NightStands have improved this room

 At the end of 1996, the beginning of 1997, I invested in a grown-up bedroom set. I was living in Berwyn and had some extra money since my rent was cheap, and I needed a bigger bed than the twin I grew up with.  

I honestly don't remember where I bought the set from but I think it was Polk Brothers.  In the late 90s, there were three popular bed styles:  The Sleigh bed.  The Mary Poppins bed. The Four Poster bed (what I call the Alister Scrooge bed.)

Even though I had cheap rent I was still not earning big bucks and always looking for a bargain.  The salespeople talked me into buying the store model of the four-poster bed along with a matching dresser. 

 I declined the nightstands because 1) I couldn't imagine any bedroom in Chicago (or even Berwyn) that could accommodate two nighttables 2) I'm cheap and 3) I figured I could always add them on later.

Flash forward to my Albany Park Condo.  That bedroom could have accommodated a couple of side tables but it wasn't a priority and I think by then Polk Brothers had gone out of business.

When we moved into our Portage Park home, we didn't have enough space for a king bed and large nightstands, which would never have worked.

But it was cozy

Our Mississippi house has a master bedroom that is the biggest bedroom I have ever lived in.  We have a king bed, two dressers, and a sofa (the remnants of the Costco sectional we bought and the kids and cats destroyed)

We have been looking for good but inexpensive nightstands for a while now.  We also could use a set of matching end tables for the living room.  My FIL sent me a link to a yard sale that was going on near my kids' school.  In fact it was on the 2nd day of school (Friday) that it started and went through the weekend.  I decided to check it out and I was not disappointed.  

I found these and sent the picture to NG.  She immediately liked them and I asked the Proprietess how much.  Let me back up.  She was ready to sell everything she could but she didn't have everything ready by the start of the sale.  These were in the garage attached to the main house.  That's right main house.  They own a small walking horse ranch and most of the garage sale was out of the Pole Barn.  

I'm gonna skip ahead because this is getting long in the tooth.  She asked for $250 for the set and my cheap self felt that was fair.  These are good quality, mostly wood not cheap pressboard nightstands.  Yeah, there might be some veneer instead of pure stain but these are the perfect fit for our space.  Could I have talked her down to $200? maybe but why not give her her asking price as I can still afford to do so.

Last Day of August

 So we have lived here for, more or less, one entire year.  While it is still Hell's Porch Hot, it's the time of year when some days it isn't too bad in the early morning or after 5 pm.  It will still be hot in another month or so but not "cannot do anything outside" hot.

On the last weekend of July 2021, we loaded up a U-Haul and brought our kids and my Honda Element down to Olive Branch, MS.  We got the kids enrolled in school which started that Thursday and Nightingale headed back to Chicago that weekend.  

After things were settled and we realized that I needed to be back there as well to help with packing, purging, and selling whatever I could, I joined her.  

To say we made the move on the Highest Difficulty Setting is an understatement.  The crazy idea was conceived on a visit down here in June.  We would pretend to rent from our in-laws so our kids could register while we waited for our house to sell and then buy the in-laws' house.  Somehow that morphed into buying their house without the renting option.

Because it was so bleeding hot, we didn't really unload the U-Haul in a logical fashion.  It was more just getting it done and getting out of the heat.  We put things in storage but there were a few boxes I would have liked to work on while Nightingale was up north and I had nothing else to do while the kids were at school.

I'm pretty isolated down here.  Working from Home doesn't afford me the opportunity to meet anyone and since I'm not running anymore, that avenue isn't there either.  The only "friend" I've made is the grandmother of one of my daughter's friends.  We meet at the Red Park and we all went to the Zoo once.  

The good news is my kids, especially Boris, are thriving at school.  They both got into SpotLight, and love it.  

Edit from the Future:  I didn't get to finish this post back in August, but I'm publishing it just to get it out of the draft queue.

Something is always breaking around here

 In what I call the Parlor, which is really just the backend of our long living room, we have this full-length mirror covering one wall.  It's obvious that at one time a window was here, looking out on our neighbors' gangway.  I'm sure there was a practical reason for covering it up with a mirror inside and siding on the outside.

Last Sunday it broke.  We don't know how or why.  That is to say, we cannot pin it to anything.  Just one moment it was fine and the next we noticed a crack.  We did have Katness' kids over, as well as our neighbor's girls, but they all appear as shocked as we were and at their respective ages, lying isn't quite a thing yet.  

