Trash...

It’s late on Sunday night…Another productive weekend is about over. Many of us spent the weekend with the one’s we love. Gazing into each others eyes... Enjoying the scent of our new flowers and/or the strawberries dipped in chocolate… Others, well…. let’s not identify them. We’ll just say that we love them too… But as I sit here and ponder about my weekend, I begin to wonder, “How the heck did I get myself into this position.” I guess what I’m trying to say is “How did I end up with a house that is purely a mess?” I mean, when I bought this place, it was horribly disgusting: rugs were stained, the walls smelled, the bathroom looked to have years of grime, and a new sun roof was installed (we can chalk that one up to nature). Honestly, on a side note, I still wonder why I purchased this place, especially after what I’ve just described… Anyway, the dismal list can go on and on…I can say however, that the work accomplished thus far does present some encouraging emotions. But the root of this disappointing feeling is that the house is a mess… Not in a foul stench per say, but a mess with rubble. I’m truly referring to the second floor apartment. I didn’t realize the magnitude of this disarray until I trip over it. Yes I hit my head and stubbed my toe several times...

Before I get into that subject, I had planned to finish installing the window frames over the weekend. It was a task that was extremely fun to do, because I got to use all of the fun tools… You know the tools like a router, pneumatic nail gun, table saw, chop saw, drill, and a jig saw. But to answer your question, yes, the window frames are installed. Sorry I was jumping ahead…

Anyway, the window frames were installed fairly quickly with minor difficulty, but, there in.

Here is a picture of the window in the living room. This is before installing the window frame. Note the pink insulation...

Here is a picture of the window in the living room, now.

Here is a picture of the window frame in the front hallway; this one is located by the front door.

This picture is a close up of the same window; I’m trying to show the rounded edge… I know you can’t see it… But just trust me... its there…

Ok now back to the trash at hand… Here is a picture of twigs and branches that were found within the window upstairs… You may remember me mentioning it a while back.

Here is a picture of the trash in the living room… This is mostly empty cardboard boxes.

This picture shows the construction and demolition rubble in the dining room.

More trash in the bedroom... But I guess the good news about describing my debris problems, is that the major hurdles are completed. I’m a lot closer in completing the second floor apartment. Besides cleaning the mentioned wreckage, I just have to paint all of the window trim and a hallway. Things are certainly starting to come together… Anyway, until next time… By the way, thanks for reading about my trash…

I'm back....

Ok I’m back in business… Well not necessary 100% back, but I feel that I’m close enough. It's more like 90% back. My doctor has instructed me not to return to the gym for another 4 weeks, which sucks although he did say that I could start running again, starting tomorrow. Basically I should not do any sit-ups and/or any weight training for my down period… But that’s ok. I have to take it slow…

Since my last entry, I’ve done nothing around the house. Until today, I mean I was recovering after my surgery and having a relaxing time in Tampa, Florida…. Oh yeah, I might have left that bit of information out. I had stayed at a friend’s house in Clearwater Florida over the Super Bowl weekend. I didn’t go to the game. I mean, who is going to spend $1900 dollars for one scalp ticket? That’s not including the flight or even the hotel room… Wait, Cardinal and Steelers fans actually did spend that money… Plus it wasn’t the Patriots. Regardless, it was a relaxing and exciting trip…


Here I am at a friend’s house… Hanging out by the dock…

Ok back to reality…The apartment upstairs…
I walked upstairs and assess the situation… I still have some minor hurdles that need to be accomplish before I can rent the apartment. One of the major things that need to be accomplished is the damaged floor. In the last episode, I just need to put peal and stick flooring down. Luckily I was able to find some replacement tile. The color of the new peal and stick tiles are not 100% perfect, but close enough. However, the patterns are certainly the same. I needed to first remove the previous adhesive before installing the new tiles.

Here is a picture of the adhesive remover that I used. While that was penetrating the adhesive, I decide to install the mirror and put silicone caulk in the bathroom. Here is a picture of the mirror…

Oops!!! Looks kind of crooked… Regardless it looks good.

Ok here is a small instructional description in how to apply the caulk like a professional. Well not really professional, but better then we normally do it. The equipment you will need is as followed:

Silicone,
Painters tape
And your finger… Yes your finger...

