On the road again...

“Wow you get to travel for your job, that is awesome, what a life...” You know, it makes me wonder what that person is actually thinking when they say that statement. Are they implying that I’m traveling to an exotic place? Are they thinking that I’m traveling to a place like the Bahamas, Puerto Rico and/or Cancun? I would certainly wish it was… But my job sends me to places like Arvonia, Virginia… or to a small cold shed in Providence, Rhode Island… Or even the shipyard located in Groton, Connecticut.

When I first started traveling, I would get so excited to the point where I couldn’t sleep for weeks. I would plan for weeks of what to take with me. How I would rehearse my speech front of the mirror for hours… But the last couple of trips have been pretty depressing. I think it actually started from the last trip… The excitement is no longer there...

Most of my time was spent in a small town named Arvonia… The town is so small that I had not notice a traffic light or any street signs… The nearest hotel to Arvonia is about an hour away. Thus, I’ve been splitting my hotel stays between Richmond and Charlottesville Virginia. So every morning, I would need to leave an extra hour early to get to the site on time…

Traveling has seriously driving me nuts. The angry people at the airport, the stale food, the smell of the jet fuel flowing through the airport, the late nights in a hotel reading reports. The realization that I’ve spent my entire summer of 2009 away from home, chasing the company man's dream (not sure what that means), was truly the cause of my brief depression.

The traveling had put a delay in updating my house to a suitable living space. The traveling had also put a delay in getting the plumber access to the apartment upstairs thus delaying the installation of the new radiator for three weeks. Finally on Monday, the plumber was able to install the new radiator. The pipe fitting did fit, but the threads kept jumping. So he had to install new pipe fittings and cut off valves.


While on site, I also had the plumber remove the old cut off valves in two separate rooms so that I could install new flooring. My plan is to finally install the hardwood floor in the front hallway and finish the workout room. But, yes before I begin another project, I want to first complete the "in progress" projects, the living and workout room.

To be honest, things around the house over the past week had been placed on hold. I wanted to refresh the mind and body before ramping back up again. In the living room I need to finish putting the insulation, new light fixture, electrical outlets, electrical switches and window trim.

In the workout room, I installed about 75% of the new floating floor. The other 25% of the flooring had to wait until the plumber was able to remove the radiator. As mentioned before the radiator needs a new cut-off valve. So once the new floor is completely installed, the plumber will return to install the new cut-off valve and radiator.



Well I know there isn’t much to talk about, but I wanted to let everyone know that I have not forgotten about updating the journal. I just wanted to tell everyone that I’m still here… Anyway, until next time, happy building.

What to do???

I sit here pondering what to write. So many things are running through my mind that I can’t focus on one thing. Normally I can express things freely and easily. But I’m struggling over here, partly because it’s been sometime since I’ve actually done any work around the house. I kind of forgot what I’ve accomplished around here. This double life that I lead can truly be mentally and physically challenging. I’m referring to having to work a real job and having to be a landlord, which is also known in the politically correct world as a Property Owner/ Manager. Well, technically we don’t actually own anything until we pay the last mortgage bill… The true owners of our beloved homes are the banks. But that is another story…Ok… let me move on from this depressing approach of.... Whatever it is… an introduction?

Sooooo… How are things on your end? Good I hope. And how’s the family?

Ok this is pathetic. As you can probably notice I’m a little scattered brain today. I have to admit the mind and house have me a little disheveled lately. My mother had recently paid me a visit and asked a valid question, “how do you do work in this mess?” Ok I get it… I have to clean... Everything!!!

Part of the problem, of course, is my own fault. I started another project without finishing one. What I’m referring too is that I have two projects going on at the same time… Actually like five projects. And to top it all off, I have to travel to that little place in Virginia again next week.

The projects that I’m referring too are the workout room, living room, bedroom and the radiator upstairs…Yes I said it… radiator!!! You know the radiator I had surgery because of it. Ok that was my fault also… It’s the radiator where I conducted the improper lifting technique. I was out of the “game” for like 4 weeks… http://redcano.blogspot.com/2009/01/thank-you.html

So the other day, after a cold night, I got a call from the tenants about water coming out of the radiator in the living room. As I was investigating the problem, I realized that the repaired weld had weakened and the crack had returned. So I decided instead of repairing it again, I would rather just get a new one. I went to a place called ReStore Home Improvement Center in Springfield, Mass. Here is the link: http://www.restoreonline.org/

Basically, they accept donations of quality but unwanted home improvement materials and sell them, especially hard to find items like an old fashion cast iron radiator.

I’ll tell you what… That #$%@ radiator is HEAVY!!! Thanks to Wilson, we carried it up stairs and took a 2 hour break. Actually I think I got light headed and passed out… Just kidding… Ok this wouldn’t be a “classic Angel story” without me telling you that I did fall down a couple of times onto the steps. I think I have a pretty bad bruise on the back of my leg. After the lifting techniques were followed, I did discover some good news, NO stomach pain. Anyway, the next thing I need to do is change the inlet valve for the new radiator. The install shall be accomplished sometime this week.