I don't think anyone was the explicit cause.  Maybe a large vehicle drove by and caused some vibrations?  or maybe it was just the mirrors time.

The irony is that when we first bought this house, I said I was gonna see what was behind that mirror and even get rid of it.  Instead, we put a bookcase in front of it, and then later my secretary desk and called it a day.  As we got rid of furniture and as the kids grew, it was nice having the open space.

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Attic Stairs painting project

I've wanted to paint the stairs that lead up to the attic for some time.  So I finally knocked that project out last week.  Previously, they were painted white but the paint was fading and the stairs looked dingy and dirty.

I used a grey-colored paint called Cyberspace (SW7076) from the Sherwin Williams shop a half-mile away.  Shop local.  Even with my 30% discount coupon, it still cost $30 for a gallon, of which I used maybe two inches from the top worth of paint.  On the plus side, I did not need a second coat.  

I didn't think it would take quite as long as it did.  In fact, I probably could have knocked it out in an afternoon if I really pushed myself.  But the window of opportunity requires kids to be at school and no other distractions or errands.  After doing the top stairs and the landing, I called it a day that first Monday.  

The second day I got a few more stairs done but was tired.  I skipped the next day and then finished up on Thursday.  If I had prepped better, the painting might have gone smoother, but sanding in that tight space isn't really an option because cleanup would be difficult.  And again, it's just an attic access.  Other than my Facebook friends, no one is gonna judge.

I thought about doing nice, neat lines of caulk where the grey meets the leftover white meets the purple walls but I'm not a nice, neat person.  

Note:  I had typed up this post when my computer crashed before I could hit save.  This post is a shell of what that post covered.  

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MarketPlace Garage Upgrades

 A couple of weeks ago, I lucked upon someone giving away a slew of cabinets.  By the time I was able to get someone to watch my kids (my mom finally came back after one of her "I'm just gonna run a quick errand" trips) most of them were gone.  I was able to snag these two wall cabinets, along with a couple of matching base cabinets, one of which I kept.

A week or two later someone else was giving away more cabinets but the catch was you had to come and uninstall them.  I spent two hours getting as many as I could and filled the minivan up.  I ended up only needing these two that are hung, plus the one base with drawers.  I could have squeezed another smaller wall cabinet but decided instead to list everything I didn't need for $10 per cabinet on Marketplace and I got fast responses. A dude from Indiana came and bought them all up.

I'm really proud of my decision to get rid of those shelves.  The space is now more open and with this free table I found, it really looks like a tradesman's workspace.  There is still a pile of junk on the floor that I need to deal with, but it is still much more open than before.  If we are here for more than one more year, I may invest in an outdoor storage shed for the bikes. Having them outside but secure would free up some valuable wall space.  

Now I just have to figure out what to do with the opposite wall.  I hS an idea but the person selling her IKEA CD shelves not only didn't respond to me, but she removed the post.  It serves me right.  Earlier this week I offered to give a dresser to someone on Portage Park Freebox.  But then people started answering my listing.  I selfishly decided that $30 is better than charity.  I guess I got what I deserved.

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Epoxy Garage project: Phase Finished

When I started this project, I tried to keep my expectations in check and not expect anything in the zip code of perfection.  I tried to mitigate common mistakes by doing my homework and reading up on best practices and also following the directions to the letter.

Unfortunately, some things are just beyond one's control.  I started painting Saturday and for a moment, I felt like I might be able to return the 1-car garage kit.  If I had a more even floor, with fewer pot marks that might have been the case.  As it turns out I was just 2 ft by 2 ft short.  But if we are being honest, the last gallon was spread too thin so I had to use the second kit anyway.  And I should have just sucked it up and done it Saturday but by that time I was tired and exhausted and I had to feed my kids who were probably wearing their welcome at my neighbor's house a little thin.

Also, I was a little defeated because my roller broke with just one small section to go.  I didn't think I had time to run to a nearby store and get another one (I did) and I really didn't want to spend the money because, after this project, I shouldn't need a roller extender anymore.

2 square feet to go, D'oh!

I finished up on Monday but because I waited a couple of days and left the sealed kit outside over several nights, it was too cold for the activator to work its magic.  In hindsight, I should have brought the kit in and kept it at room temperature and mixed it inside the warm house.  The first kit spread like butter.  The 2nd kit was thick and pasty, but I made it work.  

