2x12x16"

Yesterday I did some more serious shopping at HD. The big item was a 2x12x16′ (ok, it’s only 1.5x11x16′). I strapped it to my car–this is one reason why I don’t want to get rid of my station wagon. At this phase of demolition, a pickup truck would be even better.

I climbed up in the “attic” again, cold chisel in hand, and chipped out a groove on either side of the existing joist. Actually, some of the bricks were already knocked loose from the movement of the damaged wood. I didn’t want to measure the length of the joist along the bottom–the split and deflection added several inches there. When I measured the top, I remembered something I learned from “This Old House”: the tops of such wood supports are cut slightly narrower than the bottoms. In a fire, if they were to burn and fall, the ends won’t rise up and knock more bricks on the firemen working on the first floor.

Found a long dead, mummified mouse in the attic.

Mouse nest and cracked roof support

Was clearing the plaster around the back basement door, trying to find the source of a stream of cold air, and ran across one big mouse nest. It was more like a mouse Hilton, or at least a condo. Luckily it seemed abandoned.

Man, I love power tools–especially the cordless kind. I’ve already used my drill a dozen times. Now I’m using my reciprocating saw as much as I can.

I used it, for example, to chop a hole into the “attic” above the second floor. Two things are going on here: 1) there is no insulation (see picture); and 2) the 2×12 roof beam has a big crack in it (the inspector had pointed this out).

Killing the High Priests

I’m not trying to knock skilled tradesmen–they have the experience and tools and knowledge to do a job right and fast. But some of the things people pay good money for, they could do themselves quite easily. Take me. Both the front and rear outside drains were backed up. I bought a $15 snake, found a piece of stiff yet flexible wire, grabbed a long handled spoon and went to work. After about 15 minutes of digging out a decades worth of mud and sand, the drain started flowing. Then I stuck the hose down there for another few minutes to wash away any residue. Money saved: $150.

One of my locks which I had rekeyed two weeks ago was acting up to the point it didn’t turn anymore. I had called CD Lock, the original locksmith, a few days ago (“Well have a man out there if a few days . . .” yeah right) but never heard back from them. Anyway, I was all set to buy a new cylinder so I took the old one off and, lo, there was the problem–the little “stick” that connects the cylinder to the turning mechanism had, over the years, worn away the connection point. I simply put that part of the lock on a downstairs door that never gets opened. Savings from turning a few screws myself and being observant: $50+, not including service call fee.

I hope you visited the Greenovation show today, put on in conjunction with the Green House exhibit at the National Building Museum. I’ll share some ideas later. I will say that I’m inspired to put solar energy on my rooftop now and hopefully run the meter backward.

Uh oh, more rot

Years ago someone built a workshop in the basement. The floors and walls were all wood, including a type of cellulose wallboard.

The termites pretty much had a field day! I finished installing three steel posts to hold the major floor beam up (luckily it sustained very minor insect damage and still seems structurally sound). Finally I had a chance to rip some of the quarter-inch “wallboard” off. Yikes. The insects had eaten it, too. And the rot!–Some of the furring strips installed on the brick literally disintegrated in my hands. Unfortunately the little buggers got into a 2×10 which now needs to be replaced. It’s not the top plate; my guess is it’s more a nailer for the floor boards. Details to follow.

I also spent a few hours the other night pulling up carpet tack and pad staples. What a pain. Our wood floor definitely has some rough and broken sections. I hope I can fix them and at least make them look presentable. Many of the nailheads are starting to poke through, so I’ll have to punch them down before I hire a sander.

Best invention for old kitchen cabinets? Contact paper. I used my industrial-strength vacuum on the cabinets, followed by a strong dose of 409. After being lined, they actually looked clean enough to put pots and pans on them.

Minor complaint: it sucks having to always unlock and lock the security grates. I feel caged in. Luckily, the neighborhood is cleaning up nicely; I don’t think it is as scary as it used to be.

Mastercard Hall of Fame

Home Depot should start some type of frequent buyer program. Yesterday I must have spent two hours–and $580–there! Hey, I had a 10% off coupon. So I had to buy power tools. I bought the Skil cordless combo set for $150. I know it’s not top of the line, but I’m not a fulltime contractor and didn’t want to pay $600 for high end stuff. Now I have a circular saw, drill, jigsaw, and reciprocating saw–all cordless! Does anybody know of a 7.25″ blade that won’t be fazed if it hits an occasional nail? I read about using your circular saw at an angle to cut on broken pieces of hardwood floor, and I fear I might hit a nail and damage the blade.

I also bought six or seven types of flower bulbs (iris, daffodils, grape hyacinths, etc.). Unfortunately, today is too rainy to put them in; I should’ve put them in yesterday when we had gorgeous weather.

Let’s see: I also got a lockbox for leaving a key for contractors; a respirator that is rated for lead paint dust and nasty organic fumes from strippers; a citrus stripper that supposedly works even though it’s not toxic; various drill bits for concrete and wood; hearing protection; assorted nails and brads. Lots of goodies.

I also installed a hot water heater insulating jacket. Payback time: less than a year (though I’m still surprised that a R-5 wrap of insulation covered with vinyl costs $20). Check out the big hole in the basement wall! That is probably the flue of the previous furnace, and has been letting hot air escape for decades!

