Indoors Rain

There was a ferocious downpour here Wednesday night (we got 4" in 2 hours).  I was  preparing dinner and heard an odd dripping sound.  Water was suddenly coming from my ceiling!  I ran to grab some plastic bins from the basement.  Just in time, too.  It got worse real fast, coming from 3 spots close by, but mostly from where I had a plant-hanger ceiling hook.  

Fortunately, the rain did not last as long as forecast, so it could have been a lot worse.  And I didn't sleep well later, listening for more rain.  I had a branch poke a hole in the roof (at a different spot) 10 years ago and had the plywood replaced and the whole roof re-shingled (it was 25 years old anyway).  

So in the morning, I called the original installer to repair the leaky roof.  First, they knew the roof, and second, since 10 years isn't long for a roof, I figured they owed me a decent price.

He said he couldn't get out to me until Monday.  That made sense, downpours get them real busy.  Maybe I should have called a couple other roofers, but at the moment I was fixated of having the original installer do it.  

I was fortunate that rain forecast for Thursday-Sunday didn't happen.  Monday morning, he called to say it would have to be Tuesday.  Thankfully he showed up Tuesday.

Funny story there.  When I pulled the original installation documents from my paper files, they were only 5 miles away from here.  I discovered (when he called Monday) that he had moved 2 counties away since then AND mostly just did work for businesses these days.  But, because he did the re-shingling, he would come out and fix it.  And because I still had a pack of the existing shingles, he agreed it was likely to be a quick job.

And he arrived Tuesday and did the repair.  There were 2 missing shingles.  He replaced those and 2 others (just to be sure).

He was friendly, and the cost was OK.  But he also pointed out the shingles had been missing for a while.

Mea Culpa!  I had found a couple of shingles on the lawn last year.  But my upwind neighbor has about the same color shingles and I thought they were his (blown into my yard in a windstorm).  Really, I looked at my roof from the front and back then and couldn't see any missing.  It was a bad assumption!  

Last month, I happened to use a flashlight in the front hall closet (near where last week's leaks occurred).  The ceiling was black with mold.  I should have called a roofer immediately, but I assumed that since my attic is gets very humid, it was just something to clean and repaint with anti-mold paint.

Well, I was wrong, and paid for my procrastination!

I have stipple ceilings.  I didn't ask for them when the house was built, but I generally like them.  Visual stimulation...  But they are more expensive to repair.  So "great", now I have stains in it in 3 places and there is a 4' mildly broken line in the ceiling.  Apparently, stipple is formed on a 4'x4' support and one edge is loose.

But it all could have been worse and on Thankful Thursday, I am thankful for that...

1.  The roofer went out of his territory to do the repair.

2.  The cost was low.

3.  The ceiling didn't actually fall down.

4.  It didn't rain more even though forecast to do so.

5.  The damage is fixable.

6.  I learned a lesson about procrastination.

Sunday Snow Aftermath

I have lived in various parts of Maryland since 1963.  In the NE part til 1968, at Univ of MD  til 1973, and around Washington DC since then.

The worst single snowstorm I experienced in Maryland was in 1966 where is snowed for 4 days.  The accumulation was only 20", but the winds whipped up snowdrifts covering the ground floor windows.  And Mom was about to have a baby!  The neighborhood roads were not plowed.  Dad and I shoveled 20" of snow a car width wide for 150' to the main road behind the house.

And off Dad and Mom went by car seeking the local hospital (which had a maternity wing of course).  At 15 (I keep thinking 16 because it was 1966, but I wasn't really 16 until May), I was left behind to take care of my 2 younger siblings.  For 2 days.  It was quite an adventure...  It's a good thing I could cook.  And apparently, I would have made a good parent (if I do say so myself); peace and calm abounded!

7 Mothers delivered babies in Harford County that day.  The other 6 Mothers were brought to the county hospital by helicoptor.  Dad drove...  Determination and self-reliance (to a point) is a family habit.  And school was closed for a WEEK!

So that was a really serious snowstorm.  And there have been some bad storms since then, but mostly several close-together storms with recovery time between.