There is some good though. The floor definitely looks better than it did.  That horrible residue stain in the southwest corner is gone.  Some of the cracks have been sealed and are not noticeable. 

You would never know there was a black splash here

I've started to move somethings back in but it will be one more day before we can safely put the cars back.  

Costs

Rust-Oleum 301012 Wall-Surface-Repair-Products, Gray   22.97

Rust-Oleum 301012 Wall-Surface-Repair-Products, Gray   21.28

Rust-Oleum 301243 Cleaner and Degreaser, 1 Gallon      24.36

Rust-Oleum 301012 Wall-Surface-Repair-Products, Gray 22.40

Valspar Fast Prep Interior/Exterior Cleaner and Etcher (Gallon) 18.98

Rust-Oleum EpoxyShield 2-Part Tan Gloss Garage Floor Epoxy Kit (2.5 car) 111.16

Rust-Oleum EpoxyShield 2-Part Tan Gloss Garage Floor Epoxy Kit (1 car) 68.38

Purdy Golden Eagle 3-Pack 9-in x 3/8-in Knit Polyester Paint Roller Cover  9.48

Roller and extension pole  $17.20

Total = $316.21

Some of these items appear to be listed twice but I bought from different places, specifically Amazon and Lowe's.  The price for the kits was better at Lowe's as well, which makes sense since they probably sell more of them than Amazon and can give a better price.

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Epoxy Garage project phase two

Today we paint.  At least I hope to paint.  Right now the temperature is only 51 degrees and you really want to be closer to 65.  My garage is usually a little warmer than outside, often exponentially, but still not warm enough to attempt this.  It is supposed to reach at least 63 today so hopefully, that happens and I can do this.

completed:  

• empty garage (easier than I thought)  ✔
• power wash it (did it myself)✔
• patch any holes or cracks in the foundation ✔
• clean with degreaser ✔
• etch ✔
• paint

In hindsight, I should have patched sooner.  There is a learning curve and while I was able to make the second box stretch more, I didn't do a great job of making one of the fillings super smooth.  (Fatigue and the lateness of the hour).

My two big worries are that I won't have enough paint and that it won't adhere properly.  There seems to be a white powdery residue from the etch which as me concerned. I don't have time to wash and wait for it to dry so I'm gonna use a broom and a leaf blower and hope for the best.  It is impossible to get a Clean Room effect anyway and I cannot imagine that other people haven't run into this problem.

My plan is to work from the back of the garage to the front and the north side to the south side.  The garage floor has break sections so if I can get the two sections where all the garage stuff lives and the one part where the cars are parked, I could theoretically do the last section another time.  I'm really hoping that it doesn't come to that.  A friend who did this herself last month came up with a brilliant suggestion.  Instead of me buying two 2-car garage kits, I bought one 2-car and one 1-car kit.  This should be enough.

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Epoxy Garage project phase one

 One of the pipedream projects I have on my list is epoxy the garage floor.  In a perfect world, I'd have a cool design, like maybe the Bears logo or just a cool color combo.  In reality, I would go with a simple tan color for this garage since it isn't likely to be our forever house.

I might have missed the window to do it this year, but I'm slightly hopeful now that an opportunity has presented itself.  Nightingale has to go visit her sister for a family project and that means her car will be gone all weekend.  It would have been better last weekend weatherwise, but then again who wants to paint a garage floor when the weather is so beautiful.  

There are two things that I need to figure out first to see if it is worth doing.  First, I have a crack to fill.  There are lots of small cracks that the epoxy will mask, but the bigger ones do require patching.  

Second, I have this strange residue in one corner.  It looks like something spilled and then someone left a cardboard box on it for years and then finally ripped up the cardboard with just a thin layer of paper left behind.  Over the years I half heartedly tried to remove it with varying degrees of luck.  I swear I found something once that dissolved it but had to get going to work, forgot about it and now it's gone from my memory of what I used.

If I cannot get the majority of it off, it doesn't make sense to paint because the epoxy won't adhere properly.  I have been making progress with paint spirits and elbow grease so we shall see.  I'm hoping I can get it to a point where a good power washing will remove all the the microscopic remains.  

 The typical process is more or less the following:

• empty garage (easiest to do when at least one car is out of the picture)
• power wash it (might hire pro for that)
• patch any holes or cracks in the foundation
• clean with degreaser
• etch
• paint

All with a not insignificant amount of time in between.  Since this is a first go and not our forever home, I've given myself permission to do only a decent job i.e. not F it up for the next owner.  So I won't be doing two coats of epoxy and no clear coat.  

