Hot and humid.\u00a0 No really.\u00a0 I know you can’t believe it but it is true.\u00a0 Hot and humid again.<\/p>\n
Monday was a tiny bit less hot but still so humid stuff wasn’t drying until later in the day.<\/p>\n
Given the heat, I decided that I could put off work in the garage and do more powerwashing.\u00a0\u00a0 I actually need to do two things in order to move other stuff along.\u00a0 I needed to powerwash the chimney so it can be tuckpointed, and I needed to wash a teak patio table so we can either use it or sell it to make some room on the patio.\u00a0\u00a0 So I did.\u00a0 The chimney actually went very fast, despite me moving in slow motion so I wouldn’t slip on the wet roof.\u00a0 It has one side with really deep erosion of the mortar, and a brick or two that might even need replacing.\u00a0 The cap needs to be re-parged, and a new metal flue cap could be installed.\u00a0 I’m calling a neighborhood guy.\u00a0 If his price is at all reasonable, I’ll job it out.\u00a0 It’s been a long time since I worked for a bricklayer, and I don’t like being on the roof.<\/p>\n
The table is back in good nick, and just needs a few coats of oil to be good for another year.\u00a0 Teak is great but it does need maintenance.\u00a0\u00a0 All patio furniture does better with an annual wash and preventative coating.<\/p>\n
After the table, I did the gutters and siding on the back side of the house.\u00a0 I did the heavy black yuck on the concrete patio too.\u00a0 It looks so much better, and my wife was pleased.<\/p>\n
While I had the washer out, I used it on the two water tanks on wheels I have sitting in the yard.\u00a0\u00a0 They are roto-molded plastic, about 30 or 40 gallons, and are on wheeled carts.\u00a0 They were used for team drinking water in high school athletics.\u00a0 I pulled the individual hoses and nozzles off, but left the 12 volt pumps in place.\u00a0 I might join one to a propane on demand water heater to make an outdoor shower, and the pump will be just what is needed.\u00a0 I thoroughly blasted the interior and exterior of both tanks then treated them with dilute bleach water inside.\u00a0 They are ready to fill before the next set of hurricanes in the Gulf.<\/p>\n
I started to blast the fence, meaning mostly to run the gas out of the washer and call it quits for the day.\u00a0 I powerwash and treat\u00a0 with Thompsons every two or three years.\u00a0 The fence looks better and lasts longer if you do this.\u00a0 (Fence is western red cedar pickets, 6 and 7 foot high.)\u00a0 The power wash makes it look almost new again, and the Thompsons keeps it that way for longer than untreated wood.<\/p>\n
Oh, I cut the grass in the back yard too, and used the string trimmer.\u00a0 I didn’t have to pick up any pecans, I guess the squirrels have ruined and dropped all the nuts for the year.<\/p>\n
Flipped one auction item to a local guy for $100 profit.\u00a0 He picked up at the house.\u00a0 He was driving a Maserati.\u00a0 The resale game is treating some people better than it’s treating me apparently.\u00a0 Chatted in the street for about half an hour and could have talked longer.\u00a0 We share a lot of the same interests, and buy in the same auctions.\u00a0 Nice to talk with people.<\/p>\n
So while I didn’t get anything done in the garage or driveway, I did get a lot of work done on other projects.\u00a0 Cabin fever is hitting my wife and kids (wife dyed her own hair yesterday, now my soul is in peril<\/a>) and the kids are grumpier since school started and they are reminded that they can’t touch their friends.\u00a0 I figure a couple of high impact ‘appearance’ projects should help by changing the environment at least a little.\u00a0 Or it could be that I like to get soaking wet in the heat of the day….<\/p>\n Whatever else you do today, keep stacking.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n nick <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Hot and humid.\u00a0 No really.\u00a0 I know you can’t believe it but it is true.\u00a0 Hot and humid again.<\/p>\n Monday was a tiny bit less hot but still so humid stuff wasn’t drying until later in the day.<\/p>\n Given the heat, I decided that I could put off work in the garage and do more powerwashing.\u00a0\u00a0 I actually need to do two things in order to move other stuff along.\u00a0 I needed to powerwash the chimney so it can be tuckpointed,<\/p>\n