Pennance
Last year, I didn't do a thing to fix up the house. This year, I'm paying. First off, there was the new roof. You think you can get by with an old roof, until one day, you're sitting in bed, trying to go to sleep, and you feel a drip, drip, drip on your head. This is not good. After three valiant attempts to patch the roof, and stop the leak, I conceded defeat.
Nothing lasts forever, and very little lasts in Hull, the seaside community we call home. Coach Joshua Dean Powers of Arizona has a gas grill that is more than twenty years old, and it functions perfectly. In Hull, a gas grill is good for about four years until the frame rusts out completely. An Anderson Forever View storm door is junk after around seven years.
So the ten year old roof had to go. The nails holding it down, which I believe were galvanized, had corroded, and the water was going down the nail holes, through the roof boards, down the joists, and settling upon my cranium.
Mr. Lackey applied himself to the job, and with new boards, new ice and water shield, stainless steel fasteners, lead covered flashing, and best of all, new chimney flashing, prepared me for winter.
The great Dave Lawrence has taken up to shingling the east side of the house. There is nothing in this world that renews your faith like fresh cedar shingles, professionally applied. The wall that was once cupped and cracked is now beautiful. Only problem is it makes the south and west side of the house look positively shabby.
If money were no object, Dave Lawrence and Will Craig would be on retainer for eternity, and they would show up every day and do a little something on the house. By the time they worked their way all around it, the weather in Hull would've wreaked some havoc somewhere, and it would be time to start again.
As I'm out of money, I'll pick up the shingling where the great Dave Lawrence left off. Not sure if I should invest in a nail gun, or hand nail. I'm pretty slow to begin with, so I don't know if the nail gun is worth having.
The first day of my summer vacation didn't feel much like vacation. I moved 1,200 pounds of dirt, planted some grass that isn't going to grow in the heat, painted some shingles, vacuumed out the HVAC system on the first floor, mowed the lawn, and drove 225 miles south in punishing traffic to attend a wedding.
As the wedding is for a family member, I shall report for duty. If it was anyone else, I'd send a card that said, "Congratulations on your wedding. Since it's fourth of July weekend, I shan't be present."
I believe I hit the wall on weddings was I best man in my brother's. That's all I got, I'm out. He too hit the wall recently when he was best man at a friend's wedding. Men only have so many weddings in them. Women too, but the young girls at work, who have closets filled with bridesmaid's dresses seem to have more in them than the young men.
I should be grateful. On Friday, there's an informal memorial for Ray down in Rhode Island and I should get off my home improving ass and attend.
Sorry for the complete lack of pictures. I won't bore you with the details, but there are technical challenges aplenty.
Nothing lasts forever, and very little lasts in Hull, the seaside community we call home. Coach Joshua Dean Powers of Arizona has a gas grill that is more than twenty years old, and it functions perfectly. In Hull, a gas grill is good for about four years until the frame rusts out completely. An Anderson Forever View storm door is junk after around seven years.
So the ten year old roof had to go. The nails holding it down, which I believe were galvanized, had corroded, and the water was going down the nail holes, through the roof boards, down the joists, and settling upon my cranium.
Mr. Lackey applied himself to the job, and with new boards, new ice and water shield, stainless steel fasteners, lead covered flashing, and best of all, new chimney flashing, prepared me for winter.
The great Dave Lawrence has taken up to shingling the east side of the house. There is nothing in this world that renews your faith like fresh cedar shingles, professionally applied. The wall that was once cupped and cracked is now beautiful. Only problem is it makes the south and west side of the house look positively shabby.
If money were no object, Dave Lawrence and Will Craig would be on retainer for eternity, and they would show up every day and do a little something on the house. By the time they worked their way all around it, the weather in Hull would've wreaked some havoc somewhere, and it would be time to start again.
As I'm out of money, I'll pick up the shingling where the great Dave Lawrence left off. Not sure if I should invest in a nail gun, or hand nail. I'm pretty slow to begin with, so I don't know if the nail gun is worth having.
The first day of my summer vacation didn't feel much like vacation. I moved 1,200 pounds of dirt, planted some grass that isn't going to grow in the heat, painted some shingles, vacuumed out the HVAC system on the first floor, mowed the lawn, and drove 225 miles south in punishing traffic to attend a wedding.
As the wedding is for a family member, I shall report for duty. If it was anyone else, I'd send a card that said, "Congratulations on your wedding. Since it's fourth of July weekend, I shan't be present."
I believe I hit the wall on weddings was I best man in my brother's. That's all I got, I'm out. He too hit the wall recently when he was best man at a friend's wedding. Men only have so many weddings in them. Women too, but the young girls at work, who have closets filled with bridesmaid's dresses seem to have more in them than the young men.
I should be grateful. On Friday, there's an informal memorial for Ray down in Rhode Island and I should get off my home improving ass and attend.
Sorry for the complete lack of pictures. I won't bore you with the details, but there are technical challenges aplenty.
posted by joe berkeley at 5:30 AM
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