Today's I'm going to patch the cracks and let it set for two days.  According to the instructions, you typically patch and then as soon as the patch has set, you clean, etch and paint.  But I want to see how much one container of patching compound gets me so that I can decide if I need to order more or not.   

If the patching looks good and the strange residue is removed, I'll empty the garage on Thursday after Nightingale leaves for work.  I can have a crew come and power wash it.  That means I can do the degreasing and maybe the etching on Friday.  Unfortuantely, Moose and Squirrel are home from school on Friday, but luckily, they are friends with the kids down the street so I can send them there for a few hours.  

That means I should be able to start painting on Saturday.  It's typically 24 hours before you can walk on it and 72 before you can put things back including your car.  Nightingale gets back Sunday afternoon evening but a day or two in the driveway won't kill us.  

On another note:   On this day 6 years ago, I sold my condo.  And they money that went to that mortgage started going to daycare.

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Knocked another item on our Get The House Ready to Sell List

When we bought this house our inspector told us that we had a couple of problems with the electrical.  First problem was the feed was over the deck, which is absolutely against code.  Like it was never okay and there is no grandfather clause for that one.

Second, the electric panel in the basement was also not up to code.  It was using something called 'Cheaters' which allowed a 200 amp service to work with a 100 amp panel.  At least that is how it was explained to me.  It was also explained that this is fine in most parts of the country but not in Cook County.  Yay government oversight! 

We asked the owner to address it and he reluctantly gave us some money to take care of it.  I was prepared to walk away because this is a legitimate get out of contract free card issue.  But the respective realtors wanted their money after spending so much effort finding us a home and marketing his, so they convinced him to give us a credit.   Of course the standard way of determining how much money is by getting three of your electrician friends to give you lowball quotes and you take the average.  You will never find an electrician who will do the work for that price. 

Can you picture Boris hitting this with a rake?

I've been getting quotes for years from electricians who would do the panel and the move and upgrade the service (I wasn't sure if we had a 200 Amp service but it appears we do) and they all came in around $3K. 

Honestly, I don't remember how much was given but now that I think about it, it might have been more generous than I remember.

I got the panel taken care of in 2017, or was it 2018, via an Angie's list deal for about $800, IIRC.  But the electrician kept upping the price to move the feed because there are only so many good spots to put it and putting it in the best exterior location might have meant moving the panel which is a lot of work. 

When COVID-19 derailed our plans to list the house and move south, I decided it was time to fix this issue so that I wouldn't have to give the next buyer a credit for this.  I'm likely gonna have to give them a credit for something else, because there is always something else, so this helps.  Plus Boris was walking up the stairs once with an outstretched rake in his arms and although he's too short to reach the power line now...it's only a matter of time before we have fried Moose.

I got a couple of quotes and found someone I liked.  He figured out a way to move the line with minimal impact and without having to do some of the destructive things other electricians threatened.  He also consulted with ComEd to verify that it was up to code and best practices and we got their blessing so yay!

He came in April to give the estimate and I was honest and said I wanted to do this but couldn't pull the trigger at that moment because i had other projects in-flight but wanted to get this going before summer ended.  He was very accomodating and not pushy at all.

Ironically, once I was able to get to this, we had issues with weather.  May was rather rainy and we kept having to reschedule.  We pushed it out to the first Thursday in June but then Nightingale had us join the Adamas on a lakehouse vacation.  We were going to have him do the work anyway with my mom here to reach out if there  were any problems but my spidey sense said not to do that.  So I cancelled 11th hour and reschedule for the following week.  Between his schedule and the weather, we got it done on Friday, June 12th.  It was a good thing I rescheduled too because there was a slight misunderstanding in where they would put the new feed and by being there, they were able to rethink it on the fly. 

It cost $2500 and I do like how it came out.  I'm worried that if we stay here, we'll someday put an addition on the house and that will mean this was for naught but what can you do.

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Knocked off one item on our Get The House Ready to Sell List

I addressed one of the items on our Get The House Ready to Sell Todo list.

I hired a handyman to fix the decorative railing.  I'm happy with the price but not with the scope of work.  Let me back up.

