Meyer Mix

So, today is Tuesday November 17th and we still have Tyvek! (See last post) If you didn’t know, Meyer’s like to fully test products! We do have an end in sight though. We HIRED a crew to put up the siding starting November 30. I’m very excited to know longer be THAT house on the block.

Every exterior door (ok, there are only three, but saying “every” is more dramatic) in this house is/was broken in one way or another.  The front and back doors no longer sealed, and had gaps large enough that snow blew in last winter.  The patio door (which we already replaced) on the other hand, wouldn’t shut without giving it a hip-check.  I was able to find a dealer that had the back door we wanted in stock.  So Slowsky and I tacked that project this last weekend.  I knew it was going to be ugly, because in the crawlspace beneath the door, there was evidence of a lot of water damage and wood rot.  We took out the old door, and found that the subfloor was rotted through, and the joists were sinking.  We had to cut out a large section of the floor (as shown in the photos), plus reinforce the joists.  It was a major PITA that took all of the first day to complete.  Day two was finishing the installation, and working on the outside trim.  True to form though, I only have the “during” pictures for this post.  The “after” will have come later.

That's a lot 'o rot!

We finally took a picture of the doors that we installed the other day.  Sorry for the delay.  Here they are:

Ooooh. Aaaaah.

We haven’t put up the interior trim yet.  We’ll work on that after the rest of the room is done.  Yes, the woodwork around the fireplace will eventually be painted white as well.  Give us another 6 months, and we’ll re-take this photo for the real before and after shots. 

After the door was up, Jenny liked the sidelights so much that she wants to do the same with the doors we plan to put in next to the kitchen table.  We had already ordered the second door, but sans sidelights.  They will take 3-4 four weeks to arrive, just in time do the rest of the demolition (and for the first winter snow to arrive).

Last weekend, was the official start of the “get the doors fixed before winter sets in” season.  Slowsky and I spent two days “deconstructing” the old patio door, and installing the new french door and sidelights.  

This is the before picture:

And this is the “during” picture.  Good thing we kept Gracie away from the construction zone.

Since we were keeping the same opening, the project was fairly straight-forward.  However, the old patio door did let in water.  So when it was removed,  we observed that the plywood underneath it was rotted to the point that we could pick up the crumbling pieces with our hands, and then see into the basement.  Nice.  

What, you want to see an “after” picture?  We’ll, we didn’t take one yet.  However, Jenny likes the finished doors so much, that she wants to now order sidelights for the patio door we are putting in by our kitchen table.  Only problem, is that we’ll need to put in a bigger header for that area then.  Which means taking down the exterior wall, and exterior soffit.  That will have to be a spring project, because Slowsky estimates that it would take a week to do…times the Meyer factor of 3…and you get the idea.  

We’ll get that “after” picture posted soon.

I was going to title this post, “A story about my hole,” but I had second thoughts. Yet, this post does revolve around the hole as shown in the picture below.

Two weekends ago, we were making serious progress on the basement renovation. Earlier, I primed all of the bead board, base board, and chair rail for the bathroom (you can see some of it at the top of the photo).   Slowsky and I spent that Saturday installing it, along with the rest of the bathroom door frame. Then that night, Jenny and I put two finish coats of paint on everything to get it ready for Sunday.  Slowsky returned, and with the walls done, we started installing the sink vanity, and plumbing fixtures. We “finished” the sink, “”finished” the shower plumbing, and then set out to work on the closet flange (for those of you not in the working trades, the closet flange is what you attach the toilet to) as shown in the picture.  Oh, and that is Slowsky’s tile job, not bad, eh?

Yes, this is a "closet flange"

To keep the sewer gas and sewer critters out of our house all this time since we broke through the basement foundation many months ago, we have had a plastic bag stuffed with rags shoved in the hole.  Well, you can imagine what might have built up on the other side of that “plug.”  So, Slowsky suggested that I push the plug deeper into the hole while I install the closet flange. I did so, glued in the flange, and considered the day a success.  The flange has a sealed cap on it (it was removed by the time I took this photo), so normally after it is installed, you leave the cap on until we are ready to install the toilet.