Hmmm... It's a little bigger than that old one... I have faith it will work... (Fingers crossed of course)
Another issue that the tenants informed me about was about some outlet not properly working. They are old and are causing issues where they are sparking. I had informed the tenants that these types of issues should be reported immediately. I don’t want safety issues like this left unreported. Everyone knows about my luck with this house is pretty thin. I was able to change those problem outlets.
So because of the on going projects around the house, the master bedroom has been at a standstill. Trust me, it’s on the list. The pink boots are starting to get to me…

I also had to take two trees down. They were leaning on my neighbor’s fence. Here is the before picture… I forgot to take the after pictures…

The good news is that the tree company has been getting more business in my neighborhood… Their trucks have been around more and more lately, although I still haven’t seen any commission… I guess I need to renegotiate that contract…

Sadly, the living room has been on hold also. I’ve decided to really focus my effort to the weight room. Not like I’m actually going to use the weight room, that is another story. But I removed the cork board flooring and the smell was instantly gone. Underneath the cork flooring was laminate flooring that was in bad shape. When I removed the cork board flooring, I realized that the floor thickness was actually about a ½ inches.

I decided to reinforce the floor with an additional ¾ inch thick floor. This would make the flooring stable and sturdier. I’m planning on putting in wood flooring. I was able to purchase some laminate locking wood flooring. It’s a floating floor that is cheaper then real wood.

I had to work around the radiator. I was unable to remove the radiator. I don’t have a large enough breaker bar to remove the nut. I figure when the plumber is on site fixing the radiator upstairs, he could possibly get this one free…

Ok plan of attack… Dishes first… Yes I’m a winner!!!! HAHAHAH!!!!

Anyway, until next time, happy building…

Something is burning my nose hairs....

For the last couple of weeks I’ve been on travel for work to a little town in Virginia called Arvonia. The town is so small that there are no traffic lights or even street names. The roads are defined by number routes (i.e. VA-615). The place is so small, that the nearest hotel is about 1 hour away. I do have to admit, the traveling can be exhausting. Anyway, after several weeks of traveling, I’ve been finally able to do some work around the house.

In the last entry, I started to update my living room. I was on hold from completing the room because I had ordered some new windows. The windows came in about a week ago. I did have a minor issue that didn’t hamper the overall installation of the windows, but minor enough. Replacement windows are usually ordered custom and are measured and cut about ¼ inches smaller than a rough opening. So I measured one rough opening to be 31 ¼ inches and the other to be 31 ½ inches. So the window sizes that I ordered were 31 inches and the other to be 31 ¼ inches. Well of course you guess correctly, this bone-head flipped the numbers and installed the windows incorrectly. Basically, I had installed the 31 ¼ inch window into the 31 ¼ inch opening and the 31 inch window into the 31 ½ inch opening. So of course I didn’t realize this mistake until I was installing the second window.

While installing the first window, I was encountering some difficulty but didn’t realize my mistake until later. It was certainly a snug fit, where I had to use a hammer and a piece of wood to install the window into the rough opening. After feeling confident that the window was in place, I screwed it in place and then installed the window shade.

Pictures of the snug fit windows.

Realization of my bone-head mistake wasn’t discovered until I started to install the second window. I was doing a couple of fit checks when I made the discovery. Of course, I said a couple of loud explicative, at first. But, not to cry over spilt milk, I decided to shim the window in place. Here are the pictures of the small window.



Shimmed window with the reflection of the Redskins lossing from the Giants in the background...

After installing the windows, I decided to clean out my new tool storage area, my exercise room. I started to remove the tools and waste when I realized an odd odor in the room. Growing up, my father would always say, “Never start something new unless the last task is completed.” It is something that I try to live by. The odor was too strong. So I decided to remove the rug from the room.

Note the blue rug under the stuff

After removing the rug, I inspected the sub-floor. Most of the plywood looked pretty good, except a portion that seems to be cork-board flooring. The cork-board flooring appears to have absorbed what seems to be pet urine. So for the next couple of days, I’ll be removing and replacing that area. At least I found my smelly culprit.

Anyway, until next time, happy building…

Happy Belated One Year Anniversary...

I recently had a conversation with someone and a question came up about how long I’ve been living in my house… I had then realized that I’ve been living in my house for one year. My anniversary date was July 28. The date of me purchasing and moving had passed with no fan fair. I’ve been so busy with work and stuff that I totally over looked it. The thought of my anniversary wasn’t really on my mind. But looking back over the last year, I guess I can say that I’ve over come a lot of ups and downs with this place. The list of downs is pretty extensive, but who is keeping a record… wait, I am…

Anyway, Happy Belated One Year Anniversary…

The show must continue, so I’m still on vacation which will be officially over on Monday (tomorrow). My vacation has been pretty relaxing while I’ve been doing working around the house. Hold on, I don’t know if that makes any sense... Vacations are defined as an intermission and/or an exemption from work...But I still did work around the house… So the question is, was it or was it not a vacation? I guess I can define my vacation as “I took a vacation from one of my many jobs”…Ok that makes no sense… Let me just stop... My head is starting to hurt thinking about it… Sorry for the off track thought.

