Thursday night, Cara came along for an evening of lodge work when I checked my phone. Hmm. Missed call. Hit the connect button to discover Bob and Barb visiting the lodge…and we were about 10 minutes out. Gave 'em the full tour, and with an evening so perfect, it was tough to get to work after they left. Alas, we did. I scraped clean the bathroom tile floor with a razor blade while Cara sanded her door. Painted fresh nail heads. Cut and installed the PH roof flashing "tails" and glued down the rubber corners. About dusk we retreated the deck for a drink and discussion on where to plant the trees we picked up. More decisions.
Starting my Friday off without coffee was an amateur's mistake. The intent was a day of fascia work but my focus was lacking, and the fatigue of the week had caught up. Nevertheless, I managed to get a 14-footer up with the correct compound angle (took most of the morning), and Zinser'd the remaining boards in prep for final paint. Vac'd the debris off the bath floor, liberated a bird, and headed in for lunch.
The ETC was ready for the pressure test so I figured I'd shift gears and work on the car over lunch (if I can get it ready by Friday we're takin' it to the road). Filled it with coolant, cranked her over and she fired up. Drove it around the block; no leaks. But still plenty of bucking. Ran to AZ to return the pulley puller that was "loaned" and picked up a temp sensor. On the way over I ended up in a bottleneck of 4-lanes reduced to 1 on 218, and 4mph cruising speed. Passed a late model Buick lacking most of its front end. 3 fire trucks, couple ambulances. Didn't look like anyone was majorly hurt.
The Sat radio in the parents new Outlook has me thinking about a subscription. Being able to pull up hits of the 40's on demand is a great perk. True 50's hits (without the dominating late 50's popular songs everyone knows). Plus they've got a 90's channel that was not the same old krep over and over like FM. They swung the full span of the decade, playing Genesis, En Vogue and grunge as well.
Back to the car, changed the sensor, had to solder/shrinkwrap on a weatherpack connector, then on a hunch played with the EGR. A Ha! Not. Holding. A. Vacuum. Ran a can of Sea Foam through her and returned to the lodge. With measuring cup in hand, I mixed up the sanded grout and got to work. Grouted the floor and set to planing and ripping fascia boards while waiting for it to set up. Got everything squared away upstairs and hand sanded the boards outside. Sponged and wiped the tile, then put the works away and headed in around 7ish to clean up and meet Cam for pool and drinks at the PL. Walked down to the PL where the ice cold beer really hit the spot. A good time was had.
Now for the real work. The big Saturday job was installation of the SE garage door and knocking out the false wall. Cut/installed 3/8 plywood on the rear of the pumphouse to help with shear. Then ran up to S&R in Waverly for a 1x8 and took stock of their wares (not bad, but pricey). Prep'd it and another board, then got to work knocking out the old OSB and framing. Cleared away the debris, and once again, the place did not fall in on me. Now I could run all the (heavy) PH siding outside to my makeshift assembly line. Spent a couple hours staining those and setting them in the sun to bake, then cutting track and filler for the door when the parents arrived to give a hand. Together we jockeyed the door sections around and into place with only a few crushed hands. Mounted the door hardware and let the parents flee. It was going on evening but the door must be stained, so I got after it as the wind eased and the sun set. Long Day. Jockeyed the siding inside and got to the apt around 9:30 for cleanup and a viewing of "See No Evil, Hear No Evil" on LD.
Up and at 'em on Sunday to first, chase a bird out of the lodge, thenm clean up after it. Note to self: get a hand to help plug the 3" gap over the new door. Grabbed my tools and wrapped the PH in tar paper, getting it ready for siding. Marked and snapped lines for fasteners. Brought out the 10' siding strips that still needed stain and got after them, then ripped some starter strips, stained them, and brought out the drip edging for paint. Put in the remaining garage door hinge screws and drug the new trees out to their respective positions (to watch them blow over in the gale wind). Late afternoon, time for lunch. Contributed my part to the sister's wedding plans by calculating electrical loads for the number of party lights and available ckts. Grabbed a bite, then back at it to install the trim and starter strips. My mom came out to lend a hand holding the opposite ends of the siding strips and by nightfall, all the siding was up. Closed up the bird opening and once again, arrived at the apt at 9:30 for a hot shower, cold beer, and some sleep.
Busy weekend, but a little recoup is on the way!
*Update Monday night: Crap, home at 10PM.
No comments:
Post a Comment