Icy Silence? (no)
The delay in communicating with you, dear blog readers, is not because things were quiet over here. On Saturday, there was an emergency effort by a roofing company to remove ice and snow from our roof to get rid of some of the ice dams. This was good, but the not good part is when it took 4 hours of work because they had forgotten their extra tall ladder and couldn't reach the roof and needed to go home and get it. (whoops!) I'm more concerned because they may be charging us for that time. Oh well, I have to say, it is only money...and my impression is that we'll be spending a lot of it very soon to fix up this situation.
So, the saga continued. On Tuesday, a nice contractor came out to visit because the insurance adjuster sent him. He determined that our beautifully painted 2nd floor bedroom would need the entire ceiling replaced, and there was no point doing that until spring when the last snow melt happened. Until then, it will likely just drip and rain indoors. Good thing we can sleep in the room next door. Good thing #2? We are not setting up any kind of nursery before the babies arrive, because right now, we're sleeping in that space. (No, this aspect of things doesn't worry me in the slightest. Two babies can sleep in dresser drawers or laundry baskets if necessary...) My only regret is that I wish I hadn't happened into a construction zone in my house in this way.
Also on Tuesday, we were encouraged to start calling roofers because we need to get this fixed in a permanent way. Of course, roofers too only start work after the snow melts. I found myself at the top of the call back list when I explained that, well, I was due to have twins this
May/early June so could the insulation/vapor barrier/re-roofing maybe happen quickly? (I don't usually take advantage of physical issues in this way, but heck, this shlepping around of two fetuses is hard work. I was at a low point.)
Then, Tuesday, in the late afternoon, the contractor calls back. He says that the 3rd floor bathroom plaster is too wet to be safe. It is an "emergency" job and can he send two guys and a plumber to rip out that plaster and put up a temporary vapor barrier (plastic) and some insulation right away? He gave me the option of today, Wednesday, or tomorrow, Thursday. I chose Thursday. I needed a bit of breathing room.
These pictures show how small our little guest bathroom is--and if you see this sloping ceiling on the left above the toilet? It is all crinkly, saggy and wet. Most important, you can notice the
yucky brown cave color. I don't think the professor and I will miss this color scheme at all...we're looking forward to this somewhat inopportune chance to repaint this space and make it slightly brighter and less cave-like. (Removing the drippy damp will go a long way to help with that, right?!)
Meanwhile, I've been making spindles and assembling spindling kits for my "learn to spin" class on Sunday. Every bag gets filled with a certain amount of wool roving in different colors, some informational brochures, and the spindle, of course...The show must go on. Today I need to finish doing that, because starting tomorrow, I'll need to have all that organized and sheltered from a bathroom plaster demolition.
Oy. By evening, I had resorted to a comfort food dinner of oatmeal, an apple, and ice cream. I couldn't even knit. Demolition? Yes, demolition.
Must go--I just got a phone call from the gas company. We're about to have our gas fireplaces (installed in September) officially inspected. Is our number up this week for house fix-its and repairs?
So, the saga continued. On Tuesday, a nice contractor came out to visit because the insurance adjuster sent him. He determined that our beautifully painted 2nd floor bedroom would need the entire ceiling replaced, and there was no point doing that until spring when the last snow melt happened. Until then, it will likely just drip and rain indoors. Good thing we can sleep in the room next door. Good thing #2? We are not setting up any kind of nursery before the babies arrive, because right now, we're sleeping in that space. (No, this aspect of things doesn't worry me in the slightest. Two babies can sleep in dresser drawers or laundry baskets if necessary...) My only regret is that I wish I hadn't happened into a construction zone in my house in this way.
Also on Tuesday, we were encouraged to start calling roofers because we need to get this fixed in a permanent way. Of course, roofers too only start work after the snow melts. I found myself at the top of the call back list when I explained that, well, I was due to have twins this
May/early June so could the insulation/vapor barrier/re-roofing maybe happen quickly? (I don't usually take advantage of physical issues in this way, but heck, this shlepping around of two fetuses is hard work. I was at a low point.)Then, Tuesday, in the late afternoon, the contractor calls back. He says that the 3rd floor bathroom plaster is too wet to be safe. It is an "emergency" job and can he send two guys and a plumber to rip out that plaster and put up a temporary vapor barrier (plastic) and some insulation right away? He gave me the option of today, Wednesday, or tomorrow, Thursday. I chose Thursday. I needed a bit of breathing room.
These pictures show how small our little guest bathroom is--and if you see this sloping ceiling on the left above the toilet? It is all crinkly, saggy and wet. Most important, you can notice the
yucky brown cave color. I don't think the professor and I will miss this color scheme at all...we're looking forward to this somewhat inopportune chance to repaint this space and make it slightly brighter and less cave-like. (Removing the drippy damp will go a long way to help with that, right?!)Meanwhile, I've been making spindles and assembling spindling kits for my "learn to spin" class on Sunday. Every bag gets filled with a certain amount of wool roving in different colors, some informational brochures, and the spindle, of course...The show must go on. Today I need to finish doing that, because starting tomorrow, I'll need to have all that organized and sheltered from a bathroom plaster demolition.
Oy. By evening, I had resorted to a comfort food dinner of oatmeal, an apple, and ice cream. I couldn't even knit. Demolition? Yes, demolition.
Must go--I just got a phone call from the gas company. We're about to have our gas fireplaces (installed in September) officially inspected. Is our number up this week for house fix-its and repairs?
Labels: house repair, learn to spin, old houses, teaching
posted by Joanne at 10:16 AM
5 Comments:
Yikes! Clean it up quickly before you get mold! And stay safely away from anything being demolished.
Hi Willow--there's no chance of mold. It is -4F outside, which means it is very dry, for the most part, and the damp plaster will be torn out by the end of the day tomorrow. I am doing my best to stay away from the construction zone, I promise!
Oh my goodness, if it's not one thing it's another. I'd invite you over for a cup of tea so you can get away from the demolition, but I'm a bit far...
Sorry to hear about your water (ice-damming) problems. What a bother!
What are the specifics of the spindles you're assembling for your class? Are the whorls readily available from a home centre? Does the hole in them readily fit a particular dowel size? What is the size of the dowel (spindle)? I'd love to learn the specifics if you don't mind sharing.
Glad you're getting it taken care of. I will never forget a friend's description of lying in bed one morning suddenly listening to his living room ceiling cave in with a rush of water under the weight of a heavy rainstorm, after his landlord didn't fix the leaks there.
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