One Hole Patched

When the fire occured twelve years ago, the firefighters cut holes in the roof. These holes were then covered with plywood and plastic, but over the years the plastic disintegrated and the plywood started rotting.

Consequently, the roof had been leaking for a few years.

Yesterday Handyman and his friend patched one of the holes. First they had to sister in four new rafters because the firefighters cut a little too deep. Then they put in a piece of plywood, some tar paper, and the closest match we could find for the shingles.

The shingles aren't a perfect match, but it's on the back of the house, so we don't really care. Eventually we'll need a whole new roof anyway, so we can live with this for a while.

Finally A Clean Attic

I crawled down the new catwalk this morning, dragging my shopvac and my rake, to clean the old insulation out of the final corner.

As I was wedged into that tiny space, raking out the last of it, I smelled the peppery smell of ants. "Oh, great!" I thought, but I kept at it because I was totally covered with boots, long pants, long sleeved turtleneck shirt, long gloves, hat, and dust mask. I stuffed the insulation into a bag as quickly as I could and vacuumed up the leftover bits. Then I crawled out and got some bug poison and sprayed it where they were.

Thank goodness Handyman called me to morning tea shortly after that!

You might wonder why we are removing all the old insulation. First off, it had served as a latrine for rats, possums, and who knows what for decades and it smelled horrible.

Second, it was filthy and dusty, and we need to do wiring and install air conditioning ducts in the attic, and we didn't want to work on top of that dirty mess.

In better news, we got our new electrical panel today. Ain't it a beauty?

Old Insulation and Wallpaper Surprise

This old house was vacant for many years and all sorts of critters made themselves at home in the attic. Consequently, the insulation is filthy with their droppings. We figured we should remove it so that's what we're doing, and it's a miserable job.

Above you see a clean area on the left and a dirty area on the right. Our method varies from rakes, brooms, and dust pans, to a shopvac.

We are finding all kinds of junk that the workers tossed up here 70 years ago: drywall scraps, chicken wire, nails, and scraps of wood. We also found a bit of drywall with wallpaper on it. Check out that steamboat. Looks like the 50s, don't you think?

Kitchen Doorway

Repositioning the kitchen doorway required a temporary brace for that load bearing wall. (You can see the brace on the right side of the photo.)

Handyman is using a level to set the studs on the sides of the opening, but I don't know why; almost nothing is plumb or level in this old house. Sigh.

Anyway, the new opening is about 66" wide and allows us to more accurately envision the new kitchen layout.

The Architect

More Characters

The Architect

Starting with crayons at a very early age, the Architect has always had a need to express her creativity. Her career started in the graphic arts industry and she became a journeyman sign painter at the age of 24. This was before computers and digital printing, so everything was done freehand with brushes. Screen printing, gold leaf, scaffolding for wall signs; she's done it all.

After getting a certificate in Interior Design, the Architect worked briefly in custom hardware supply, but soon came back to the sign industry. I'll bet you didn't know sign companies need contractor's licenses, but they do, and when she started her own sign company she got one of those too.

When she wasn't designing signs or remodeling houses, she was sailing or flying helicopters or crafting or traveling to Europe or taking pictures or working in her garden.

Then there were the four years spent cruising "Thistle" down the California Coast, through the Panama Canal, and up the US East Coast to Maine. The Architect was the route planner, navigator, customs and immigration liaison, interpreter, and blogger. And of course, she hauled diesel, groceries and garbage; fixed, maintained, and repaired things; stood overnight watches; called about a hundred bridge tenders(!); and hauled up the anchor and the dinghy hundreds of times.

Lover of books, maps, art, tea, and comfy upholstered chairs, the Architect is in seventh heaven on this latest project.

Recycling Oak Flooring

We plan to tile the new kitchen floor, so this red oak flooring had to be removed. It's a beast to remove, but Handyman did it and after removing all the nails, he ended up with a nice pile of wood.

It came from Michy's Lumber Co. In Warren, Arkansas and it looks darn good for being 70 years old!

Handyman stacked up the pieces and neatly shrink-wrapped them for re-use in the dining room. It will match the existing living room floor perfectly and save us some money.

The Handyman

We need to introduce the cast of characters here at Acorn Cottage, so here is our first character.

This is the Handyman.

