Wednesday, December 31st, 2008
It’s snowing again.
I woke up this morning with a great idea. Since this snow is cold and fluffy, what’s stopping me from using my handy dandy backpack leaf blower to clear off the front walk and steps? Absolutely nothing, that’s what.
I decided to go outside and give it a try. I pulled the backpack blower off the wall and rested it on the ground. Then, I went outside and took some “before” pictures.
At the time of these photos, I would estimate there being about 3 inches of snow on the ground.
I started up the backpack blower and put it on my back. I only hung it on one shoulder because I really didn’t want to commit to the entire project. I had no idea how it was going to turn out.
I started blowing off the sidewalk and the bushes. About halfway down the walkway, I was totally snow covered. I plowed on and finished up what I was going. Here, take a look at these “after” shots.
I guess the reason I am writing this is to warn you not to use your backpack leaf blower to clear off your walkway. You will get snow covered and cold. I will say that it does a tremendous job at cleaning the snow off the bushes, which would otherwise suffer damage without being cleaned. Also, I may give the blower a shot at the back deck and stairs. Those are always a real pain in the butt to do with a shovel.
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Sunday, December 7th, 2008
Just a few moments ago, I happened to be walking down the stairs. Since there is a large westward facing window, I was greeted by a beautiful orange winter sunset.
It has been cloudy and snowing here for most of the day. The clearing is welcome, so I took a few pictures. Take a look.
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Friday, October 31st, 2008
I was getting a little nervous. It had just gotten dark outside and no one even considered knocking on the door for candy. One little girl did walk down the road, but she walked right by.
On the way back to the house this afternoon, I stopped by the local grocery store. I picked up 5 bags of candy. I tried to get the stuff that we would like if we didn’t give it all out. Since we are new here, I really didn’t have any idea how many people would stop by. I figured 5 bags was plenty.
As I mentioned above, it was dark outside, but there was no action. Laura and I walked up to a vacant road. We looked up and we looked down…nothing. We started getting nervous, because the last place we lived hardly had any action either. One time, when we were living in Brewster, we actually had to walk down the road to give out some candy. No one bothered to come up to the house.
So, as you can see, we had reason to be nervous.
It’s not easy to miss our crib on Halloween. We put orange lights up. That should make all the difference. While we were standing up on the empty road this evening, Laura looked at me and said, “Maybe if we put the other lights on, people will come.” I’m like, “Yeah, all the people who are outside right now and just walking by will suddenly be drawn to the front door.” See took one step towards me and threw her fist at my mouth as hard as she could. Ok, that last one was a lie, but the other two lines weren’t. Either way, we flicked on the garage lights and the front door lights. We also noticed all the neighbor’s lights were on. Something should have been happening.
We put the candy in a big bowl and hid it in the closet so the dog wouldn’t eat it. She would eat right through the wrapper. She is disgusting like that.
Laura also ran inside to put the plastic pumpkin on the stairs and to light up the other pumpkin in the dining room. It looked pretty spooky through the window.
A few minutes went by and no one showed up. It had been pitch black outside for a good 15 minutes.
Just as I settled in to do some work on the computer, I heard the doorbell. I ran downstairs all excited to see 4 little men standing there with cowboy hats and guns. One of them had a laser gun that he was pointing at me. He told me he was going to shoot me. I gave him a little chuckle and thought to myself, “No, little man, that gun is fake, it can’t really shoot.” Then, one of the other little men told me he was going to whip me. I gave a little louder laugh and didn’t think anything besides, “That was odd.” They were a festive bunch.
Things started to pick up after that. I would say that about 5 groups of little kiddies stopped by. For each visit, I put the bowl down low so they could reach their little hands in to get some candy. I noticed that everyone was generally behaving themselves and taking only one or two pieces. After a while, I started noticing the little kiddies getting a bit more aggressive. One little girl took about six pieces. I walked inside and told Laura what I just had happen to me. She explained that these little kids will take all the candy if you don’t stop them. I vowed right then and there that I was going to put the candy in their bags for them from that point on.
No one else came.
We have about half a bowl of candy left. We would have more if it wasn’t for that little girl.
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Thursday, June 5th, 2008
I have been pretty busy lately, between working, planting plants, getting the cars registered and, oh yeah, re-doing the basement.
