Know When to Delegate

After removing the flooring over the weekend, we found the reason behind the leak under the back door.  When the door was installed, the metal flashing between the house and the patio was cut back too far.  That, along with the patio being a little taller than the door jamb, allowed the water to run under the door and between the boards that join the house and the patio.  We also discovered that some of the house sill board under the door was rotted.  Mike knew what needed to be done to replace this piece of wood, but did not have the time or tools to do the job.  We contacted Bob, our handyman, and asked if he could help.  He said he already had the necessary jacks to brace the floor so that he could cut out the bad wood and add a new piece.   We wanted to put in the new flooring on the weekend and Bob said he could get the job done before then.

Rotted sill board under back door

Craig and Dennis continued to work on the plumbing this week.  We ran into a little snag when we could not get the parts Craig wanted to use to setup our new water supply system.  He used a product called "Shark Bite" and needed a couple of manifolds for a distribution center.  We contacted the local Home Depot in Payson and found they did not stock the parts, but they could be ordered and would be in by Friday.  We ordered the parts, but called Mike to see if he could find any sources online or other local plumbing shops that might carry these parts, in hopes we could get them faster. No such luck.  We just had to sit and wait.  Craig and Dennis did as much work as they could so that once the parts came in, they could finish the job quickly.

Dennis working on our kitchen drain

Bob came on Wednesday with his wife and another guy to work on the sill board and finish the shingles on the roof.  They used floor jacks and beams to support the kitchen floor while they removed some of the joists connected to the sill board.  Bob's wife did most of the cutting using a reciprocating saw and I was utterly amazed on how well she did with it.  I personally do not care for that tool as I have seen the construction guys and Mike use the saw and I am always afraid that more will get cut than wood.  It is a very powerful and unsteady tool, but she handled it with ease.  I told her how impressed I was and she said "don't ever be afraid of power tools - unlike our husbands, they do what you tell them to."  I have now decided to try to do some of the cutting with the chop saw (which is stationery and seems a lot more safe).  Bob and his crew were able to cut away the rotted wood and add new boards and put the joists back in place, all in one day and at the low cost of $200.  I sent several pictures to Mike so that he could see what he was missing.  We both decided the $200 was money well spent.

Floor jacks and beam holding up our kitchen

Bob's wife using a reciprocating saw with expertise

While Bob was there, he and his worker Andy, brought their dogs because they thought they would have fun with Zena.  However, Zena was not in the mood for playing that day and did not get along very well with the other dogs.

Bob's dog confined to the truck - not very happy!

Zena ignoring Andy's dog

Because of the lack of water facilities at the house, I decided to join the Tonto Apache Gym which had so kindly given us free showers over the weekend.  They have a great facility with an indoor pool and their rates were cheaper than the other gym in town.  It was nice to have a place to shower during the week as the temperatures were still fairly high during the day.

Stats:  1 Home Depot trip; 1 Walmart trip
Remodeling expense 8/23-8/26: $221
Remodeling expense to date: $16,289