Place the painters tape around the area that you may want to apply the silicone.

There is no real required length or width of the tape to be applied…But I usually eye ball a distance and try to make it consistent throughout… After the tape is installed, I then apply the silicone caulk between the two pieces of tape….

After applying the silicone, I take my finger and just work it through the silicone and in one direction. I try to make a smooth look throughout the process. After completing the entire length of the tape. I instantly remove and discard the painters tape. Partly because once the silicone is completely dried, it would be extremely difficult to remove the tape…

Here are a couple of tips and cautions. I usually use paper towels to clean my fingers after spreading the caulking material in place. Slowly remove the tape after applying the caulking material, you don’t want to create a larger mess when removing it… Also insure you have a bag or something to discard the tape without getting the excess caulking material all over the place… Most importantly, double check with the ingredients and warnings notes of the caulking material. I know a couple of people who may be allergic to the chemicals. So use with caution!!!! Also follow the direction of the caulking material for drying times…


Here is a picture of the finish result...
After installing the silicone, I installed the new shower curtain rod… I’m really a big fan of the curved rods…

Once the adhesive remover was dry, I used a scrapping tool to remove the adhesive residue. After that was completed, I then applied the adhesive primer and then installed the peal and stick tiles… Here is a photo showing the finish result...














The floor is now completed...I just need to install the radiator. The next thing on the list is the window frames... Well until next time...

Thank you....

I would like to think, that everyday we are learning something new about ourselves and are gaining a better understanding of who we are. That as humans, we can achieve a closer appreciate of what we can and can not do…Well over the last couple of weeks, I feel that I have made that discovery. Technically it’s not a monumental innovation that will cure the current budget crisis and/or any diseases per say. But it is more of an internal observation. It’s a discovery that would make you say “Wow! Now that was different.”

I have mentally unearthed that I am getting old!!! Yes I said it… I am getting old!!!! I am not that 25 year old person that had the strength of an ox… Ok that was a little exaggerated, but I think you may know what I mean. My discovery was that I am not as strong as I once was. I can’t go out and lift a 300 pound radiator as if it is a 5 pound bag of potatoes, wait…that is exactly what I did….

Ok, let me explain, over the holidays I was working on the floor upstairs…As stated in my last journal entry. Well this guy, me, was thinking about the old Iron Man Competitions. You know the competitions where these strong guys push a bus and/or lift car with one finger… Well, I thought that it would be fun to move a radiator…But, I decided to deviate from the proper lifting techniques as shown below…

For more information on performing a Proper lifting Techniques please see…

http://myhealth.centrahealth.com/library/healthguide/en-us/support/topic.asp?hwid=hw206944

Anyway, this donkey decided that it would be wise to move the radiator while on my knees and with my body twisted to the right side…Ok, to be honest, I was working on the floor and realized that the radiator was in the way. So instead of lifting things correctly, I decided to cut a few corners in the process… I got lazy… Well, while moving the radiator, I got a hernia. My belly button swelled up to resemble a large hard green grape…or was it like a large hard purple grape… I guess the color doesn’t really matter… Anyway, I saw the doctor and he diagnosed me with an umbilical hernia.

On January 8, 2009, I had surgery to repair my umbilical hernia. Because of my stupidity, I have been under house arrest for two weeks. Well it feels like house arrest…Especially when there is nothing on TV except the mid-day soups opera’s… I have been unable to lift heavy objects and perform any tasks for upstairs. I have been informed that I will be able to return to work on January 22, 2009. But yet another delay in getting the upstairs completed. But I would like to personally thank Wilson, Joe, Nestor (my dad), Eric (Plumber), and Sarah for helping me out during my healing process.

Ok, enough about me, let’s talk about the house… A couple of days ago, I was talking with Eric about how I needed to refill the furnace everyday. He walked around the apartment and noticed the air vents. It turns out that the air vents that I installed into the baseboard radiator were incorrect. Their main purpose is to depressurize tanks. I guess my friends at the Super Box Hardware Store don’t know it all… Anyway, Eric explained what needed to happen and purchased the correct air vents. We installed them and thus far, I have not needed to refill the tank for at least 24 hours…Plus, it has been a little warmer in the house... Ok now I need to locate the other water leaks…

Here are two pictures showing the correct vents. As you can see in the photos, the walls look pretty beating up...

