House Projects

In an old house like ours, there’s always some work to be done. But in the last couple of weeks, the number of projects demanding attention has multiplied dramatically. Even keeping an up-to-date to-do list is challenging.

Here’s a few things that have recently been accomplished:

1. We had a plumber replace leaky drainage pipes from our upstairs bathroom.
2. We used a little hydraulic cement to patch the hole the plumbers left around the bathtub drain.
3. The plumbers installed a new and better seal on the cleanout for the drainage, which was leaking sewer gas occasionally.
4. Our neighbor rebuilt the back of their shed, which had been eaten by termites. This shed is one of the walls of our courtyard. I painted it pink.
5. I installed an AC window unti in the kitchen, which had been the hottest room in our house. Nice to have it below 90 degrees in there.
6. Our dryer broke down so we had a guy come out and fix it.
7. Our downstairs toilet was leaking, so my boss came over and helped me replace the wax gasket that goes between the floor flange and the bowl. I also replaced the gasket between the tank and the bowl. Still have some trouble with that.
8. XY scraped off the moldy old caulk around the downstairs bathtub/shower area and re-caulked it.

Here are some projects which are somewhat urgent but still aren’t finished:

1. We need a new front door for our downstairs porch.
2. We need a new dehumidifier. The Hampton Bay model I bought a year and a half ago broke, and the service center advised me that it wasn’t worth the cost of repair.
3. One of the steps on our interior staircase needs mending.
4. I need to patch the hole in our downstairs bathroom ceiling.
5. I also need to patch hole the hole in the siding outside the downstairs bathroom. Both of these holes were created by the plumbers so they could work on the drainage pipes.

Finally, the third layer, stuff that is less pressing but that we’d like to get done:

1. We want to paint the alcove off of our hallway. We’re thinking about a blue and white porcelain crackle finish.
2. The attic access door in the ceiling of that alcove could needs to be painted or stained.
3. I need to put another coat of stain on parts of our back deck. I also wanna stain the inside of the door from the deck to the kitchen.
4. Our hallway could use a coat of paint too. Green? Blue? Not sure.
5. The front and back iron security doors need to be repaired or replaced.
6. It would be nice to ventilate the downstairs bathroom.
7. Hell, it would be nice to convert the downstair bath to a shower stall.
8. We need a new washing machine. The one we have was purchased used and has never worked correctly. It spills water all over the floor. Still we’ve made due with it for a year and a half.
9. The electrical outlet for our washer dryer was never properly finished.
10. The lower front porch needs to be cleaned up. There’s still a lot of junk sitting there that was left by the previous owner.

Whew. I never knew owning a house would be so much work.