Category: House

Posted on

Back Door Huh? Good Idea.

I can’t find a post about this, other than a brief mention elsewhere, but at one point I updated the back door with a modern lock and security film on its window. The frame, having degraded with time, was barely holding the door in place. I corrected the problem temporarily with hardware reinforcements. It worked for the foreseeable future.

Then I got COVID and Liz used my compromised mental state to convince me that the door itself needed replacing, after she tried and failed to strip it of paint for a fresh coat. An indifferent and barely conscious self agreed.

The back door, before I ripped out those ugly curtains.

To be fair, the steel cladding on the bottom of the door had recently warped and was catching. The seal around the frame itself had long since cracked and fallen out. There was definite water intrusion damage, but with so many priorities on a house’s upkeep, the door had remained as deferred maintenance.

So when my bout of COVID finally broke, we acquired a replacement door. It remained in the garage for a week on sawhorses while Liz applied goofy bee-themed designs. I will note at this point that we bought a pre-hung door, not because the included hardware is ever top-notch, but because I had learned the hard way that doors and frames shrink and warp at the same rate, and it’s almost impossible to match up a new door with an old frame. It can be done, but it’s definitely worth the cost/time offset. This lesson was learned with the inner garage door. Frustrating times, those.

Of course, installing a pre-hung door necessitates the removal of the old frame. And I’m glad I went through this trouble, because what lay beneath would not have been seen otherwise.

Mind the gap.

When the former homeowners installed the deck, as with all things they did to this place, they took the quickest and cheapest route to address any hangups. In this instance, in order to support the door base, they attached a piece of particle board vertically against the house frame. This wood was neither rated for moisture exposure nor sufficient to close the gap against nature’s intrusion. The particle board only succeeded in holding moisture against the house, resulting in rot and carpenter ant damage. And to further exacerbate the issue, it also formed a trench on top of the old concrete patio into which yard waste had accumulated.

Fortunately, the house joists were insanely solid, despite the ant damage. I suspect they were hardwood, not the usual pine, so I left them as-is, but not before we added a spray sealant for good measure. Then I layered planks of pressure-treated boards to replace the particle board and support the frame, stacked in a tile formation to prevent water ingress, complete with outdoor caulking on the joints.

That’s not going anywhere.

The door itself, complete with frame, fitted as good as could be expected with only a few angry bouts of profanity. And as per my usual creed for upgrades applied to fixes, the strike plate was replaced with a security version, using 3.5″ screws through the frame and into the joists, in addition to the hinges. And the lock was given a proper upgrade as well.

I guess a beekeeper lives here, who’s also conscientious about weather-proofing and security.

Full sealant applied to the frame, the last external door has finally been addressed.

But not before a bronze bee knocker was added too.

–Simon

Posted on

Dust Control

This is a rather unremarkable project, but after spending over $200 on a chemical wash for my A/C unit, following the cost of a thermal sensor replacement due to overheating – some dust mitigation was in order.

In my defense, the HVAC installers got me all paranoid. I’m familiar with washing A/C coils, but with this fancy new unit they impressed upon me the importance of not washing the unit too thoroughly, lest I fuck it up and short out the board. I had just spent $15K on this, so I definitely didn’t want to fuck it up.

Turns out I fucked it up anyway by not washing it enough. I can’t win.

So hoping to strike a balance in the proper washing, I though it might help to simply reduce the amount of airborne dirt in the unit’s vicinity. Also, I didn’t like the accompanying mud pit that appeared with every rain. So I threw down some pebbles.

Not every post here is interesting.

–Simon

Posted on

Bow Down

A man should have weapons mounted on walls. This is a requirement of manhood. Failure to do so denies that which makes us men: the capacity for and proper use of selective violence.

However, the type of weapon and the method of display distinctly broadcasts the man’s association with violence. Sword = nerd and probably younger. Yes, I have a sword hanging up in the basement but I also have a history degree so I get a pass. Old family shotgun = appreciation for family history. Bolt-action rifle = appreciation for hunting or precision shooting. AR15 = douchebag.

But what about classic recurve/longbows? Well they’re awesome, of course. But as for storage, the bow is a unique customer. It can’t be stood up in a corner or shoved in the attic. Bad climate control can cause delamination, and improper support can cause warping. Unlike firearms, they’re very particular. Even when not intended to be displayed, they still need even, horizontal support in a low-humidity and low heat environment. And at 4-6′ long, they can take up an awkward amount of wall space. A solution was needed, but internet searches for bow holders tended to favor the compound variety, and anything else proved to be ridiculously overpriced. As usual, I would have to build my own.

…Which really didn’t require all that much imagination. A couple boards and hanging brackets would suffice, since they were going in the basement. Here’s what I came up with:

Complete with pretty wife

Basic and functional, and elegant in its simplicity. At last the bows are now not only properly stored, but also displayed. Manly!

–Simon

Posted on

That’s a Wash

Feminists often don’t acknowledge the exploitation of men. The assumption that men have always possessed personal agency is in direct opposition to most of our history. Most men did not get to choose their social status or career options. Most men were expected to conform to predefined values and obligations – same as women. I’d even go so far as to suggest that the rift in egalitarianism was fairly recent. When modern western society shifted towards one of individual autonomy, women were excluded – a social problem which has, on paper anyway, since been addressed.

