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Date: Fri, 13 Dec 1996 16:21:25 GMTServer: NCSA/1.5Content-type: text/htmlLast-modified: Sun, 18 Aug 1996 16:44:15 GMTContent-length: 14155<html><head><title>Bolo's House</title><link name="made" href="mailto:bolo@cs.wisc.edu"></head><body><h1>Bolo's House</h1>To <em>amuse</em> those who have purchased a house and alreadyexperienced this...Or to <em>frighten away</em> those who are thinking of purchasing a house ...<p>I'm recording the various things I have done, am doing,or have scheduled to do to my house.<hr><h2>A Tree Falls</h2>The week after I closed on my house, a tree fell on my truckand scrunched the top of the cab and the fiberglass cap.The first week I have my truck back from the body shop ...A tree falls on my house!<p>I used my bow saw to defoliate the trunk.A friend helped me carry the trunk off the house, and breakit up.<h3>Damages</h3>The gutters are damaged. The end-cap of the roof is damaged.Some of the roof sheathing at the edge is beat up.Some shingles need to be repaired.<hr><h2><a name="patio_door">The Patio Door has Rot</a></h2>I needed to reseat the fixed panel of the slidingglass patio door; it was cocked in the frame suchthat cold drafts and finally insects were invadingthe house through the opening.<p>Once I started work on this I discovered that thesill plate of the door, some of the surrounding brickmolding, the house siding, and the deck joists inthat area were all rotted out.To fix this, I need to remove the deck, so I can remove the patiodoor and rebuild the rotted members.Afterwards some new siding and deck joistsshould have the south side of the house prepared for winter.<hr><h2>Water in the Basement</h2>It rained a lot last night.I was outside with my flashlight to see how well the housedrained ... It was doing ok, with some minor problems that I could fix in the morning.The morning arrives and I find some water in the basement!One window well was level with the ground, which allowed waterto just flow into it.The french well at its base was plugged with dirt, so it couldn'tdrain.Instead, the water drained into the basement through the window!<p>I had to mop about 3 to 4 gallons of water from the basement.Then I cleaned the dirt from the window well, and regraded the outside to give the well a slight lip.I need to do something more, but this should work for now.<h3>Play it again, Sam!</h3>It rains heavily again. I cleaned the gutters before it rained, so I was ableto determine secondary problems.At the inside turn of the "L" of the house, water was movingso fast that it jetted over the gutter in a stream.This water accumulated between the driveway and the house front,where the grade is above the foundation. Voila; water in the basement. <hr><h2>Killer Elite Dust Bunnies From Hell</h2>While cleaning, I decided to clean the cold-air return grills.After removing the covers, I was assaulted by <em>Killer Elite Dust Bunnies</em>.Fortunately my trusty green <em>Kenmore</em> vacumn managed todevour these wicked creatures before they could coordinate theirattack.There where a few tricky moments ... some of the bunnieswere so large they clogged the crevice tool's nozzle!<hr><h2>Appliances and other Major Purchases</h2><h3>Lawnmower</h3>I looked at several lawn mowers.I was severely tempted by a Honda mower. Ithad an aluminum deck and an overhead cam engine.The one feature which made it great was a infinitely variable <em>hydrostatic</em> transmission!It had a blade clutch, which may have been hydraulic also.Although I am an enthusiast of hydraulic drive systems, Ididn't care to shell out $838 dollars for it :-(<p>I purchased a self-propelled <em>Lawnboy Gold Series</em> mower.It has a 21 inch cast-aluminum cutting deck, and the traditional2-cycle Lawnboy engine.The drive system has an interesting set of clutches.When the transmission isn't clutched in the two driven wheels arecompletely free-wheeling, just as in a push mower.When the transmission is engaged the clutches lock up, and .. Voila ..self propulsion!It is almost as good as a differential.The mechanism appears to be similar to automatic locking hubson a four wheel drive vehicle.<p>I also purchased a rear bagger with my mower.A Lawnboy mower will discharge grass in 4 ways: mulch, side throw,side bag, and rear bag!This is done with a set of interchangeble plates. The plates cover and/or open the side and top of the deck toprovide ports for any of the grass discharge options.For rear bagging, a plate is used which has a bagging ductin the top and a cover for the side-ejection port.