In order to make this work out for everyone, I had a handyman come over a few weeks ago and went over my Punch List.  This itself was a bit of a drag because they were eager to come over earlier than scheduled because it snowed and they couldn't do any work.  I was swamped that day so I stuck to our original Friday appointment (April 17th). 

Before

Then it took over a week to get the quote.  And then another week or so to schedule the work.  The weather was a factor (originally scheduled for May 5th but rain prevented outside work) but still, it stretched the time out.  I didn't mind much because  I wasn't in that much of a hurry to shell out money.

Anyway, they bunched a few things together and for this day of work (May 8th). 

• Move electrical outlet from fence to deck
• Raise outlet on deck
• Reseal basement shower
• Repair railing on top of front porch

The total cost was $800 (plus $80 in materials) but ended up being $600 because they finished early and couldn't do the shower because a part wasn't available. 

After

I should have been clearer in that I not only wanted the railing fixed but also sanded and painted.  This would have added to the cost and maybe it's a good thing that they didn't because I could certainly use my spare time to strip, sand and paint it myself, or outsource it to someone else.  I do think they could have put more wood putty on some of the other parts of the railing instead of focusing just on the North end. 

My only real complaint is they didn't do a spectacular job of post-work cleanup.  Also, I know they left with some supplies I paid for that they should have left behind but maybe someone else will benefit.

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Staying put literally and figuratively

Like most of the world, we are under Home Quarantine because of the COVID-19 virus.  I don't have any hot takes or thinky-thoughts that anyone else doesn't have though I will try to write more here and at ChicagoNow for future alien anthropologists that explore our post-apocalyptic planet to consume.

Before this all begin, we were getting ready to put the house on the market.  We were trying to figure out when Nightingale could quit her job.  In order to not burn bridges, she needed to give at least a month's
notice.

We also needed to do a few more things around the house before we could officially put it on the market.  Our realtors felt like we should have listed ASAP but hat's what realtors always say.  in their line of work it a bird in the hand is better than two in the bush.  But there was no way we could have had everything ready by March 1.  And our house shows better in optimal weather, especially with the lack of central air.

Below is a list of things we need to address, more or less in the order of priority.  Meaning if we could only do one thing, start with number one, etc.

at the same time, our biggest need is the need to purge.  I started by selling things on FB marketplace and Letgo, with mixed results.  I did manage to get rid of some big items and make a little money at the same time.   But I also got ghosted and the usual freaks and weirdos.

My thought is that I don't want to move things into a local storage center.  Then transport things to a Memphis area storage center.  and then to our new home once we finally find it.  Also, everything has a cost: do I pay to move it or replace it?  Or do we really need it at all?

I thought that FIL could fly up on a Tuesday, load a truck with the first batch of stuff we know we are keeping but don't need here (NG family dressers, the spare grill I bought that is still in the box, our free weights, etc) and then he could drive off early the next morning, with NG.  They would get down there in time to drop it off at storage and return the truck to the local U-haul, or even if they did it the next morning that's fine.  Then NG would fly back that Thursday afternoon, or even stay until Saturday.

Decorative Railing:  This has two fixes, expensive or cheap.  The cheap easy fix is to remove it.  And I am prepared to do so.  However,  part of me feels like it could be repaired and restored with some help.  It might mean hiring a pro and spending more than I should or if my MIL truly can help, we could do it together.

New Window Treatment for middle bedroom, living room bay window, and kitchen windows.

Paint the Basement: one consistent color of white.  There is no point in doing this while the kiddos are still running around making a mess down there.

Replace carpet in the basement.  There is no point in doing this before the basement gets painted.

Repair Plaster ceiling in the living room.  This is also easy or hard.  I don't know enough about it but I think we can get it cosmetically repaired quickly.  Or do it the right way which will take longer and cause more dust and clean up issues.  I even think we might get away with not doing anything about it but it will be the realtor's call.

Attic Steps painting:  this one is just a nice to have.  Right now the stairs are white but very dingy looking.  I think a dark grey color will make it look better and hide dirt.

Pipe Dream:  I would still like to fix the basement shower.  The problem it doesn't' seem like a cheap fix and I am not gonna pay for a bathroom reno that I won't get to enjoy.

Also, the fence between our house and our neighbor to the North of us is falling down.  At least three posts have rotted through so its likely at the point where replace versus repair costs about the same.  I suspect that if I were to check the survey, my property line is a little more north than it is right now.  which could be an issue because I don't want to screw the next owner out of land.

