What are you doing today? [Part II]

[Mooseman]

Brought the Sierra to the dealer on Wed, they kept it overnight and Thur it was ready with a new #5 glow plug, all covered under warranty . This dealer is so much easier to work with than the one where I originally bought the truck and used to work at as well as much closer to home. I've also been bringing the GM vehicles from work for maintenance there and have they been pretty good to work with.

Finished that snowblower, just had to adjust the idle speed and it was ready to go. Gave it a test around the house to make sure it has no other issues. It shouldn't since it's basically new. Nice little unit, works well and has steering assist. It's just a 22" but it seems to work better than my 26". Mine always wants to climb over the snow rather than biting into it like this one does. I'll be dropping it back at the Legion tomorrow.

 

[mrrsm]

This was my Idea today of what a REAL “Bobby's Baker’s Dozen Chicken Salad” should look like for our Evening Meal:

Ingredients:

(1) A Bed of Fresh Spinach Leaves in Two Large White Corel Bowls
(2) Sliced Large Carrots.
(3) Fresh Cole Slaw.
(4) A Diced, Medium Sized Purple Onion.
(5) Diced Celery Stalks.
(6) Diced Yellow Bell Peppers.
(7) Whole Pearl Green Olives (with Pimento Centers).
(8) Shredded American Cheese.
(9) Diced (Cored) Large Green Granny Apples
(10) Two Large Polish Dill Pickles (Diced-with Seeds Scooped out)
(11) Brazed Dark Meat Chicken Pieces.
(12) Virgin Olive Oil and “Paul Newman’s Own” Balsamic Dressing.
(12+) Enough for TWO Meals per Person…per Bowl Bon Appétit ...!

 

[Blckshdw]

To get on the short pier/deck by the retention pond out back, I've always had to navigate this steep drop off. In the past I've laid pallets over it, with plywood or old fence panels, until they deteriorate. But I wanted to come up with something a bit better for this year.



The idea I came up with, was a half width bridge of sorts. Certainly don't need it where there's firm ground on one side, and don't need it to extend all the way out either, just enough for stable footing should I need to carry something, or have a guest with me.

I still have some old fence posts leftover from the replacement last fall, so the idea I had was to make the bridge modular and removable if needed. To do this, I cut a long post into 2, and notched both of them so they'd fit together in a tongue and groove manner.






Took a 3rd one and clamped it to the 2x6 on the side of the desk to act as an alignment support, and that let me get the 2 pieces aligned with the planks on the deck, so when I go get planks for the bridge, they'll be at the same level.




Ran four 6" TimberLok into the bottom piece to secure it, but had to back them off just a touch, as the top piece was in too tight and wouldn't budge at all. I may bevel the top edge where the planks are, and sand the vertical mating surfaces a bit, so the bottom piece can stay tight, but give me just enough freedom to lift the bridge when I need to.



I've got a few more fence posts leftover, so I'll use 3 of those for the rails ~18" apart. I plan to get a few 4x4 joist hangers to attach to the top piece, and have the rails come off there. Also have some scrap 2x4s, so I'll use those as bracing, and some random pavers found in the yard to keep the wood off the ground. Maybe next weekend...

Not pictured, got around to replacing the pickets on some short sections of wood fence that separate my property from some county utilities. The neighborhood cats that pass through will be pissed, as they were using those gaps to come and go without having to climb like they used to.

Towards the back of the property, some of the trees were pretty tangled with vines, so spent a couple of hours pulling and cutting down a bunch of that crap. Filled 2 garbage cans worth, but doesn't even look like I did anything to the trees

 

[Mooseman]

Day off today as I'm getting insulation added to the attic. We got an interest free 10 year loan from the Federal Gov't for "Greener Homes" and one of the things lacking was attic insulation, probably original minimum for 1964. The other thing we're also getting on this program are new windows and doors, which will also help a lot. Some were replaced probably in the 90's and all have failed internal seals. We also have two huge original wooden bay windows that we're getting replaced with flat style instead which are cheaper but more efficient than actual rounded bay windows.

Took some before pictures of the ceiling in several places with the HKMicro thermal camera. The living room is especially bad with studs showing heat loss as well as spots of displaced insulation where animals made nests, which have since been evicted. They're also supposed to add more insulation to the trap door. Outdoor temps were -2c. Heat loss was especially bad when it was -20c but the patterns were the same.

 

[Mooseman]

Well, that didn't take long. They setup and were going to start the work and they found part of the house has vermiculite, a type of loose insulation that may (99% chance) contain asbestos. So they immediately stopped and told me the bad news. It would need to be tested to see if it does in fact contain asbestos, and if it does, we're talking about a 3 day expensive removal job with a machine that's as loud as a rock concert. And I'm pretty sure this extra work isn't covered by that loan so it's out of pocket

This old house is really screwed up. It was once a single bungalow that had a side split added. The side split had a fire years ago so it had newer fibreglass insulation however they said they saw a little under it so even that insulation probably has to be removed because it would be contaminated. And while we're at it, we might as well get the popcorn ceiling removed as it probably contains asbestos as well.

The shit we used to use in houses. I regret buying this thing in 2009 but my wife wanted the in-ground pool. I initially hated it because it had no real garage. Should have gone with my gut feeling.

 

[BrianF]

FFS moose, that sucks. Old houses can be a gem or can be a nightmare. We had one old house with a couple ass backwards additions. We sold it at a loss and years later, the new owner found a shit ton of rot in on of those additions.

Well, today, ai did a few odds and ends. Notably, my daughter's sled, Bitchy Mike had a brake down last week. She heard a pop and it shook real bad. We limped it home and I narrowed the issue down to the primary clutch. Well today I tore it down. Yep, main spring broke. Shit. Oh well I have a spare and in under an hour, it's back up. Tomorrow I'll test drive.

Then did some quick brake work on our little 2004 Escape. Brakes have a soft engagement but are still linear and don't pump up. Looks like the rear drums were not auto adjusting enough. I hit the spanner a bit and already they are a bit better. I need to grind the lip on the drums so I can adjust them further.

Oh, my 16 year old got her license today. She's pumped. First try, no deductions. She has logged a lot of hours and it shows.