1 June 2023
Happy Hurricane Season! June 1-November 30. It’s time to start checking on supplies, buying bulk, checking shutters, and generally going insane. Not to mention, there’s a low in the Gulf right now with less than 40% chance of development. (New this morning – the low is anticipated to strengthen.) At least we didn’t have a preseason depression/storm like the last few years. It looked, for a while, they were going to have to extend the season into May.
When it rains, it pours. The good news is the contractor’s crew got an excellent start on the outside paneling. It was a real pain to take the old down but once they got the old paneling out of the way, the new paneling went up pretty quick. They primed the back side of the paneling before they put it up so all they need, once finished installing, is to prime and paint the outside and hope they match the color somewhat.
The pouring part of the statement is my pool pump chose to go kaput. I can’t complain too badly since it’s the second pool pump I replaced in 27 years. They still have my records at Pools ‘n More and I’ve been dealing with Scott at the store for that long. I know his people will do a good job. It’s just not something I anticipated or needed right now.
Yesterday, I stripped the walls (not the wallpaper) of the vestibule of posters/paintings, curtains, and then emptied the pie safe from all the china and the shipping trunk of towels, quilts and blankets. They should start on it sometime tomorrow and until then, neighbors can stare directly into my living room. No more walking around nude, I guess. Either that or charge for viewing. I washed the curtains (they’re 29 years old) and amazingly, they didn’t disintegrate on washing and drying).
The workers showed up early this morning (around 8:30 am) and immediately got to work with the paneling in front of the garage, the paneling at the entrance to the front door, and the peg board in the garage. In addition, someone began stripping the wall paper in the vestibule. (I really don’t know what to call that area but I settled on vestibule. One definition is a passage, hall or room between the outer door and the interior of a building, so I guess that works.)
This is an old house. Supposedly it was constructed as part of a subdivision in 1956 although the insurance company has it listed as 1957. There are always issues in old houses and mine is no exception.
While taking out the paneling near the front door, they discovered old termite damage. In south Florida, before you can sell a home, it has to be inspected and treated for termites or you need confirmation of treatment within a couple of years. That’s why I maintain an annual agreement with a company. They can guarantee no termites if you decide to sell the house. When I bought the house, it had a termite free certificate or otherwise the VA would not have given me a loan.
Of course, everything is fixable – for a price. They’ll replace the damaged wood and then put back new paneling. In the scheme of things, it’s pretty small but it does take more time.
While stripping the wall paper, they ran into mold a little higher up than anticipated on the east wall.
When I bought the house in 1995, I realized there was a problem there. I ended up cutting out the drywall of the section you see moldy and even had to sister in some 2×4’s to replace the rotted wood. I figured that was an old problem and not something to worry about.
I told the contractor a little of the history and we walked to the outside of that wall.
Then there is the garage.
The garage got about 9 inches of water in it. The good news is the 2×4’s seem to be in good shape, albeit wet.
Now, I’m just waiting for the next shoe to drop. I really appreciate the people doing the work. They work hard, keep me informed, suggest solutions to the problem. For example, for the cracks in the stucco, they have a plastic compound they have they can apply to the outside of the stucco to seal the leaks. He even suggested they may have enough left over from a previous job. That should stop the leaks so the repair will hold this time.
Stay tuned!