One morning at around 4 in the morning, I heard a fire alarm go off. It was coming from upstairs... When I entered the apartment, it was like walking into a sauna. The steam was escaping from several open valves. I have not been upstairs for sometime and the valves must have vibrated open from the pressure of the steam. After removing the batteries from the fire alarm and returning to sleep. I later contacted Wilson to help reinstall the radiator upstairs. With my situation of not being able to lift heavy objects, he brought along his friend, Joe. They both moved the radiators to their appropriate places and threaded them in. It turns out that two of the radiators are leaking at the nut portion of the radiator. So I may need to replace the locking assembly. I’ll have to consult Eric about that…But after install the radiators, the batteries were reinstalled to the fire alarms. Luckily, it also turns out that Wilson’s friend, Joe is a welder. So he is going to attempt to weld the cracked radiator. Hopefully some positive news there…

Anyway, I know this is not the standard journal entry that you may normally read here. But I just wanted to let everyone to know that I’m healthy and doing well. I am slowly recovering and do not plan on doing anything too excessive over the next couple of weeks. So the entries will be slow. But I am optimistic that I will be returning to my old clumsy self. I would like to thank everyone for their well wishes and prayers. Thank you… Until, next time…

Focus....

I can sit here and say, “Yes! Since my time off from work, I have been a diligent worker and have been working on the apartment upstairs” and/or also say “everything is going to according to plan”…. But that wouldn’t be the truth…With the snow and extreme cold over the last couple of days, my patients with this house has been running thin. But more on that later…I have been living here for over 5 months and I feel drained from all of the work. I have to admit, with all of the set backs, I wonder will I ever get the upstairs completed. As you can probably notice, I’m starting to lose focus…I wonder in the New Year if this place will eventually bring me happiness… I have to admit, every time I take a step forward, I feel like I’m taking two steps back…My plans have been adjusted several times due to the set backs. But that’s life... Nothing goes according to plan… Murphy’s Law 101….

Anyway, as a yearly tradition, many of us make New Year’s resolution, a decree and/or a mission statement. I wish all of your resolutions come true...I however, normally don’t make a New Year’s resolutions per say… But this year, I do have two, plus the standard ones…. You know get in shape, stop eating chocolate and so on… Well, I will reveal only one of my wishes… Sorry, the other one is kind of personnel, plus this journal is about the house…. “My wish is to get the upstairs ready for an occupant before 2010” Yes that was way too easy…. But let’s move on…

I had initially planned on working upstairs over the holidays. But I had a personal reason that caused the delay… I honestly have to admit though, it was worth the postponement…But, I also can not forget the set backs that didn’t help... The set back was the furnace. Part of the problem is that the water storage within the furnace. The water within the furnace is used to create steam to heat the house. The water is evaporating way too quickly, in-turn causing me to refill the furnace twice a day. When the furnace kicks on, the apartment would sound like a steam locomotive racing across the tracks trying to get Marty McFly back to 1985…

Additionally, because of the one inlet and outlet pipe to heat the house, a banging noise can be heard. The banging noise is caused when the hot steam air is blocked by trapped water. The banging noise can be heard as if someone is hitting the pipes with a sledge hammer. The noise is deafening at 4 in the morning… I believe I may have found the source of the disrupting noise, but I need to investigate further to resolve this issue...

But to stop the time travel of McFly, I was able to finally fix the pressure valve issue. The problem was with a pressure valve in my appartment. I had previously mentioned this valve. It turns out that it was a subassembly that was threaded into an adapter. Here are the photos showing the assembly.

Note the damage walls and floor caused by the dispersed water vapors. I had to cut back the carpet to remove the metal cover.

Here is a photo showing the old valve. The adapter portion was originally flush against the radiator and was difficult to differentiate, thus causing me to remove the wrong portion of the valve.
Here is a photo of the disassembled valve.

Here is the replacement valve...