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Monday Monday Monday

I've been working on projects around the house all year (and last year) in order to put the house on the market.  We made the decision to wait until Spring to list.  While I think the major items have been addressed, there are still some smaller items that need looking into. 

By then we should also have better answers about my job uncertainty and where we want to live.  If a miracle that allows us to stay in Chicago doesn't occur, we ship the kids off to grandparents in the Memphis area and stag the house for selling.  With the money we save on Daycare we should be able to not only buy a nice home but put a sizable down payment so that we pay it off quickly.

Meanwhile, we are both going to explore some lateral job moves that might allow us to stay here.  I'd love a setup where we have homes in both places so we get a good school system on the cheap but also the amenities of a blue city.

I just got back from the Post Office.  We ordered a Hugglepod stand which should have arrived on the 15th.  It didn't and I contacted the USPD.  Setup re-delivery for the 21st...didn't happen.  Set up re-delivery for the 24th, didn't happen.   I decided to go in person since our local PO is just down the street from our kids daycare.  wouldn't you know it that today is raining so bad, they had flooding and were not taking customers!  I kinda threw a fit and someone asked what I needed.  Told him and he found someone to look for me.  After about 25 minutes they found my missing package.  I asked what happened and he said, on the sly, that it must have been a female carrier who didn't want to lift the heavy (32 lbs) package.

Whether that is true or not, we have had both male and female carriers delivering over this span.  Surely someone could have delivered it by now?

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Under the deck project

For a long time, I have wanted to address the situation under our back deck.  For whatever reason, whoever installed the non-standard sized deck, they didn't put down a decent foundation.  I suspect it was both costs and the desire to have the pool water go somewhere.

Anyway, I gave myself a challenge: do what I can with minimal monetary investment.  Kinda like when Nicole Curtis of WHATEVER does the I'm not gonna put a lot of money in the backyard because I spent too much on the 6th fireplace in the 2nd guest bedroom.

Anyway, the first thing I did was put down some weed guard.  This required me to temporarily remove and then put back the assortment of different sized pavers we had back there.

I was going to leave this go until mid-summer when I know the big box stores have clearance sales and I could get extra-large pavers dirt cheap.  However, my neighbor is having his basement re-done and they had bought a large number of pea stones.  Actually, the next size up of rocks.

Anyway, after they used all they needed, the doofus who is doing the work asked me if I wanted them and I said sure.  It was about 10 wheel barrels and naturally, the cost was I had to take all of them.

I was also able to repurpose the stones from the fireplace we removed from the basement.


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My Through the wall air conditioner problem

One of the warts of our house is that it does not have central air conditioning.  I've looked into installing some form of cooling system but it has always been cost prohibitive.

In the Master Bedroom of our 106-year-old house, we have what is known as a Through-the-Wall air conditioner.  What some crazy or visionary previous owner did was take a window and seal it off to hold this unit. It is a very old, Sears Coldspot.  How old?  When you google the model number you get refrigerators because Sears stopped making these around the time Nixon resigned.

 While it still works in the "it turns on" sense, it doesn't produce cold enough air if the temperature reaches a certain point.  That point being the temperature one would turn an AC unit on.

It's hard to find anyone who works on these units these days because most homes have central air or at least SpacePak.  Or if it doesn't, people are buying cheaper window units.  But lo and behold, I found a recommendation on my local Facebook neighborhood group for a place that does this type of service.

I called Bob and from our initial phone call, I had a gut feeling I would not be happy.  I'm willing to adhere to the "respect your elders" up to a point.   I don't believe this Missionaria Protectiva gives someone a free pass to be abusive, or even just a plain old dick.

Bob cut me off while we were talking.  I was trying to ascertain whether it was worth his time to look at my ancient AC unit.  He said that he can usually do something to get these older units going and I believed him.  What I should have done, and he confirmed onsight, is send him a picture of the air conditioner.  I mean I did tell him it was a SEARS Coldspot and anyone in the business should have bee able to say "hey they haven't made those in at least 20 years!"

True to his word, he called me the morning of and said he was 45 minutes away.  About the time I was expecting him, I looked outside and saw a service vehicle driving so slowly down the block, obviously looking for my address.  He actually called me and I said "I see you, park in my driveway".  Older than the proverbial Methuselah this is a guy who probably shouldn't be driving at all, let alone a service vehicle.