<h3>Dehumidifier</h3>I have lots of stuff stored in my basement, and I needto keep it dry.So I needed a Dehumidifer.After looking around, all I could find were crappy, low-qualityunits.Then... I found a <a href="http://www.ge.com">GE</a> dehumdifier.The construction is of higher quality than the other units I examined.It also has a two-speed fan; this allows me to work in thebasement without the noise bothering me too much.<p>I've added a fan to the basement to recirculate thebasement air mass. This increases the amount of wet air which passes by the humidifier,and helps to keep the basement dry.A friend recommeded purchasing two smaller humidifiers, but I find this works for me.If I had some walls in the basement, the multiple humidifersmight be the choice to go with.<h3>Washer / Dryer</h3>I now have a <em>SpeedQueen</em> washer/dryer pair.Their was some confusion with my order, but my salesguy at <em>American TV and Appliance</em> straigtenedthe problem out, and gave me a discount on the floor modelI ended up with.I have the floor model of the dryer becauseSpeed Queen discontinued the gas version of the dryer I selected. :-)<p>I had MG&E, Madison Gas and Electric run the gasline to my new dryer. The cost was quite reasonable; it cost $131, $4 lessthan the $135 estimate.<h3>Refrigerator</h3>My house came without a refrigerator.I purchased a 22 cubic Foot<a href="http://www.ge.com/">General Electric</a>side-by-side in white paint.It fits the space allocated for it almost perfectly!It has an ice-maker, but no ice/water dispenser in the door,which is what I wanted!Unfortunately, the drip-proof shelves are onlyavailable in the models with the door-mountedice and water dispensers.<h3>Satellite Receiver</h3>I have an RCA single-receiver compact satellite dish.I subscribe to services from<a href="http://www.directv.com/">DirecTV</a>and <a href="http://www.ussbtv.com/">USSB</a><p>After having the service for some months, I am favorably impressed with it. I find the picture quality as good as cable, probably better.I receive some channelsthat I really like, such as the Comedy Channel and the ScienceFiction Channel, which are unavailable through TCI.<p>The gripes I have with the system are:<ul><li>I can't use the tuners on my TV or VCR.<li>The service is pricy. I'm currently paying $70 a month for the equivalentof Enhanced-Basic cable service and several movie channels.It's a lot more service than you can buy from TCIfor the same amount.But the price still irks me; I think cable pricing irksme in general :-(</ul><hr><h2>Things to Do</h2><h3>Short Term</h3>This category is no longer <em>Immediate</em>.That was too timely a word for my state of immediacy!<ul><li>Trim the shrubbery.<li>Patch the crack in the West foundation wall. It leaks when the grond is saturated.<li>Finish moving furniture from the garage into the house.<li>Install curtains in the computer room.<li>Fix the oven. When set to 500 F, the temperature is only 325 F. The oven probably needs a new thermostat.<li>Clean the dryer duct, and replace a plastic section of the duct with metal.<li>Replace the humidifier's sponge element.<li>Find new filters elements for the furnace and air-conditioner.<li>Regrade the area around the house to promote better drainage.<li>Install covers over the North window wells.</ul><h3>Longer Short Term</h3><ul><li>Mulch around plants in "flower" beds, trees, and other weed-ridden non-lawn areas.<li>Grow additional grass in the current lawn.<li>Flush the hot water heater.<li>Fix the basement windows. <em>All</em> were either glued or sealed shut with some junk. That makes the opening feature of them mostly useless. I discovered this when I needed to open them to flush some gas fumes from the basement!<li>The Moen faucet cartridge in the Master Bath sink needs to be replaced. The only water temperatures are warm, and warmer!<li>Find a larger shower curtain for the master bath.<li>Clean the interior of the toilet tanks. Lots of crud, rust, etc has built up there, and it percolates in to the bowls.</ul><h3>Medium Term (Fall)</h3><ul><li>Re-arrange the phone wiring.<li>Remove metal filings from the hardwood floor in the computer room.<li>Strip and Wax the hardwood floors.<li>Strip and reseal the window sills and sashes to prevent further moisture damage.<li>Clean, repair, and reseal the Deck.<li>Scrape excess paint from the windows so they seal properly.<li>Install ethernet and cable jacks.<li>Wash the outside of the house.<li>Empty window wells of debris. Dig bottoms to below window level and backfill with gravel for drainage.<li>Trim and fix the shrubbery.<li>Install new interior lighting; many of the existing fixtures lack the pieces which diffuse the light.