Mr. Fix it, about time

Hull is a great place to live. The problem is nothing lasts. My favorite painter Will Craig says, “Nohting lasts forever.”

Once, after he sandblasted and painted the hoist at the yacht club stood back to admire his work, and said, “Let’s watch it rust.”

The air here contains a lot of moisture and a fair amount of salt, which turns gas grills into piles of rust in just three years.

Then there’s the wind. During the winter, the northeasterly winds howls at 75 mph plus. Same goes for the northwesterly.

This means life for storm doors is not easy. A year or so ago, a storm door on the west side of our house was opened a crack and it blew wide open, ripping out of the door jamb and turning the two closers into bent, rusty junk.

The maker of the door calls it the FOREVER VIEW door. Well, nothing’s forever in Hull.

As I was in training last year, I had no energy for door repair which made my brother insanely jealous. He recently purchased a home, and spent so much time fixing it up, he hurt his back in the process.

He couldn’t wait for me to put the bike down so I could pick up the tool belt and have at it. Yesterday, he got his wish.

On the way back from my training ride, I stopped at the local Hull hardware store and purchased two brand-new closers, a chain, and best of all, fresh stainless steel hardware.

It’s great when a hardware store has row after row of stainless fasteners, and a knowledgeable person to help you find what you’re looking for.

As I waited to pay for my purchases, another Hullonian lamented that he has a neighbor who purchased a brand new storm door. She closed it properly. Then the guy who delivers the free phone book that every throws out came along, and put the phone book between the storm and the door. This left the door open a crack. When the big breeze came along, it ripped the door off the hinges and threw it out of rack.

She had it reinstalled for about half of what a new door would’ve cost.

As is always the case, I found out I had forgotten a few parts when I was putting the door back together again, so another trip the hardware store was in order. Most of the parts fit. The two new nylon washers for the door handle were a hair big, so I had to drill them out. I ended up duct taping them to a piece of scrap and opening them up a bit with a counter sink. Not easy, but it worked.

Perhaps the through bolts will hold the door to the closers, and the closers to the house. `