Friday, October 30, 2009

Home Repair Light – Broken Doors

I came home tonight (Friday night) ready to kick back and relax at the end of another work week. My eldest son was kind enough to empty the dishwasher upon request but accidentally broke a new thermos. I went for the vacuum to clean up the shards of class insulation that shattered. They key to the closet door would not work. I fumbled with the keys for a few minutes before I notice the door was smashed in several degrees beyond where it was supposed to be. I could see the molding the door rests against was smashed back into the door frame. Several good tugs and the door snapped back into position, and then I was able to unlock and open it.

The molding for the door was smashed in and all the nails had been pulled out. It looks like it rested on heavy duty staples to keep in place. I was quite upset about the door, and asked my eldest son if he knew what had happened. He did not but said he noticed it a few days ago. I asked if he was aware of any other broken doors and he motioned to the door below the kitchen sink.


Sure enough that was broken too, as if someone had kicked it in. The recessed part of the door frame had been punched out the back take the sturdier wood that surrounded it with it.

I vacuumed first.

Then I managed to pull the closet door back into place. I used nails that were comparable in length to what was there, but I don’t believe they were nails intended for wood. Still the door if functional and the nails won’t be seen by human eyes. The frame is fixed but if you look you can tell it’s not quite where it was and a small amount of unstained wood is visible.


The kitchen door under the sink was much more difficult. The wood itself was shattered, cracked and damaged. I took the door off and was able to push the recessed piece of wood back into place with some effort. The shattered wood is glued back on. It would have been smart to hold it together with clamps overnight, but I can not find our clamps. I secured it under something heavy for about 30 minutes (the remainder of my patience for the evening the reattached the door. From the outside the door looks ok, but it’s quite stress and damaged. Although no one knows how it was damaged, clearly it will not withstand a second blow of the same force.


My eldest son and I agreed that there are only three people in the house with the strength to damage doors in this manner; his mother, him and me. We agreed that we would both be extra careful about the force we use when opening and closing doors. We also agreed they would not be closed by kicking them ever again.




Monday, October 26, 2009

Wednesday, October 21, 2009

Home Repair Saga

I've taken today and this Friday off to be around while work is being done at the house. Thankfully my folks and my in-laws have been able to watch the house earlier this week. (THANK YOU!!! YOU GUYS ROCK!!!)

This is the final phase of the home repair due to the leaky toilet saga. If you are not familiar with the story here are the relevant links to the earlier chapters.

* Part 1: The saga begins
* Part 2: Clean up and restoration.
* Part 3: It's dry, we're ready to fix it

This previous weekend Shannon, Shannon's folks and I moved all the furnature to make room for the workers to do their stuff. Monday and Tuesday they scraped the ceiling. Today (Wednesday) they sanded and primed. It sounded like the ceiling would be sprayed today, dry over 24-36 hours then be painted on Friday. That's changed a few times. We heard they'd spray today, tomorrow, then the latest is they can do it today. If so this is great their will be no work done tomorrow. After the painting they may not be able to get the fan and fixtures up. Sounds like they might get that done on Saturday, but we'll see. If they can't it will be next Monday. Shannon and I are anxious for the house to be back together.

Here are photos of the house under construction:

Monday Night October 19th:






Today, Wednesday October 21st:






Thanks to all who have helped with this repair effort!



Sounds like there is more prep today and the ceiling will indeed be sprayed tomorrow. UGH! Guess I've got to hustle around and see if I can find help watching the house tomorrow, or I'll telecommute/take more time off. Either way it will get done. I sincerely hope the fixtures can go back in on Friday or Saturday. I do not want this to bleed into next week.

Sunday, October 18, 2009

Blue Man Group

I've been aware of Blue Man Group for years, but never heard or watched much. I saw most of their Megastar Rockstar concert on HD TV tonight. Fabulous stuff. I am now officially a fan.

A Good Week

It's very easy to focus on the challenges we are facing day in and day out. It also tends to be what we share with others. This week had some minor challenges for me, sick children, busy schedules at work, preparing for some home repair, I did not do particularly well with diet or exercise his week, etc... but it also was a very good week. I had many wonderful moments with my wife and kids. I saw a fascinating motivational presentation at Central High School that my son recommended. Most of all I am left feeling upbeat and happy do to comments I received related to work.

This past week was the annual leadership workshop where I work. Leaders from various chapters around the United States and internationally were all in town for a few days. I went to a meeting to listen to comments and questions about some projects I am involved in. While there I was surprised and humbled by how many people seemed to know who I was, and took time to express appreciation for the work that I do. One individual in particular shook my hand and said that many people across the country were benefiting from the work I was doing, and that it was both appreciated and noticed. I feel much appreciated in general at work, but I was deeply flattered and humbled that this person took the time to say something so kind. It really made my week. It’s the kind of thing I needed to write down and remember on days that do not seem as positive.

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I'm officially excited about the new James Cameron moving coming out this December. His stuff is always entertaining, and often exceptional.

Saturday, October 10, 2009

3 Questions for a Redneck Engineer


Question # 1:


How much does a house weigh?



Question # 2:




How much weight can a rural two-lane bridge Hold???








And

Question # 3


WOULD THIS BE COVERED BY


HOME INSURANCE,

CAR INSURANCE,

OR, DOES

IT COME UNDER ROADSIDE ASSISTANCE ???











Y' ALL HAVE A GREAT DAY NOW, YA' HEAR!!!!!

Tuesday, October 06, 2009