We turned the water back on, and I went to start cleaning up. I walked by the deep sink in the utility room that we had previously installed, and saw that it had standing water in it.  The drain to the sink feeds into the same line as the closet flange.  Hmmmm… I informed Slowsky and he knew right away that the plug in the sewer must have slipped down slightly. No biggy though.
I decided I would open the sealed top of the closet flange, to retrieve the plug, since about four feet south of this hole, these pipes connect to the main sewer line for the rest of the house.
Just before I was going to crack it open, we tested the shower for the first time, and nada. A trickle of water, but that was it. I said, “dad, what’s up?”. Slowsky replied, “not sure… but why is all of that water on the floor?”. He was pointing to the floor near the sink, where a good half-gallon was crawling along the wall.  That made us 0 for 3.

He got right to work on the sink, and I went for more tools. I again passed the deep sink expecting to see the standing water, but it was empty. That meant the sewer plug moved further down the line.

So let’s recap, shower not working, sink leaking, and sewer line has a massive bag of rags in it crawling toward the main line, which would stop up the ENTIRE house.
I cracked open the closet flange, and sure enough, the plug was missing. Even if I wanted to stick my hand in there it was impossible. It is a three inch pipe with a 90 degree bend at the start. At the same time slowsky had the sink running, and I saw the sewer hole slowly filling to the top with water–meaning two things. The plug was at least 3 feet down the line(where the sink drain runs into it, and that in a few minutes, I’d have sewer water bubbling up in my new bathroom.

I curled up in the fetal position and started to suck my thumb.  Slowsky decided a better approach was to go fishing for the bag-o-rags.  MacGyver stepped in, took at clothes hanger, straightened it out, made one side into a small handle, and the other into a large cork screw.  He fished the wire down the sewer until he found the plug (about three feet), then with a pliers, began rotating the wire to get the corkscrew wrapped up in the plug.  Slowly he started pulling it out, and it seemed to be working.  But, the sewer water on our side of the plug had no where to go.  So while he pulled, I took a Dixie cup (holding it with pliers because the water was poo-poo), and started ladling water out and into a bucket.

Anyway, we finally got the plug out, repaired the leaking sink, and found the source of the problem with the shower head.  So all was good.  In the end, my hole was plug free, and dry.  Isn’t that how all stories should end?

Position: Seamstress

Description: A new construction project requires the assistance of a seamstress to make theater curtains and playhouse curtains.  The project is on schedule, with base molding and door casing installed yesterday, and carpet being installed today.

Location: Westcoast headquarters, but willing to travel to branch office in Chicago suburbs

Hours: Contractual position, 1 day

Skills: Must know what that bobber thingy is on a sewing machine, and how to load it.  Solid opinions on fabrics and pattern options a plus, as well as theater experience.  Also, must be able to concentrate admist the chaos of 7 children running around.

How to Apply: Please arrive in person to the auditions, taking place next week.  Can bring own sewing machine (becuase we have a feeling that it wouldn’t be the first time a Kelly has brought or tried to bring one on a plane), but can also use local machine.

Slowsky has been working at our house for the last four days straight.  His first two days, he spent tiling the bathroom floor.  The last two was spend hanging the rest of the doors, starting on baseboard molding and door casing, and a bunch of other items.  Leo and Joyce came over for a visit yesterday, and took us out to dinner, so that was a welcome break in the basement project.  Jenny and I did go to home depot on the way back from dinner, and then worked until 2am.  And today, I clocked 8am until 10:45pm (Slowsky too), and Jenny is down in the playhouse now putting the second coat of bright pink on the walls.

In the afternoon, I made a pilgrimage to Owl Lumber in Lombard, to buy the door and window casing, and stair parts.   As I was loading up my massive pile, I thought to myself, I better double check that the price they gave me ($1.19/ft) for the casing was accurate.  Sure enough, it was actually $2.19/ft.  That might not seem like a lot, but when buying casing for 7 doors, three windows, two built-in cabinets, plus railings and balusters for the staircase, the total came to just shy of 2.5 million dollars.  I actually had a panic attack at the store, followed by deep feelings of depression on my long long drive home.

The feeling stayed that way, until we started cutting the trim, which lifted my spirits.  I was excited to learn how to do it, and think it is a good skill set to have.  Plus, it was pretty easy, so there was the instant gratification.  We cut the trim for two doors, and then completed just about 1/4 of the base molding in the main rooms.  My goal for tomorrow evening, is to cut the rest of the base, because then we need to stain and seal it before the carpet comes in 9 days!

 That is the update.  Keep it real.  Peace out.