ready for today if I didn’t need to make a supply run to Lowes. I got the whole in the wall covered with plywood to keep the rain and critters out overnight, and did my run. Neighbor drove his truck so I didn’t need to unload my window from mine. I bought gas and dinner.

Today I need to be weather tight by about 6pm at the latest, and it’s definitely doable. Getting started in the morning will help, but honestly, morning or afternoon, I’ve only got so much gas in the tank, and when that runs out I’m spent. If I had Saturday here I’d have no worries. As it is, I think it will be tight.

But we do what we can. And work on improving…

nick

(and stacking just in case.)

But as long as the weather cooperates, I think I’ll get there. Yesterday rained just enough, and not too much, so I could work as long as I was able. It was hot, but no direct sunlight for most of it, and there was even a cool breeze for part of the day. Late afternoon the sun came out and started to broil me, even though it was in the low 80sF. So I looked around and found an umbrella to set up for a little shade. Then the wind picked up and a storm blew through… but after I went back to work outside and reset the umbrella. Adapt improvise, overcome.

I got almost all of the chimney removed, except for the firebox insert, and the hearth. Indoors, I removed the top 2 ft of the fireplace above the mantel. I could be quicker, just pulling the whole wall down and letting it break apart on the floor, but I’ll have a heck of a mess to clean up and it goes pretty fast removing one brick at a time.

I did a better job staying hydrated too.

Today I have to get all the brick work out, and start the process for roughing in the new opening. I have to support the ceiling joists temporarily during that, and I hope I have enough materials. I was planning to make a Lowes run once I had the wall and ceiling open and knew for sure what I’d need. Pretty sure I need at least one sheet of plywood for the roof opening, and one sheet of drywall to repair the ceiling. I’ve got studs and wall sheathing. And plastic sheet if I have to just cover the whole thing and staple it up to make it weather tight.

Then Friday, I’ll install the window, wall and ceiling sheathing, and button up to head home. Still have to be up early Sat morning for the A/C guy to install the new unit. I have a feeling I’ll be back up here soon to do the trim out and final finishes. And it just occurred to me that code will require an outlet in the wall under the window. I’ll have to at least install the box and romex up to the attic. Without opening walls there’s nothing nearby to grab, and none of the old system is grounded anyway. Fractal.

Always be working. And stacking doesn’t hurt.

nick