Gotta give some props to Mr. Alan Dorsey. During the renovation we lost some of the original balusters. What can I say, accidents happen. Alan was able to recreate an affordable match for the original and they look snappy. He is a real pleasure to work with and has some serious skillz!
Almost done preping this job. Due to age, moisture and improper craftsmanship, many of the window sills in our house have begun to collapse. A costly and time consuming job that needs to get done right. While we can’t afford the Windows we are going to fix the head, jambs and sills, reinsert the existing window and when we can afford it put brand spanking new windows in that don’t leak…
Gonna be a cold one tonight. While the temperature inside the house is generally around 55 degrees, we do have a few pipes located on exterior walls. In order to avoid the deep freeze causing unnecessary damage by a burst pipe, we have turned the faucet on to keep the water moving through the pipe. The warmer water should help to keep the pipes from freezing solid.
Just a short one today, trying to get back in the swing of making some more posts. Its been a real busy time lately and I have fallen behind. My father and I hung this door together in advance of the coming winter. We purchased a Marvin door which we got a great discount on. It was a bit of a tricky installation as the opening was not exactly square but we think it came out just perfect. 
I have not slept in two days. Our framing contractor is hungry to start and unfortunately we had to fire our plumber on Thursday after only 3 days on the job. Apparently there were IRS issues and he would not tell us what they were, only that he had them and preferred to be paid in cash. There were a few other signs that rung a few bells and one was the reluctance to provide us with the insurance we requested prior to starting and then his refusal to sign a contract or accept any of our provisions to help protect ourselves from the IRS. Another was the fact that a few of his associates who accompanied him would smoke on the job site without any consideration or even asking if it was okay. While I have nothing against smokers or even a good cigar with a healthy scotch, you should never allow people to smoke on a construction site. It can lead to real problems and no professional does this. It is written in the building code that it is to be strictly forbidden. At this point we cut our losses and moved on. We think it was the right move.
Along with firing the plumber, the polar vortex has now put me into a scheduling hard spot with my framing contractor as we have penalties and bonuses in our agreement with him and it is just too cold to work. Fortunately I had interviewed multiple plumbers and have a solid plan-B lined up. It is currently warmer outside the building than it is inside.
So, I have spent the last 28 hours huddled in a freezing basement trying to jumpstart the boiler. Well, we did it and I have to say that I am pretty proud. In the last 3 days I have learned how to be a plumber, sweat joints and how to speak spanish. I think it was quite an accomplishment and I now know more about boilers than I could have ever imagined Thursday afternoon. Filling the heating system with water is kind of like driving a 5-story stick shift, opening and closing valves on different floors and adjusting the pressure to get the system working. What a mess that was. Whenever you are buying a building you really should have good understanding of the engine that runs the car. I just got schooled.
Even having said all that, I am excited to get into bed with my wife tonight and not be spending it in a tiny concrete cooler in a basement with Angel and wet feet. Although, I have to say this is the first night with heat in the building and I am worried that one of those PEX joints may let go or one of my sketchy soldering jobs…