I believe I told you about it in an earlier post. Then, I had the floor torn up and was considering what to put on it. Now, I am paiting the whole thing up.
I realized something along this short journey. That is, I hate painting. I mean, I can do it in short bursts, but I lose interest fast. One room is fine, two maybe, three weird sections and I’m lost. I have to say it’s getting there though.
We picked out a color that looks very nice when dried. We got a little nervous when I started putting it on the walls, but got over it. I am also painting all the trim and doors white.
You may be asking yourselves, “Why, Jay, are you doing this now? Why so fast…what’s the rush?” Well, I’ll tell you. The whole reason is that we are going to put a pellet stove in the basement. In order to put a pellet stove down there, we need a new floor. In order to put in a new floor, we need to remove all the base moulding. If the base moulding is off, we may as well paint the place. Also, since the moulding is off, we might as well take this time to replace the French doors leading to outside. They need to be replaced and it needs to be done before the floor goes in.
But “why now” you ask? The reason is that you need to get a pellet stove in the summer. Things are slower and more available. Also, pellets are cheaper. We will need at least three tons.
Yeah, all this just to put a pellet stove in the basement and get rid of the carpet. I told you how I feel about carpets. I also removed the carpet from the basement stairs last night. That was fun. I really like pulling up tack strips and pulling out staples. Good thing I am proficient at this type of thing.
I am setting up the date to have the door installed tomorrow. When the install happens, you’ll know about it. I am also having the tile guy come over tomorrow to give me a price on the installation. I was going to do it myself, but I quickly lost interest in that once I started painting.
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Tuesday, May 13th, 2008
When we got home this afternoon, we found fat Simon laying out on the stairs, soaking up the sun. The weird thing is that he didn’t move when we tried to get up and down. He only moved when Holly ran by. I think he got a little nervous, because we all know Holly will step on your face if given the chance.
I ran to get my camera, but by the time I got back to Simon, he was already sitting up. Oh well, at least I got this pleasurable pose…
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Thursday, April 26th, 2007
Well, well, well. I think we’re going to do it. All that’s left with the house is to re-do the bathroom, kitchen and the back porch. Yeah, just the bathroom, kitchen and back porch….ya know, those cheap and easy projects.
We are going tackle the back porch first. The one we have is in pretty bad shape. It’s made with that Trex stuff…only, I don’t think it is Trex. It may be some knockoff, who knows. All I know is it’s gray and very washed out looking. Also, the porch may be a little crooked, which drives me absolutely mad. The railings are hanging on by a thread due to poor workmanship and the top of the porch collects water. The whole thing just looks really bad. Are those enough reason to get this thing done? (Oh yeah, the bugs out here are TERRIBLE! The current porch is pretty useless as is.)
As you may already know, I made our front porch. I am a pretty handy fella, but I just don’t want to do this one. The first reason is that this one will be screened in…meaning there will be a roof. I am really not in the mood to attempt to build that by myself. Also, I want it done quickly, so no messing around. It would take me about two years to get home all the lumber strapped to the top of my car again. I like to do projects little by little.
I am going to use a contractor that is a friend of my neighbor. He seems like he would do a good job of coming in a putting this thing up quickly. The porch will be 16′ out the back of the house and 20′ wide. There will be 6 sonotube footings, 12″ wide. There will be 2 main girders holding up 2×10″ joists. Everything will be pressure treated. For the floor, he will put down 6×1 5/8″ boards with a 4×4″ every 4′ to hold up the roof. The main beam holding up the roof will be a 4×6″. The roof will have to be built into the current roof, which is the tricky part…to me. I am sure it will take no time for these guys. Also, they are going to put in a set of 4′wide stairs about 4′ out from the house. Currently, the stairs are slapped right up against the house and very loose.
I asked that they don’t complete the railings and the screening. I want to do them. Those are things that I can take my time on. Also, I am going to tear down the current deck. My neighbor, Tim wants to burn it. I have to keep him away because it is pressure treated and I can use the wood for another project. Tim is disappointed, but still willing to help me.
I picked up the building permit from the buidling inspector yesterday morning and have to fill it in and drop it off so the contractor can draw his diagram.