Of course, what’s written and what’s practiced are two different things. And while legal obligations such as, say, equal opportunity in the workforce be enforced – which are dependent upon everyone playing by the rules, shouldn’t so too certain social obligations be governed? A woman is judged by her domestic competence. And men are judged by their physical abilities and willingness to suffer physical injury. Why don’t we as a people change these?

Because they supersede civil law. They long predate civilization. They remain the foundation to our survival as a species in those early days, which paved the way for common law, prior to civil law. I don’t think they can ever be changed. They’re part of who we are.

Point being: as a man who lacks economic and political means, I’m trapped in an exploitative system too.

So it was that 10 years ago I willingly agreed to be the functional mass of man flesh required to maintain an estate…for 10 years. My premonition at the time was that age and injury would compound to ultimately end my usefulness as a man after that timeframe. Such a prediction has turned out to be surprisingly accurate. I’m gradually phasing into a period of needing more hired help, and becoming incapable of tasks which formerly were straightforward.

And one such task is moving heavy objects. In this particular case – laundry machines to the basement! Moving these machines was always a bit of a struggle, but no Herculean effort. Then Liz’s new wash machine arrived. It’s the first front-loader we’ve ever had, and as it would turn out, significantly heavier than top-loaders. Its specs weigh in at 217lbs. And the all-steel appliance dolly we borrowed was 50-70lbs. That’s really damn heavy, especially considering that the bottom step of the basement is narrower than laundry machines, requiring one to lift them over the stair ledge on the final push.

We managed it, but I’m paying the price. Next time, younger men are needed.

They’re also entertaining to watch!

Of course, this will be 10 years this summer, at which point I might irreparably break anyway. At least my promise will be fulfilled.

–Simon

Posted on

The Ultimate Hobby

A house!

After my recent accomplishment of finally installing bathroom ductwork into proper external vents, I started to reminisce. We will soon hit our 10-year mark in this house, Easement Acres. What began as an American dream turned into a parenthood want: a place for the kid to grow up. And the romanticized homestead activities of decorating and gardening. I wanted a home. I moved a lot myself as a kid, with the longest stint in a Lubbock property – more of a prison, really, with a tiny backyard and a lack of permission to ever venture beyond the privacy fence unescorted. All it needed was some concertina wire to complete the feeling.

But now, with the decade landmark in sight, this will be the longest I have ever lived in one domicile. So I wanted to look back on what I’ve written about in my time here. Or more specifically, what I’ve written about regarding the house itself.

Here’s a chronological list:

2017

  • Wifi and Ethernet
  • WFH in my basement setup
  • Splitting trees removed by BP
  • Sump pump drainage
  • Gardening and more trees removed
  • Rain barrel
  • Rain barrel #2
  • Deck staining
  • Lamppost
  • Hostile neighbors
  • Hanging pictures
  • Basement growing
  • Electrical outlet install
  • Putting wire on the fence
  • New TV stand
  • Live Christmas tree

2018

  • Live Christmas tree cleanup
  • Ring doorbell camera install
  • Gas leak
  • New trees planted
  • Ozone-ing the carpet
  • Revised basement workstation
  • Workout equipment acquired
  • Hallway carpet replaced with laminate
  • War on dandelions
  • Property survey
  • First reel mower
  • Exploding electrical outlet
  • Storm door install
  • Grandfather clock acquired
  • Basement aquarium acquired
  • Front porch light install
  • Dining room carpet replaced with laminate
  • Fence repair after ice storm
  • Ethernet patch panel install

2019

  • Air purifier acquired
  • Revised basement workstation again
  • Wired basement desk with ethernet
  • Backyard Ring camera install
  • Sump pump drainage upgraded with brick
  • Lounge carpet replaced with laminate
  • Foyer tiled
  • Copper cock added to roof
  • Rain barrel #3
  • Sliding backdoor shattered

2020

  • Sliding backdoor replaced
  • Second reel mower
  • Barn star acquired
  • Wine cellar acquired
  • Bedroom carpet replaced with laminate
  • Garage workshop pegboard acquired
  • Dead spruce trees removed
  • Retrofitted attic fan install
  • Neighbor’s plywood palace and city complaint

2021

  • Wood burner install
  • Front door lock replaced
  • Decorative external shutters replaced
  • Security film installed on garage window
  • Brick garden edging install
  • Garden trellis installed to block view of problem neighbor
  • Additional garage organization
  • Built the garage door open sensor/indicator
  • Roomba vacuum acquired

2022

  • Bathroom fan replacement
  • Bathroom fan remodel (For some reason, I didn’t post once on this project. I must have been trying to wipe it from my memory).
  • Broken chest freezer turned into a root cellar
  • Clematis planted on garden trellis
  • Easement Acres name formalized

2023

  • Garden Ring camera install
  • Deck string lights upgraded
  • Built deck gate
  • Built backyard trellis

2024

  • Removed unnecessary bathroom light fixture
  • New couch acquired
  • New HVAC
  • Mosquito wars
  • Easement Acres signage
  • Hurricane damage
  • Bench vise acquired

2025

  • Bathroom grips install
  • New oven acquired
  • More trees planted
  • Zombie door
  • Ox yoke hung
  • New roof
  • Built firewood holder

2026

  • Attic bathroom ventilation ductwork install

Conclusion

A lot of work has been done here on Easement Acres! It’s definitely more than my parents had ever done to their home. I think the difference lies with the generation gap. My home was never a given. There was a lot of doubt we’d ever get to have one at all! So every day is a new opportunity to, again, partake in the ultimate hobby! It’s not simply a place to live.

I wonder what the next 10 years will bring.

–Simon