But this one was BAD.  I think it is now considered 2nd or 3rd worst in the Washington DC area (that 1966 one mentioned above slid north of DC so they don't count it here).

So here are some more pictures of THIS one...

The wind collected a lot of snow near the house on the deck.  It was 3' deep in the drift Saturday afternoon.

 And it got worse as the day went along.

The sunflower seed birdfeeder was standing tall.  I had cardinals, sparrows, juncos, titmice,  nuthatches, chicadees, purple finches, and goldfinches there at various times.  I could have done without the sparrows (they get i seeds and kick backwards, shoveling seeds out of the tray.  It is their successful "scratching the ground" habit, so I can't exactly blame them.  But they sure are unwelcome at a seed tray.

But then the outside unit of the heat pump failed overnight.  Probably because the sides got covered by snow preventing air from getting in.  I assume it shut itself down because of the lack of air flow.  I'm on "Heat2" right now.   That's less efficient than the usual heat pump process, but I don't know exactly what it is doing.  All I can tell (from the manual) is that it is not "emergency" heating (which would be like turning on an electric oven with the door open).  It will probably be more expensive, but not like I have much choice.  The repair company is busy with true failures and at least mine is keeping the house at normal temperatures (operating constantly).  There ARE priorities of repairs.

So the first thing I did Saturday morning was to dress up warm* and shovel the snow from around the sides of the heat pump.  That didn't get it started again.  When I looked inside, it was all full of snow.  I know it is SUPPOSED to "de-ice" itself when that happens.  So I tried some simple repairs.  I loosened the grid on the top to scoop out the accumulated snow inside.  NO GO!   I couldn't remove the grid because there is a heavy duty electrical cable stuck to it.

But I WAS able to lift up the opposite side and scoop most of the inside snow out.  That didn't get it going either.  So I poured bucket after bucket of VERY HOT water into it to melt the remaining snow. and ice around the working parts.  Well, those parts are exposed to rain all the time (water drains out the bottom), what harm can water do?  But that didn't get it started either.   I removed and replaced the outside unit circuit breaker.  No success there either.  I suppose some part has failed at the worst possible time (like there is ever a BEST possible time?) and I will have to call for service.

But I am still getting heat from the inside part of the equipment, so it is not an emergency.  I keep hoping to hear the outside unit suddenly come on though...

The snowdrift on the deck is probably about its highest. 

And the snow on the roof is slowly sliding off.  It should start to fall on the deck soon.  I have a specialty tool for pulling snow off the roof, but I have to get out on the deck to use it and that snow drift is too deep for me to even push through wearing my trout-fishing hip-high waders.

So I am just going to wait things out.  Which could get awkward.  The Weather Channel says it will get down to 8F tonight!  There isn't going to be any melting for a few days at least...

Did get to use the snowblower though.  More on that next post!

* Warm meant thermal underwear under heavy jeans, extra thick socks in the 16" rubber boots, thick flannel shirt, ski mask, insulated rubber gloves, AND a hat with ear flaps!  And of course a long insulated jacket you could explore the Arctic in...  I don't play around with cold windy weather.

The New Outside, 6

Well, here it is all done.  The gutter guys were in and out so fast, I hardy got any pictures (and I was pretty worn out by that time).

The house looks GREAT!

The neighbors have commented on it (favorably).

I am thrilled!

See the downspouts?  I have 6" gutters and downspouts, and a gutter cover that will keep leaves out (finally).

And this siding is smoother than the old siding.  No place for mildew to get into for a long, long time.  A lot easier to keep clean!

And something else.  The workers were very careful about my plants all around the house.  Very little damage.  I watched them moving the ladders around, and they really worked to not damage them.  That matters.

I will be giving them an "A" rating all the way on Angies List.

Roof Replacement

Well, it sure got noisy around here today.  Last week, a branch fell and poked a small hole in the roof, so I had a person come out to take a look at it.  He did a quick patch job, but we discussed a fuller replacement job because the "20 year" shingles were 26 years old.  I found him on Angie's List and he had top ratings in every category, so I decided to get a quote for replacing the shingles. roofing paper, and any plywood sheathing that needed it in his opinion.

