And I know - excuses excuses. I'm not one to make 'em. And now I'm looking at a 1/2 sided house thinking, it's not going to be done in time for our annual Halloween party. *sigh* And I'm looking inside and thinking, I'm going to be lucky to finish my decorating in time for the party. And it all makes me want to make excuses.... in fact I could probably bake you a half dozen right now. I've got all the ingredients.
STOP THE PRESSES!!
Would you believe, just as I was writing this yesterday, an incredible stroke of luck struck me over the head. We learned our carpenter and very very good friend TJ was in a jam. (If you recall, he built our farmer's porch, leveled our house after the house lift, helped with the hardwood in the baby's room, installed our new front door, and more and more) Anyway, TJ's truck is in bad shape - nearly undriveable in fact. And yesterday he received a repair quote of about a million bucks... not really. But it wasn't cheap. Repair places are all trying to grind out profits now adays you know.
So when I learned, I immediately thought - trade off! And what better trade than the rest of the siding, which Mike didn't really want to do anyway. (Let's face it, the shape of our house plus the windows, plus the height.... the remainder of the siding is a difficult measuring/cutting job.) The guys talked about it last night - we'll pay for the parts and do the labor on the truck (or Mike will... I'll be babysitting, but no big deal) and TJ will finish the siding.
Hallelujah! (I had a hellofa time trying to spell that by the way...how often do you have to spell Hallelujah?!)
I'm so excited I can barely wait! I had just gotten used to the realization that the job wouldn't be done until next Spring... and now it'll be done in time for Winter. Woo to the Hoo!
STOP THE OTHER PRESSES!!!
I nearly forgot about another important trade-off that Mike solidified just this past Sunday!
Ok, so we've noticed that poor little Mikey's room has trouble maintaining temperature. It's either too cold and won't warm up or the door is closed and it gets too warm. Seems like a contradiction, but here's why:
We only have one heating zone downstairs and believe it or not, the longest baseboard is actually in Mikey's room. So, when the door to Mikey's room is closed and the heat kicks on, the room heats right up and it's too toasty, since the smaller baseboards in the rest of the downstairs are trying to maintain the temperature and that big baseboard in Mikey's room is just jammin, but it's closed off from the rest. It's hard to explain, I hope that's clear.
But - and here's the but. If the heat doesn't kick on and the door to Mikey's room is closed, his room will not warm up. I would wager a guess that this is due to the room's placement at the front of the house, which doesn't get very much sun due to the shade of the farmer's porch and fall's shorter days.
Either way, the situation just isn't good. Anyone with a baby will tell you, you shouldn't be covering them with heavy blankets at this age - it just increases the risk of SIDS as they could pull them over their head and start rebreathing too much CO2... that's the theory. And best not to risk it. Plus, if the heat kicks on then the poor kid would get too hot anyway. So it's a no win scenario.
Blah blah blah Jess, get to the point. OK, I hear ya. The point is - we need a zone in there. Problem is, we're severely lacking in time as you all know.
So over the weekend Mike talked to our other good friend and master plumber Brian. (He helped us install our new boiler and our two current zones.) Turns out, Mike has some engines or lawnmower parts or something that Brian has been after.... trade off time once again. They both came to an agreement and soon enough, Brian will come over to take care of the 3rd zone installation for us.
Ahhhh, the great feeling knowing that siding and heat will be AOK and ready for winter. You have no idea what a relief it is.
Speaking of which, with November on the horizon, let's take a moment to reflect on Winter Time Project Goals. (This will be fun because come March/April we'll just see how much we accomplish.... Why do I love lists so much? It's sick. I get that from my dad, I recently learned. My mom noticed a list in my kitchen and asked Mike, "Does Jess make lists?" To which he answered, "Oh yeah! Big time!" To which she replied, "Because Bill makes lists..." Wow we are waaaayy to alike, it's scary.)
Winter Time Project Goals
Winter Time Project Goal Timeframe: November thru March
1. Complete hardwood flooring in the living room!
Project scope: Rip out old flooring, install 3/4 plywood, reinforce underlying floor beams in the basement, repair living room drywall, repaint, install new hardwood, install baseboard trim
2. Complete hallway/stairway!
Project Scope: trim out the new front door and install baseboard and stairway trim, install iron balusters and stair railing
3. Complete mudroom!
Project Scope: purchase and install laundry closet doors, install baseboard and window trim
And I think that may be more than enough to keep us busy throughout the winter season. The good news is - we already have all of the hardwood and some of the plywood needed for the living room! And we already have the railing and the balusters for the stairway! So most of the big purchases have been made - it's now just a matter of time.... which hopefully we'll have this winter, pending completion of fall projects of course...
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