Within the bathroom, the light fixture was finally installed. The wall was repaired and painted.
The big project that was accomplished over the holidays was the dining room floor. You may remember the results from the cracked radiator. I removed all of the water damaged wood and investigated the joist further. Luckily the joists were not damaged. Here are the photo sequences of the repaired process.

Photo showing the removed damaged wood and flooring.

Photo showing all of the water damaged wood removed and gaining visual access to the floor joist

Here I installed a new piece of 2X4 to help with installing a new floor section.

Plywood was cut to fit the access hole.

Because the existing subfloor is so thick, about 3 inches, I installed two pieces of 2X4 to help make the floor level.

After securing the two 2X4's, a larger piece of plywood was secured on top of the 2X4…

To complete this task, a piece of Luan Plywood will be used over the new piece of plywood. Then I will install replacement peal and stick tiles to finish the job… The only thing left is to get a replacement radiator… Ok until next time..

Happy New Year

I will like to wish everyone a safe and Happy New Year!!!!

~Angel

Almost there.... Ok maybe not....

This week, several positive and negative items were revealed. I will begin by highlighting the encouraging item then to the unenthusiastic. The plumber was able to update the toilets and sinks for both bathrooms. For the second floor bathroom, he was able to install the vanity top and faucets to include the toilets.

Here is a picture showing the new vanity with the faucet installed for the upstairs bathroom. I would like to take this moment to thank my mom for selecting this faucet. It looks appropriate for this room.
Here is a picture showing the new toilet installed for the upstairs bathroom. As you can see with a couple of minor fixes the bathroom should be completed soon.

Here is a picture showing the new vanity with faucet installed for my bathroom.

I would like to take this moment to thank Kylie for helping me find this wonderful faucet. She had asked a while back as into what I was thinking for a faucet and she was able to help me find this reasonably cost faucet. Thanks…
Here is a picture showing the new toilet installed for my apartment. Good bye yellow toilet… I also forgot to mention that the plumber also changed the hardware on my tub. As you can see in the next photo, the drain was damaged and pretty disgusting with the calcium build up… (Yes that is a yellow tub)

Before

Here is a picture showing the new hardware for my yellow tub… Yes I have a problem with the color… But it’s ok for now… The rest of the updates for this bathroom will have to wait.

Anyway, for the other updates conducted this week were the installation of the six new windows. Here is a picture showing one of the newly installed windows.... The only thing left to complete the window tasks is to install insulation and new wood trim. Because of the high energy efficiency of the windows, I will eventually update all of the windows throughout the entire house, especially since the windows are extremely easy to install and fairly cheap (Bob you Tool!!!).

Now for the set backs…. With the plumber on site, I was able to get him to cap the radiator valve until I am able to replace the cracked radiator. You may remember a while back where I mentioned that the radiator looked to have a crack and was leaking pretty profusely. I also noticed that the radiator was starting to sink into the floor. NOT GOOD!!!! After removing the radiator, I was able to easily remove the peal and stick tiles. Here is a picture of what the floor looked like after removing the radiator….

Well it looks like I need to remove a section of the floor and hope that the floor joists are in good shape. PLEASE!!!!! My concern is that I will need to remove part of the wall within my apartment to reinforce the damaged joist…

I started to remove the floor and realized that the water damage was pretty excessive. Thus far it doesn’t look like the floor joist are a concern. However, I was unable to remove all of the flooring as of yet to make a solid judgment on the floor joints. It looks like the floor has two layers of hardwood planks. I will have to cut the floor boards without damaging the joist… As you can see from the photo, the hole into the floor is a result from the rotten wood that was removed. My plan at the moment is to remove all of the rotten sections and replace it with plywood. I hope to utilize the existing floor joist. But if there is any damage, I will need to sister the floor joist to minimize any further damage. . I just realized something; I might have to retile the entire floor in this room. I am not sure if I can locate the same peal and stick tiles. Problem after problem….

Here is a picture of the damaged radiator.

In this picture you can see the hair line crack into the radiator. I am not sure what may have caused this hair line crack. But it sure did its share of damage... I wonder if it can be repaired, but regardless, it certainly has to be fixed…. Anyway, until next time…