Now, of course, you are going to see lots of pictures of this. I hope you are as excited as we are!
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Wednesday, October 4th, 2006
I have been holding on to this post for a while. As you may have noticed from some earlier posts, Laura and I like to skirt the border of Connecticut and New York. There are some pretty cool areas along the line. Every time we go there, we see something new. This time, I wanted to head up Lime Rock Park and Lakeville, CT to enjoy the drive.
Now, just to give you a reference point, the Lakeville/Salisbury area is the most Northwest part of Connecticut. If you drive north from Lakeville into Salisbury and look to your left, you will see the Berkshires. Don’t be fooled by these tree-filled looking mountains…there is tons of stuff to do in there. One day, a while back, we drove for about 10 miles down a dirt road on the very top of the Berkshires. We had no idea where we were, but couldn’t turn around because the road was so thin. Good thing another car wasn’t coming in the opposite direction. We passed so many camping areas and a few much hidden resorts. We finally headed down a paved road and popped out right in Salisbury. It’s a very cute town, so that’s why I wanted to go back and visit the area. I am not sure I would be able to find the road back up into the mountains today…that’s how well it was hidden. We visited this area towards the end of the trip.
We started out by heading up Rt.7 in Connecticut…past New Milford, Sherman and Kent, where we stopped for a few minutes at Kent Falls State Park.
I used to visit Kent Falls when I was a kid, but like so many other things we do when we are kids, the memory was a bit blurry. I wanted to visit again. This is a great park to visit with kids. They can run around and create all sorts of havoc in the front field and then everyone can walk to the top of the falls on very woodsy stairs. It’s not a very far hike, but quite scenic. Make sure to bring your camera.
We continued North on Rt.7 and quickly made a visit into Cornwall over the covered bridge, which is very cute.
The great thing about driving through New England is that they take very good care of their covered bridges. This was a very small, but functional town, although it is quite a distance from a major food store or mall. Back on the road, we came across an area that reminded me of why I like this area so much…its beauty.
People travel out West to see the beauty of the landscape and forget about what is right in their backyard.
If you have never been to Lime Rock Park, you should really make it a destination. There is a really cool race track with lots of turns and a straightaway. You can watch motorcycles and many different types of cars racing around the track. There are even days where you can bring your own car or bike there to get timed. It’s pretty exciting. The last time I went, I was with my cousin Joe and we just chilled on the lawn watching the cars all afternoon. The best part is that this park is very casual. You pull in, park and walk to the spot you want to sit yourself for the rest of the day.
A few miles past Lime Rock is the “Lake” in Lakeville. It is called Lake Wononscopomuc. Say that 3 times fast…or once for that matter.
We had to pull in here to check it out. There was no one swimming at the lake today due to the clouds, but we were really interested in how a place this nice gets paid for up here where the population is pretty low. I walked inside the building to talk to someone. A woman inside explained to me that since there were many people from New York City who had summer houses here, there was good tax revenue generated for the town. Also, there are a few private schools in the area that bring in some money. She was actually pretty excited to tell me about how the native residents get all of the good benefits and great schools for their children paid for by out-of-towners. Seemed like a good deal to me. There were some really nice houses up here in this area…
On the way out of the lake area, we noticed a really interesting restaurant called “West Main.”
This really has nothing to do with our trip, but thought it would be cool to show you what you can do with an old school house looking building.
After spending some time in Lakeville, we started to head home taking Rt.41 into Sharon, CT and through Amenia Union, NY on to Rt.22 South.
If you decide to take a trip like this, make sure you bring your camera, plenty of food and a good map. It will most likely take all day, but will be worth the drive!
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Sunday, September 3rd, 2006
Please take a look at this front porch. It’s the one that came with our house. Tell me if you see anything wrong with it.
For months, I didn’t give it a second thought, but soon enough, in the mornings, as I pulled out of the driveway and started to drive down the road, I would look it at and get crazier and crazier every time. Forget the fact that the paint is chipping off of it and the fake, plastic lattice has green fungus all over it, doesn’t it look like it is bowed down in the middle? Also, what is with the 3.5 foot wide stairs? You have all that room on both sides.
