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A little success
Jan. 9th, 2008 10:59 pm"I just found out that I'm somebody's grandfather.
And somebody's father.
And somebody's friend, in the bargain."
~Sully, "Nobody's Fool"
Today my son and I took out a window, at the bottom of the cellar stairs, that was threatening to fall on the next person to walk past it. The frame was rotted out and the high winds overnight had blown it open so that this morning it was hanging by the hinge on one side.
We got it down safely, pulled out the window frame and the rough framing--also rotted out--and chipped out the masonry curbing that once held it in place. They were new windows, when we moved here, twenty-some years ago. But the installation, done by the previous owner, was worthless. Where he should've used pressure-treated lumber for the rough opening, he used untreated framing lumber. Which was mainly why everything rotted.
Anyway, we went to the Home Depot and bought pressure-treated 2x6, 3" coated deck screws, a 24x48x3/8" plywood panel and a can of expanding foam insulation. Jason did the bull work and I gave the project the benefit of my experience. Little Jay occasionally ventured down the cellar stairs to check our progress.
Instead of a new window, we cut the plywood panel to size and screwed it onto the rough framing. Then we gave it a coat of primer-sealer so it wouldn't be an eye-sore or be water-logged by spring. The plan, at that point, is to have a masonry contractor come in, jack the back corner of the house, excavate along one side of it and around the back, repair the footing, place drain tile, and re-block that corner of the house. And finally, replace all the windows with glass block.
For now, the basement should be much warmer, which will allow the furnace and water heater to run with greater efficiency. And the floors in the house will be warmer, as will the water coming out of the tap. It was a good project and I think we both needed a little success of that sort. And it was good for us to have had it together...
And somebody's father.
And somebody's friend, in the bargain."
~Sully, "Nobody's Fool"
Today my son and I took out a window, at the bottom of the cellar stairs, that was threatening to fall on the next person to walk past it. The frame was rotted out and the high winds overnight had blown it open so that this morning it was hanging by the hinge on one side.
We got it down safely, pulled out the window frame and the rough framing--also rotted out--and chipped out the masonry curbing that once held it in place. They were new windows, when we moved here, twenty-some years ago. But the installation, done by the previous owner, was worthless. Where he should've used pressure-treated lumber for the rough opening, he used untreated framing lumber. Which was mainly why everything rotted.
Anyway, we went to the Home Depot and bought pressure-treated 2x6, 3" coated deck screws, a 24x48x3/8" plywood panel and a can of expanding foam insulation. Jason did the bull work and I gave the project the benefit of my experience. Little Jay occasionally ventured down the cellar stairs to check our progress.
Instead of a new window, we cut the plywood panel to size and screwed it onto the rough framing. Then we gave it a coat of primer-sealer so it wouldn't be an eye-sore or be water-logged by spring. The plan, at that point, is to have a masonry contractor come in, jack the back corner of the house, excavate along one side of it and around the back, repair the footing, place drain tile, and re-block that corner of the house. And finally, replace all the windows with glass block.
For now, the basement should be much warmer, which will allow the furnace and water heater to run with greater efficiency. And the floors in the house will be warmer, as will the water coming out of the tap. It was a good project and I think we both needed a little success of that sort. And it was good for us to have had it together...