Anyway, in my last entry, I discussed how I removed the rug in the living room. So I decided to carry that rug removing motivation over to the master bedroom. I guess I should first describe what I’m dealing with. The master bedroom walls are covered with a wall paper that has pink and blue flowers. I’m a big fan of the light switch. The lady shoe light switch certainly defines me and the room (sarcasm)… So I guess the previous owner was attempting to match the wallpaper with a rug that has a color of hot pink. A while back I had place a Gatorade on the floor and accidentally toppled it over it on the rug. The stain was pretty bright within the rug.

Master bedroom with the pink rug

Floor after removing the rug


The bedroom floors are in a much better shape then the living room. I still plan on sanding and staining the floor... But, because I wanted to finish the living room first, I decided to just remove the rug and finish the room later.

I was also able to finally finish the back hallway. I had mentioned the back steps prior to the tenants moved in. The landing and steps were damaged pretty badly. There were nails sticking up and three steps were damaged. So for the landing, I install .25 inch thick plywood then laid new peal and stick flooring.

Back hallway, before

Three damaged steps


Back hallway, with the repaired steps

The landing with the new floor installed


Back hallway completed, painted with new threads

After completing the back hallway, I continued the process of painting the living room. The primer was certainly dried by the time I started to paint the new color. The color that I had selected was called Beach walk. The color is a yellowish brown. I painted the trim with a color called Glow. See it glowing… I painted the trim only with one coat. The reason being is that I still need to install the new windows and new trim work. Then I’ll paint the second coat. Also, I’m kind of stuck on what to do about the brick work. I’m actually thinking of putting a decorative shelf in front. But, I’ll decide on that in next couple days.
Here is a picture of the living room with the new paint

Here is a picture of the living room with the floors cleaned. They also still need to be refinished.

Here is a picture of the brick work...

Here is a picture showing one of the outlets that I plan on replacing

Also, over the pass year, I had a pile of rubbish that accumulated. It was generated from upstairs and my place...Well over the weekend I was finally able to completely remove all of the trash and debris. Now I am able to park my truck in its place and free up another parking space for any visitors.

Here is a picture with the trash removed and my truck in its place.


Things are starting to slowly come around... I still have a lot of things that I want to do to the place. But I guess they can wait for now…Well until next time, happy building…

Back to the swing of things...

The month of July passed with no added accomplishments done to the house. Basically I was required to leave town for several weeks for work. I was finally able to return home last week. The day that I return from Virginia was the day that I decided to take my vacation. So I’ve planned a week and a half off from work. Well you know what that means… Yup, work around the house.

I’m happy to report that the bathroom is finally finished. The room came out really nice. Thanks you everyone for voting. With your votes, I was able to select two pictures to hang up in the bathroom. Based on everyone’s vote, photo 1 and photo 2 were selected. Here are the results.

On the first day that I started my vacation, I tackled the living room rug. I was tired of looking at the stains. Plus, it was an excuse not to vacuum the rug. Anyway, the rug was extremely easy to remove. The hard part was getting on my hands and knees trying to remove the staples that held the degraded cushion in place. That task was time consuming.

After removing the rug and cleaning the floor, I started to evaluate the windows. Over the winter, I had to install plastic over the windows to keep the cold out. I had a moment where I remembered bone head Bob, the window sales man. Anyway, after a small chuckle, I decided to purchase new windows. So I began to remove the window trim. After measuring the rough window opening, I took a trip to my local super big box hardware store and ordered two windows… By the way, they were about $170 each, still lower than bone head Bob’s quote… (http://redcano.blogspot.com/2008/11/how-much-again.html)
The windows should be delivered in about 2 weeks.

Part of my decision in replacing the windows are due to they are not energy efficient. Plus as you can see within the walls, there is no insulation between the wall and window.


Once that was completed, I started to prime the 1970’s wood paneling walls. The grooves within the panels were too deep that I needed to paint them first with a brush. I had to paint the walls with a second coat of KILLZ, because the panels were to dark. As you can see from the picture, I plan on keeping the fake beams on the ceiling. I think it give the room some character.

While the paint was drying, I decided to replace the back screen door. The door was installed in an awkward way. To get into the house, pneumatic door close was installed at the same level as the main door knobs. So to get into my house I would squeeze my hand between the pneumatic door closer and door knobs to unlock it. Also, the screen was damaged pretty badly. Plus I love the duct tape.

Here is a picture of the new screen door.

The up coming week is going to be a busy one. I certainly have a lot planned before I return to work. It is really too much to say at the moment… But, I promise you will see all of the updates. Anyways, until next time, happy building...