I’m working on a blogosaurus related to a comment on “Come and Take Them. Start Here.” (And what a comment section it’s been!)
The giganto-blog is about 2/3 done and I’d hoped to post it this afternoon. But I got dragooned into minion work on the Big Scary Project.
So at least now there’s this:
That old addition was a stupid idea to begin with. By the time I bought this place it was held together by rot and insects.
So down it comes! (And no, that’s not me swinging the sledgehammer. All I’m doing is bagging old blown-in insulation and cleaning paint and caulk off a window that’s being moved from the addition to the main house. Another Goof-Off job! My specialty.)
And down it’s gone!
Oy, what a hauling job that heap is going to be. How is it that the trash heap is so much bigger than the addition was? I think several laws of physics are being violated here.
That’ll give you more room back there. And what a view — if there’s anything to look at.
Pat — There’ll be only one smallish window on the new wall and it’ll be over the bathtub. So not a lot of “enjoying the view” from there. But while I lounge in the tub reading trashy novels, nibbling bon-bons, and drinking wine, yes, I’ll be able to enjoy a view, though it’s only of trees and ferns on the hillside behind the house.
You go girl! And it wouldn’t surprise me to see you swinging a sledge — maybe that part happens later in the project. 😉
I’ve always wanted a bathtub with view. Heck, in the right setting, I’d have it so the tub could be open to the back yard.
Anyways, I just ran across this oh, so idiotarian response to Texas’ campus carry law. A somewhat different take on “or are you just glad to see me”.
Claire, it’s too bad you don’t have a wood stove. I look at that trash pile and see lotsa firewood. Thanks for the pics and OMG what a job!
A strange looking addition indeed. I’m wondering if there wasn’t originally a rear exterior door there — was it perhaps built to keep rain from blowing in through a rear entryway?
We had to have our handyman build a decidedly less than lovely thing (he called it a “trellis”, I don’t know WTF to call it) to keep rain from blowing in — under and around — the front door. It’s been satisfactory, though I’m sure a casual viewer might wonder why it’s there. (It’s sure not for looks.)
It doesn’t rain much here in the desert, but it rains enough that we knew we’d have a problem without some protection — there was already a fair amount of damage near the front door when we bought the place.
Hope you won’t have any problems with rain coming in that window (or door, if you’ve got one planned for that spot.)
Looking forward to seeing more pics. And, FWIW — we agree, having no mortgage is priceless! 🙂
Brunette — The story of that addition is one of the many things that convince me that sobriety was not a large factor in the design or “improvement” of this place.
It goes like this … In the back half of the house there were once two bedrooms and one bathroom.
The bathroom eventually deteriorated badly.
So instead of remodeling it, they simply closed it off and let it rot.
They carved into one of the bedrooms to build a 3/4 bath.
But that left the bedroom only three feet wide.
So they added another four feet. Badly, of course. The addition you see coming down in these photos.
And all the while, the perfectly good original bathroom space filled up with spiders, mice, and rot so intense the floor started to cave in.
I’m now reshaping the entire back of the house to be one giant open bedroom and one bath. The bedroom part will take years. Bathroom now.
There you have it. While this is the dank north side of the house, it’s also not the weather side, so leaks shouldn’t be a problem here. But I also hear you on the trellis thingie. I eventually have to add something like that near the front door to keep the wind from driving rain into the house. Next year maybe. We shall see.
Karen — Yeah, firewood. I wonder if I could give it away? Nails, bugs, and all.
Seriously, while the original materials were good (though the construction sucked), that stuff is so rotted that even some of the old-growth fir felt like balsa wood.
jed — No sledgehammers in my near future, I hope. But Handyman Mike’s minion (the muscular young hammer slinger) is headed back to school tomorrow, so next I help side the new wall and assist with the interior tearout to create the new bathroom.
Sounds like the trellis thing is some kind of wind and rain break and to slow down the heat escaping from the door. I’ve been seeing something like a “temporary” addition thing attached to the front doors of business during the winters lately. It’s obviously intended to be a transition area between the outside and the front door.
I know that apartments building usually have another door immediately beyond the first front door, with some kind of foyer in between.
May simply be some kind of weather shield.
[While this is the dank north side of the house, it’s also not the weather side]
If you pay attention to the old barns you see in the Northwest, it’s always the south or southwest side that has metal siding. That’s where the rain blows from, in the winter storms.
Start a little camp fire…
“How is it that the trash heap is so much bigger than the addition was? I think several laws of physics are being violated here.”
Same with grinding flour. A cup of flour corn yeilds more than a cup of corn flour. It’s because the peices started out packed together in an orderly fashion, and now they stick out in odd directions with more space in between, resulting in fluffing up the pile.
“That’s where the rain blows from, in the winter storms.”
Yeah, noticed that many times. Especially a few times when I noted which direction the trees were falling in.
Anyways, I just ran across this oh, so idiotarian response to Texas’ campus carry law.
Yeah, and the story contains several errors. Actually the law does affect private Texas colleges, in that they will have campus carry unless they choose to opt out.
Up until the Oregon shooting such opting out was all-but a foregone conclusion, but the rumor mill is saying that more than a few schools are now taking a second look at the idea.
Irony alert: 50 years ago during the UT Tower shooting was before campuses went “gun-free.” People on the ground shot back with their privately-owned firearms. That kept the killer’s head down, which limited the number of people killed and wounded.
I note with pride that the Texas A&M University System isn’t panty-bunching over this. (My alma mater.)