<li>Clean paint drips from the trim, built-in furniture and floors.<li>Install flourescent lighting in the basement.<li>Repair the patio door screen.<li>Install a new screen in one screen frame.<li>Install window well covers.<li>Install storm windows on the basement windows.<li>Experiment with water displacers to reduce water consumption in the toilets; the current models are all high water use designs.</ul><h3>Long Term</h3><ul><li>Re-grout the tile floor in the master bath.<li>Paint two bedrooms.<li>Paint myriad closets.<li>Patch and reseal the asphalt driveway.<li>Replace vinyl flooring in kitchen and hallways. With what you ask? Hardwood is tempting.<li>Sand and reseal water stained floor boards in the master bedroom.<li>Replace the kitchen countertop. Corian!<li>Repair or replace the double-paned glass in the patio door. The old units have lost their air-tight seal.<li>Replace the glass in the NE bedroom's lower N double-pane awning windows. There is a hole in the outer pane!<li>Replace the sink drain in the master bathroom. The chrome plating has flaked off and the steel is rusting.</ul><hr><h2>Done</h2>Here are the things which I've already done.I wish I had started keeping track of these items earlier, soI could look here to find the impressive list of thingsI had already done.The <em>Todo</em> list look so daunting otherwise. :-)<ul><li>Removed the tree which fell on the roof.<li>Weed the strawberry patch, and the flower beds of the worst weed ... it has a cluster of 4 leaves at 90 degrees to each other, two small and two large. I have no idea of what it is.<li>I Fixed the electric mower my dad loaned me and returned it to him. I'm planning on purchasing a Lawn Boy.<li>Build a table and an equipment rack in the computer room ... I purchased some used computer desks, which work quite nicely. I still want to build a rack to put the random hardware in. <li>Cleaned the outside of the windows.<li>Point the downspouts to drain away from the house.<li>Open the clogged overflow in the main bathroom sink. It was rusted at the lower end.<li>I reseated the fixed panel of the patio door so it would seal against the weather seal. Unfortunately, <a href="#patio_door">I found a problem</a>.<li>Clean the gutters. It was easier to do this from the roof than with a ladder.<li>MG&E checked the A/C. It checks out ok!<li>Mow the lawn. Yeah!<li>I De-thatched the lawn using a steel (bow) rake. This took multiple passes, each from different directions.<li>Sprayed broad-leaf weed-killer on the lawn, and around border sections of the back jungle.<li>Removed hornet or wasp nests.<li>I Retrieved my drill press and table saw from JohnW's basement.<li>Install gas piping to the clothes dryer. <br>The MG&E guy had the neatest portable pipe threader that I'd ever seen. Powered, accepts up to 1 inch pipe, and includes a cutter, threader, and reamer. All the size of a small toolbox!<li>Raked the lawn again to remove last year's remaining leaves. This also removed a tremendous amount of debris and dead grass.<li>Remove leaves from the window wells.<li>Replace bulbs in the outdoor light fixtures.<li>Clean outdoor light fixtures.<li>Clean the water softener.<li>Replenish the water softener's salt supply. <br>There are two types of salt for the softener, <em>pellet</em> and <em>crystal</em>. I tried 50 pounds of crystal. When that is finished, I'm going to try the pellets, and see which works better. With crystal there is a choice between solar (evaporated salt water) salt and rock (mined from caves) salt. A new softening agent is available which uses potassium instead of salt. It's supposed to be more environmentally friendly and safer to drink.<li>Eliminated some odors. I believe the odors originated from the <a href="http://www.msn.fullfeed.com/~dag/corky.html">cat</a>, no, the <a href="http://www.msn.fullfeed.com/~dag/electra.html">cats</a> who kept <a href="http://www.msn.fullfeed.com/~dag/">Daniel</a> out of <em>too much</em> trouble. After many failed attempts at cleaning the affected area, I found some enzyme cleaner which did the trick.<li>Clean the wood trim, doors, cabinets, window sashes, etc.<li>Vacumn the window screens.<li>Rake the lawn to remove the bulk of last year's leaves.<li>Vacumn the walls and ceilings in all rooms and closets.<li>Clean and sweep the basement. Removed a lot of stuff.</ul><!-- TRAILER --><hr><a href="/~bolo/">Bolo's Home Page</a><hr>Last Modified:Sun Aug 18 11:42:16 CDT 1996<address>bolo (Josef Burger)<a href="mailto:bolo@cs.wisc.edu"><bolo@cs.wisc.edu></a></address></body></html>⌨️ 快捷键说明
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