Some photos for you

Here are some photos for you. There’s the bamboo forest before the clearcutting. I found a panda inside, which I donated to the local zoo.There’s a picture of our house with the fall leaf colors in full glory.And there’s a picture from our roof. Note all the cranes four blocks away–they’re building the first Target in DC–which has everyone abuzz for some reason. A Best Buy, and a Bed Bath & Beyond will be there. I’m sure a Starbucks will crop up.

There’s also an alley shot, and a view of the small bathroom, as it looks now.

Fireplace replacement

We hired Jim Martin, AIA, as our architect. He charges a reasonable $80/hour and seems to be a nice guy with lots of experience with old houses. He measured our house yesterday and will draw up the current plan. Emily and I drew up a list for him on all the things our house must have, and those things that would be nice to have. We must have security lights in our parking area; we would like to have the 3rd floor ceiling raised up (but probably won’t because of the big expense).

One thing we can do while waiting for Jim is fix the fireplace. Ours is shot. I can put my hand in the cracks in the firebox. Two vendors came out today: High’s Chimney and Jimney’s Chimneys. The High’s guy was matter-of-fact and told me I needed a new firebox lined with refractory brick (ours is lined with regular, cracked brick). He said we also need the terra cotta flue broken out and relined (the breaking out gives them room to put a properly sized replacement flue in that will draft correctly). Price: $2950.

The Jimney’s guy has been working there 11 years, which impressed me (how many chimney sweeps do you know that have worked at the same company for 11 years? Do you know ANYBODY who has worked at the same company for 11 years?!). Their website makes the company seem pretty raccoon friendly. The lead chimney sweep (I guess that’s his job title) also recommended I replace the cracked flue that handled our boiler’s exhaust. We’ll see–but I do have the CO monitor plugged in just in case. Price for just the main chimney: $5100–ouch.

We can avoid a new firebox and a negatively efficient fireplace (they typically suck up more heat than they put out) by buying a fireplace insert. Vermont Castings has some nice ones. Also check out CJ’s in PA.

The trick is to find some balance between aesthetics and heat production and cost. I’m not sure if I want to bring electrical in to run the blower fans. Maybe we’ll just get a fireback to reflect the heat into the room.

Make sure that your own damper is in tight. We don’t have one at all; our heating dollars would’ve floated right up and away (until I temporarily plugged the hole).

Anymore questions on fireplaces? It’s amazing all the construction info, physics, and other knowledge you pick up renovating a home!

Trash and other issues

Ok, last Tuesday was not a good day.

First, Milwaukee Tool sent me the wrong battery charger. I specifically read off the part number and the customer service guy screwed it up. To their credit, they are going to send me a call tag and return the opened item for full credit. I’m going to use this opportunity to rethink my tool situation and just buy new. I especially like the combo kits: drill, circular saw, reciprocating saw, and light.

Second issue: the DC sanitation crews can’t seem to understand: I put trash in the cart; they are supposed to empty it. Twice a week. How hard can it be?! By the time I recycle and compost, I normally don’t have much trash. Obviously, with some of my demolition, I have scrap wood and such.

Actually, the guys don’t miss my trash; they open the top and selectively take out the light-weight plastic “household” trash and leave the rest–they’re too lazy to wheel the cart to their truck!

Because this has gone on for several weeks, I decided to hold them accountable by filling out a Service Request Form every time they missed. You can either call the City to speak to an operator, or do it online. I did it online and later noticed a city employee’s posting that I had to CALL the city. What is the point of having an online request form if I then need to call?

So I called, and explained my situation, and was transferred to the sanitation department, and was then transferred again to a supervisor–all to get my trash picked up! Then the supervisor and I had a several minute discussion on what trash they can pick up! A 2×4? Yard trimmings? Having spent many years working in the solid waste industry, here’s my rule: as long as the waste is not illegal (dead animals, liquids, explosives, etc.) and won’t damage a worker’s back or the truck (huge chunks of concrete, iron beams, etc.), then whatever I put in the cart is TRASH and the city should THROW IT AWAY! Simple! Aaaargh–why does DC inflict such brain damage on something that should just go away twice per week?

I’ve even resorted to putting nice notes on my trash: “Please make sure to empty my whole trash cart every day.” Next I’ll have to put out brownies and milk.

Saturday morning update

Ok, I’ve got a long list of tasks for the day: insulate/weatherstrip doors and windows (it got down to 30 last night, and our house has holes!), pull more tacks from the wood floors so we can at least walk to the bathroom barefoot, install a hot water heater jacket (cost about $18; should pay back within the year), meet with Nikos (a potential contractor), and so forth.

When we moved in, there were a number of tools including a Milwaukee cordless drill. I needed a charger, couldn’t find one at Home Depot, called the manufacturer, and bought one over the phone. In hindsight, the $70 was probably too much, considering it was an old drill, the old battery might not even hold a charge, and new drills seem to be around $200. Oh well, I was just too busy to thoroughly research the issue. Worst case: Milwaukee is a reputable brand, and I’ll have to buy lots of other cool power tools to get my money’s worth from the charger. Hey, that’s not a bad option. My old drill is 12 volt. I guess the new ones are 18 volt, but one commentator criticized those as being too heavy for most people.

Halloween was quiet, but I arrived home late–just in time to see the last of the gangs of kids. Or maybe they were just gangs (here in DC, it’s sometimes hard to tell). Our house was all dark, so I don’t any thinking child would’ve climbed the steps to knock; calories spent would’ve outweighed calories gained in candy.

Emily and I have decided we need a new toilet. Google “how to buy a new toilet” and you’ll find more scoop on poop than you ever thought imaginable. Check out this site, for example.