One day this spring (2006) I was working on another project, which you will hear all about in another post, and I just happened to glance at the porch. I said to myself, “That really looks horrible.” I guess this is what a front porch looks like when it is built incorrectly and not taken care of. I walked over to it and began to wiggle and pull on things. Next thing I know, I looked at my watch and it was an hour later. I looked at the porch and the whole thing was torn down. Uh oh, what was Laura going to think when she got home? Oh well, she’ll LOVE it I told myself very proudly. What woman doesn’t love a man who knows how to tear down a porch with absolutely no idea how to put it back up?
Laura got home and didn’t really care. She had faith. So that night and for many nights after that, I was on the internet gathering ideas and tips. I made many trips to Home Depot and brought back supplies strapped to my new Thule roof rack I had purchased just for this type of work. I started putting things back together, but this time I did them the way I wanted.
I put a center footing in, jacked up the center of the porch and put a nice 6″x6″ post there. The problem was that there was no center support for an 11′ span. Of course it was going to bow downward. I also put new 6″x6″ corner posts in below the porch to the existing footings as well as above the porch to the overhang. I used the existing footings because they were the correct depth and width. I know this because I tried to dig one of them out and gave up after an hour. I really wanted a WHOLE new porch, but with something this secure already installed (and inspected by the building inspector), I’ll take it. I used one inch high galvanized spacers in between the bottoms of the posts and the footings as to avoid wood rot. I screwed a 2″x6″ to the front of the porch as a lip for the top stair which would come later. I also put corner pieces in for nothing more than aesthetics. I found that idea on the internet.
If you noticed on the first photo, the bottom of the stairs were rested on a cement slab. I hate cement slabs. I broke that one up with a sledge hammer and got rid of it. I dug three more holes and put in footers for the bottom of the stairs. I used 5 stringers (3 of which I reused from the old stairs, they were in great shape) for the stairs. The horozontal part of the steps were 6 foot 2″x12″s and for the vertical part I reused the 2″x6″ pieces from the top of the porch. I reused a lot of lumber because it was in great shape and I didn’t want to waste wood as well as throw money out the window.
The stairs went up smoothly and I was ready to move on. I took my…ummm…40th trip to Home Depot and picked up all the supplies for the handrails. Before I stared the handrails, I screwed an 8′ 2″x6″ to either side of the top of the deck. This gave me a perfectly straight running surface for my circular saw to cut off the uneven ends of wood. For the handrails, I used a pretty good system of sandwiching 1″x1″ pieces in between 2 of what they call “Lattice Moulding” 4 inches apart. Code calls for each of the 1″x1″ to be no further than 4″ apart. Then, I placed this new “unit” on top of a vertical 2″x6″ and tucked under the actual handrail piece. This hides all the screw heads for the 1″x1″s. The reason I used the vertical 2″x6″s is because I didn’t want to see any sagging of the rail after 2 months (like I am sure we have all seen). This was a lot of fun and gave me the feeling of really getting somewhere. I cut holes in the floor for the vertical posts and screwed and bolted them to the inside of the joists underneath. I did this because I didn’t want to see the outside of these posts just screwed to the side of the porch. I wanted them hidden. This takes longer but looks much better.
I finished up the stair portion of the railings by using a vertical 2″x4″ instead of the 2″x6″ because when the wood is cut on an angle, the 2″x6″ was just too high and didn’t meet the next piece correctly. Also, please note that I used “screws” for all of this construction. I never understood why people used nails when building things like this. How many times have you stubbed your tow or worse on a nail popping up from someone’s porch? Also, all the wood was pressure treated. These days, you always need to use pressure treated lumber when building anything outside.
After a few weeks I picked up two gallons of Thompson’s Water Seal and gave it a nice coating with a brush. I used only 3/4 of a gallon, so I guess I have enough for next time. The back of the can said that it will last for two years before it needs to be reapplied. When it comes time to reapply, I will use a sprayer. Also, the can said to wait 30 days before applying any protectant, so if you have ever heard the myth about waiting a year before applying anything, that’s wrong. Your porch or deck will be gray by that point. I waited about 3 weeks and figured that the wood has probably been sitting for a while, so I was safe.
Now, when I pull out of the driveway in the morning, I see a nice straight and level porch!
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