And since the vinyl siding was the same age, and abraded by weather to the point were even pressure cleaning it every few months left it dirty and ugly, I got a quote for new siding and gutters with covers.

The roof work was done today.  The crew did a thorough efficient job and the crew manager explained what they were doing every step of the way.  The siding has to wait about a week, because the trim color I selected had to be special ordered.

There really isn't too much to show about a roof job.  It's too flat (and high) to get any really good pictures.

It was amazing watched them go up and down the ladder, walk along the edge of the roof, toss stuff up to the roof from the ground, etc, though.

Here is a guy shoving plywood sheathing up a ladder.  I would have difficulty just carrying the plywood on the ground!

And if I was the guy on the top, there is NO possibility I could get it the rest of the way up.

So "let it rain"!

I can't wait for the new siding and covered gutters...

Ack. Roof Problem!

You never know when you will discover a house problem.  I happened to reach for a book on the top shelf of the bookcase, and a "wrong" image caught my eye.  You live in a house for 26 years and you know every square inch of it...

There was a slightly off-color spot on the living room ceiling.  I looked at it a few minutes, then backed away across the room.  A 3' area sagged about an inch.  I got up into the attic...

The attic is not my favorite area.  I always expect that hornets will have moved in, or squirrels, or knife-wielding people with masks.  Its been a year at least since I was up there.  Its "The Land of Old Boxes and Junk".  Ayla loves to climb ladders, and even she won't go up there!

Years ago, I put plywood sheets down on the center of the attic.  I meant to do the other half, but there were problems with wiring going over the joists and I put it off.  I should have finished the work. 

Because when I got up there and crab-walked over the joists to where the possible leak was, I found one!  One drop per minute while it was raining yesterday.  When the rain stopped, so did the drips.

So I looked around for a wide pan to catch the drips so they wouldn't soak the plaster ceiling any more.  I found an unused cat litter pan in the basement and went back in the attic with a piece of plywood scrap to span the joists to support the pan to collect the drips. 

You know how, any time you find a good solution, a better comes to mind after?  I was looking around for a large wide container to catch drips and settled on a kitty litty pan.  Well, when I went to bed that night, I was staring at a HUGE plastic storage bin that would hold about 20 gallons! 

I'm usually smarter than that about thinking of the best things to use.  But fortunately the rain is stopped for a week, so the need to get back up into the attic with the larger container is delayed.

I had a roofing expert come to the house today.  He was REALLY NICE!  He got up on the roof, examined the spot, and saw that a tree branch had fallen onto the roof and punctured the plywood slightly.  Small hole, slow leak.  Ans his best guess that even a hurricane (like Isaac) coming up through  the Southeast US IF it hit maryland on the way east, wouldn't fill the pan.  So I'm OK.

But that means a roof job.  It's 26 years old.  I had been planning to replace it anyway.  20 year guarantee and lasting 26 years is "OK".

But the roof isn't the only problem.  The cheap vinyl siding is about worn out.  It was "builders grade", and that is about as poor as it gets.  But I didn't know anything about that stuff 26 years ago.  It needs to be replaced too.  It is so abraded by weather that the surface is rough and grows mold and mildew rampantly.  It stayed clean for 13 years, so I cleaned it.  Then it only stayed clean for 3 years and I cleaned it.  Then it only stayed clean 1 years.  Then 6 months.  Now it can't stay clean of mold and mildew on the north side of the house at all.  So I need new vinyl siding.

So I have added new siding to the roof job (he does both).  I'm not going to be "the blue house" anymore.  We are changing to a slightly greyish green  with darker green trim and "heather" shingles.

I couldn't expect it all to last forever.  Well, actually, I didn't expect to live in this "starter house" for 26 years.  But here I am and I don't plan to move just yet.

I'm glad I have savings, I can write a check for the whole work...  On the other hand, that's 80% of the  checking account.  But the house is going to look a WHOLE lot better in a couple weeks and I'm not touching the savings account at all..  Happily, the inside is in great condition.

Its time to have some work done on the house...

Things are going to be VERY NOISY here for 3 days in a week from now...