I'm not making fun of him for his age.  I'm making fun of the fact that he obviously doesn't like doing what he is doing these days.  It would be one thing if he loved his job and didn't want to retire.  But it is clear that he is only doing this because he either made some bad life choices or experienced a series of unfortunate events.

He did not want to answer my questions.  To be clear, I didn't ask about his grandma's favorite sex position.  I asked about the AC unit.  He cut me off.

At first, it seemed my only options were to replace the unit which will run just short of $1000.  Or I can try to convert the opening back to a window, which will probably cost nearly as much.   I'm inclined to replace the AC so that we get some relief this summer before we put the house on the market.  NG feels that a window looks better.  The problem is, it isn't possible to put a double-pane window that will open enough for a window AC unit, which is why someone used this solution in the first place.

So after feeling sorry for myself and my $109, I did some research.  After watching a dozen Youtube videos, along with the one thing that Bob showed me -- how to remove the existing unit -- I feel confident that I can buy another Through-the-Wall and install it myself.

Edit from the future:  With a little helpful advice/research from Gary Lucido, we were able to find a unit that fit and I installed it myself for under $500.

Green, green grass

On the Saturday before Palm Sunday, I put down some sod on the mud hole in our backyard.  As this was my first effort doing something like this, I wasn't trying to do a spectacular professional job.  I just wanted to cover the mud so my kids would stop playing in it.  Of course, it snowed the next day.  The rest of the week was warm and I watered the sod as needed.

I had bought just enough sod to cover the whole with nothing to spare and it wasn't a perfect fit.  I also didn't remove enough dirt and only used one bag of fertilized dirt when I really should have used two.

The following week we were in Mississipi but it rained a lot here.  In fact, it rained so much in April that I hardly ever had to water the sod myself.

So after the better part of 4 weeks, I'd say the grass looks good.  Yes you can still tell where the sod ends and the old grass begins but I fathom that will dimish in another month or so. 

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Spring is arriving

A week or two ago, I said to Nightingale that Spring is coming.  I elaborated that yeah we would probably get one or two light snow powderings (we did) and it wasn't shorts and sunscreen weather but we could safely downgrade our winter coats from parka to jacket.

So I haven't done my usual beginning of the year project post yet.  I've actually completed a few so far.  I installed a new toilet in the first-floor powder room. This project was more complicated than it had a right to be.

First off, I was willing to pay a plumber to simply fix the running water by simply replacing some old parts within the toilet.  I know that isn't worth their time so I tried to sweeten the deal by agreeing to replace the basement toilet.  I got some takers but they were so expensive it just wasn't worth it. 

One company wanted to charge me approximately $1K a toilet with a service plan.  Colossal waste of my time.  I have to remember from now on when I use Yelp to find vendors, ignore the phone calls.  The point is so that I can look at offers, not get phone calls from people trying to talk to me over the phone like I'm a teenager from the 80s.

I ended up buying a toilet from Costco and doing it myself.  I had actually asked my cleaning lady if she had a recommendation and she sent me a picture of one while she happened to be at Costco.  It was on sale for $180 and included everything you need, although I sprang for a non-wax ring and I have to admit, my in-laws were right about that.

And luckily I bought two because the tank connector leaked water after being connected to the water supply.  Had I only bought one toilet, I would have had to take it back, but instead, I swapped out the good tank and brought back the second toilet.  The basement toilet, which works fine but has some cosmetic cracks, will have to wait.

I also hired a plumber to fix the leak in the upstairs bathtub faucet.  This was worth the $230 ($40 per cartridge and $150 service call) because I would not have been able to do it as quickly and efficiently, or really at all, as a professional.  This is the exact reason I try to do the things I can so that I can shift my limited money to pay for situations when I have to outsource the work.

In the basement, we got rid of the wood-burning fireplace.  While I had that crew in, I also splurged and had them work on the leaky shower.  It isn't perfect but it is better than it was.  The total cost for that project was approximately $1600. 

I really hope that is it for now.  However, I know there are some more coming.  I need to finish those quarter rounds on the porch and maybe touch up some of the paint.  Next, I need to power wash the stone pavers and the house.  I will do this in two jobs.  I also need the gutters cleaned and re-balanced. 

I want to get the area under the deck landscaped so it looks pretty when we try to sell and also so that it is less maintenance. 

Finally, we had to address the crown railing on the top of the front porch. 


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