Now where's that screwdriver?

The other day, when I was cleaning my workbench and my tools, I apparently misplaced one of my favorite Klein screwdrivers. Either that or one of the dust gnomes has run off with it. What a prize. It's been AWOL for some time now. The point is not that I don't have other screwdrivers. It's just that this particular one is the one I reach for most often. So it's having gone missing is a bother. But no worries. It'll reappear at some point down the track, probably when least expected. And it will be right there. Where I left it!

Yesterday afforded time to remove more of the previously exposed wall studs and some of the rouge electrical wiring from the south west part of the basement. Hardly worth documenting in pictures, but progress nonetheless. Today, among other tasks demanding attention, I need to attend to a leaky drain pipe under the kitchen sink. Looks like when Bill and I redid all of the drains and installed the new food disposer we got the threads off by one between the existing copper drain and the new plastic compression fitting. So it's off to the hardware store for a new compression fitting. My plumbing projects are measured in trips to the hardware store. Today's will be my third for this one! This morning I'll also be reprogramming the new Honeywell digital setback thermostat I installed a few days ago. Having used it for a while, we now have a better understanding of the temps we desire at different times of the day. It replaces a woefully inaccurate classic Honeywell round with mercury switch. Proper disposal will likely prove an adventure.

I wonder if I'll find my missing screwdriver at the hardware store?

Boxing Day is Fletcher's Birthday

Fletcher turns two today, a day that greeted us with a fresh coat of fluffy, white snow. These early morning pictures were taken just as the sun was emerging.

Merry Christmas

Since my last post work has continued on the basement. Alas, I have no specific project pictures to add today. All of the vintage 1975 brown shag carpet from the south end of the basement is now gone as is the really nasty Fiberglas insulation above that space. Given the way it was installed, the insulation was serving no functional purpose that I could identify other than to trap dust and provide a habitat for spiders. By the time the work was done my dust mask and gloves were so dirty they all ended up in the bin.

After gutting the bathroom and removing the carpet and insulation, it was time to take a breather of sorts. I've spent a couple of days cleaning up tools and putting some things away. The shop vac got another well-deserved cleaning and a new filter and my workbench and all of the demo tools got a complete wipe down. I also managed to safely remove some of the odd electrical wiring.

There's still plenty of dirty work ahead, though the days of having the dumpster occupy half the driveway are numbering only a few. More as it happens. Stay tuned.

Finally, here's a picture of me with our Corgis, Fletcher (L) and Audrey (R).

Vanishing tub

Yesterday's project was removing the Fiberglas bathtub from the basement bathroom that was already pretty well demolished. I won't go into to the details of the rotten wood, moldy drywall, unsuitable plastic and foam insulation, crumbling walls and the mountain of debris hiding behind the tub surround. Nor will I wax on about the unbelievable plumbing I exposed. Let me just say that the house is breathing a lot easier today.

Before and after pictures showing the largely demo'd bathroom with and without the tub and surrounding wall studs:

Seven weeks in this old house

THANKS, BILL!!

Bill Rennolds, my former college roommate and longtime best friend, flew in from Atlanta last week, spending time away from his family and burning well-deserved vacation time to help with the heavy demolition phase of gutting the basement. In about four days he and I managed to do what would have taken me a month to accomplish on my own. Bulldozer Bill and I ripped out walls, ceilings and just about everything else imaginable revealing all manner of plumbing peculiarities and electrical oddities. I'm grateful for Bill's capable help, his tireless enthusiasm, his creative problem solving and his invaluable sense of humor!




But his visit wasn't all work and no play. We visited the Gavin's Point Dam near Yankton one day. While at the visitor's center on the Nebraska side of the Missouri River we spotted no fewer than nine American Bald Eagles. They were perched in a nearby stand of tall trees on the riverbank, occasionally swooping down to harass the waterfowl paddling around below the dam.


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