The Handyman can do almost anything and is very adventurous and mechanically inclined.

In his teens he built cars and joined SCCA racing Formula Fords at local road tracks. Then he decided he needed to learn to fly, so he got his pilot's license with an instrument rating and we flew our Mooney to Mexico many times.

At twenty seven Handyman sold his business and we bought a sailboat, fixed it up, and sailed to Mexico. This was before cellphones, the Internet, and chartplotters, but somehow we made it to the Sea of Cortez and back, and then we made subsequent trips skippering other people's boats to Mexico and back.

When we came back home we started a business, remodeled a house, and had two kids. Handyman went back to flying and got his rotorcraft/instructor rating and actually taught people to fly helicopters for a couple of years.

At work he honed his construction, painting, and cabinetry skills, and put them to work doing a huge renovation of our home. He did all the plumbing, wiring, HVAC, and cabinetry, plus a million other things.

After the kids left home, we decided to go cruising again, so we sold that beautiful home and our business, and bought another sailboat. Handyman did extensive work to make the boat ocean ready, and we went out under the Golden Gate Bridge in October 2014.

We spent four years exploring Mexico, Central America, the Caribbean, the US East Coast, and beautiful Maine. Cruising entails lots of repairs, so the Handyman's skills continued to pay off as we rebuilt the generator, installed solar panels, and removed the old teak decks.

Occasionally we'd come home to visit and want to borrow the old VW bug from our daughter who lives in San Francisco. Invariably, repairs would be needed, but Handyman would take it all in stride.

And now we're back on land and we've bought another old house. Handyman's skills are being put to use once again as he tears out old walls, frames up new ones, and begins another remodel.

Thank goodness for the Handyman!

Skeleton In My Closet

Remodeling an old house is not for the faint of heart. Not only must you climb up on the roof, tear out old walls, and envision the finished product through all the mess, but you must also deal with things like this.

The house is in a heavily wooded area and all kinds of critters live there: raccoons, skunks, rats, and possums. Not this one though; he's more like a mummy now.

Who knows how long ago the poor devil crawled under the house and died, but we found him yesterday under a closet. Maybe his descendants are trying to visit him because something is still trying to dig under the house.

It's a battle here at Acorn Cottage, but I'll win somehow!

Shutters Galore

FREE TO GOOD HOME

The previous owners of our house loved shutters. Heck, I loved shutters back in the day, but they're everywhere! And kind of falling apart. So I've taken some down and these are available to anyone who can think of a good use for them.

We have two sets like this: 32"x80" overall, painted black, fancy brass handles. Ooooooo.

Two sets like this: 44"x46".

Four sets like this: 19"x51". And two of the four shutter version at the top of the post: 38"x51".

Won't someone please call me an make arrangements to pick these up? 209 244-0460

Utility Closet

One of the first things a home designer must think about when remodeling is the placement of mechanical systems: heating, cooling, ducting, water heaters, electrical panels, etc., and access to those systems.

So, the first area we are creating is a pantry/utilty closet/attic access/crawlspace access room. Handy Man tore out the walls around an old closet/china cupboard/stereo system cupboard, and created a 4'x10' room. We got a set of attic access stairs which will be installed in there for easy access to the heating system, which will now be in the attic.

The room will also have a trapdoor to the crawl space, the electrical sub panel for this section of the house, and plenty of room for pantry items, vacuum cleaners, brooms, and the like.

The fireplace will also get a facelift and a traditional mantel. Maybe something like this?

Please follow along as we navigate the permit process next.

January Garden Report

One of California's best features is its mild winter weather, and while we've been drinking champagne and eating mince pies, Mother Nature has been forging ahead with her spring plans.

The camellias and azaleas are starting to bloom. This property is chock full of azaleas, camellias, ferns, and rhododendrons. Ten years of oak leaves piling up beneath them has only served to increase the health of the soil, so they appear to be quite happy. 

These paperwhites are also blooming, and the buds on the quince are fattening up for their February appearance.

This is called bergenia and used to be a popular edging plant. We have quite a bit of it here because we are old fashioned.

It might seem like a warm day by looking at the flowers, but actually it's quite cold and we had to burn some scraps this morning to warm the place up a bit. Here's Handy Man tearing out old walls in preparation for the new kitchen.