A Long Time Away

According to our last blog entry, it looks like it has been eight weeks since we visited our wonderful home of the North.  But in reality, it has only been six weeks since we spent a full weekend up there and only four since I made a brief visit.  We had a full weekend in February where we did not do any work, just a little bit of planning and then I came up on a Friday afternoon for about a half hour.  We originally planned to be up for the last weekend in February, but it was right before our vacation to California and we needed to get prepared for the trip.  However, in addition to having some items to bring to the house, we needed to get our hitch extension to use for this weekend.  It is always a nice ride up to Payson and I did not mind the quick turnaround.

We had a great vacation in California the first week of March and were joined by our MR KLUD friends for a couple of days.  We went to Disneyland, Knott's Berry Farm and took a whale watching cruise in San Diego.  We had a blast spending time with our friends and getting to go to places we have not been in a long time.  The end of the week was not as hectic, or fun, as Laurie came down with a cold, but it allowed us to get all rested up for coming home.

MR KLUD at the happiest place on earth. Don't we all look happy? Of course we are, we are not at work!

MR KLUD on the Hornblower in San Diego, CA

MR KLUD at my happiest place on earth.  Much less crowded than Disneyland with boysenberry pie!

After returning home, we had another weekend of activities in the Valley.  One Saturday Laurie went to a baby shower for our niece, who is due in May, and then on Sunday we went with Laurie's dad/stepmom to Tucson to see our son who is living there now.  It has been about a month since he moved and we got to see his placed unpacked and he was able to get us into his work for a tour.  As part of the tour, we were able to climb up on a Caterpillar front loader machine (sorry, pictures were not allowed at the site) that he is currently testing and it was huge!  He has been certified to drive these units around the test yard, but not on the test trails.  Even though it was raining and muddy, it was a great experience.

Carroll, Matt, me, Laurie and Doris at a great restaurant near Matt's place.

So finally we had a free weekend to go back up North.  We needed the hitch extension because we (i.e. Laurie) finally made a flooring decision to use fiberglass backed (floating) sheet vinyl for our kitchen (see last blog entry) and we found one we liked at Lowes, which does not have a store in Payson.  We tried to get flooring at Home Depot, but didn't like their selection, even though they were cheaper and much more convenient for transporting the flooring.  We thought we could borrow a truck to haul the vinyl up north, but as we got closer to the date, it did not look like that would happen.  So our backup plan was to go up to Payson, pick up the Jeep, rent a trailer in Rye, and make a round-trip to the Valley to get the vinyl.  We found a Lowes store that was easier to get to for our planned trip and when Laurie went to place the order, we found that store had the flooring we wanted on clearance and we paid less than half of what the other Lowes was selling it for.  Then to make things even better, we were able to get the truck we had hoped for and did not have to make the round-trip.  We couldn't believe how well that all worked out.  So I picked up the cut vinyl roll after work on Friday and up north we drove.

All we needed to do this weekend was get the vinyl into the house and unroll it to allow it to acclimate to the temperatures before we install it next weekend.  So we unloaded it and waited to unroll it until just before we left on Sunday (this kept us and the dog from walking all over it).

Our new vinyl just unloaded from the truck

The weather was so nice on Saturday, we decided to do some yard work.  We did not want the weeds to get too out of control, so spent a few hours removing as much as we could (which was quite a bit).  This was made easier by the recent snow that had all melted in the past week leaving the ground quite mushy.  We also decided to remove one of the apple trees that did not do too well last year.  It produced a lot of fruit, but unlike the other tree, the birds never ate any of it and the branches just drooped.  We will eventually plant another type of fruit tree in its spot as we do not need two treefulls of apples.

Weeds removed from the yard along with one apple tree

Old apple tree awaiting space in the dumpster

After lunch, Laurie worked on our budget and finances while I took the time to clean up the floor in the hall bathroom.  I had removed all the tile awhile ago, but there was still some pieces of Hardy board and lots of glue residue.  Even with the two batteries I have for the Craftsman multi-tool, I was running them both down before even one could charge.  So I would work until the battery died, read my book until one charged up and repeat the cycle until the floor was done.  I also removed the old, rusty ring around the toilet drain pipe.  The room is all ready for flooring which will most likely be tile, installed just after Easter.

Hall bathroom floor ready for tile

As is our norm, we did not want to do any work on Sunday, but I decided I wanted to fix one of the new boards we put on the front deck.  On one end of the board, one of the screws did not catch the joist underneath completely which allowed the board to twist.  So I went under the house to add a board next to the joist to give me more room to put in another screw.  While I was crawling to the front deck, I saw a water leak near the front of the house.  This was in the connection for the front hose bib.  We still had some time after I fixed the porch board, so I went to Home Depot to get a new coupler (I am hoping that is the issue).  We have had one other Shark Bite coupler go bad with a small crack in the threaded brass connection.  This leak looked like it could be the same thing or else it could be that there was not enough teflon tape on the connection to the bib.  So I played it safe and got a new connector and replaced that and the tape.  We did not turn the water on before leaving, so we will see next time if I fixed the problem.  At least the deck is fixed.

While I finished this up, Laurie cleaned the floor in the great room and put down some plastic and tarps so we could roll out our vinyl before leaving (the extra precaution is necessary as the flooring needs to breath with the topside down and we have nail heads that are raised on the floor).  Due to the clearance price, we got an extra ten feet of the flooring, but we only had room to roll out what we would need for the kitchen.  We put the dog on the porch with all the stuff to take back to the valley and unrolled the vinyl, with just enough room to walk out the door.  Next week, we should have a kitchen floor.

New vinyl ready for acclimation

On the way out of town, we always like to drive the back roads past the Green Valley Park (less hectic than the main road).  As we passed the park, I noticed a large bird on top of one of the trees and some people taking pictures.  We stopped to get a better look and the large bird was a bald eagle.  One of the ladies there said the sighting is not uncommon and one time she saw it swoop down on the lake, pick up a fish and fly to some nearby hills.  Though we did not get to see it in action, it looked very majestic sitting on its high perch.

View of eagle (top of tree) from the road as we passed

Getting a better view of the eagle

Isn't that a majestic looking bird!

Stats: 1 Home Depot trip; 0 Walmart trips
Remodeling expense 1/30/12-3/25/12: $177
Remodeling expense to date: $39,298

Flooring Finally Decided (I HOPE!!!)

It was nice to get another jump on the weekend by leaving early now that Laurie works from home on Fridays.  We got the car unpacked and the house opened up well before darkness set in.  We were going to bring Matt up for his last weekend before going off to start his new job, but he decided to stay home since we did not have planned work activities.  Since he was staying home, we left our dog with him.  This allowed us to bring up the convertible (such a fun ride) and leave it in Payson while we take the Jeep back to Gilbert so that we can use it to help Matt move into his new place south of Tucson.

We were not sure if we would do any work this weekend, but after planning out all we had to do prior to our permit expiration in April, we (make that I) thought we should try to accomplish at least one thing.  However, as the day progressed, it became too late for work.  There were some things we needed in town and after a late morning start, we did not finish with our run to town until later.

We were invited by Bob (our handyman) to attend a Celtic festival in town that night to hear his girlfriend, Denise, play the violin.  She is part of the local Celtic organization and they organize this event once a quarter.  She was part of a duet and she played guitar for part of it and then violin for the rest.  She did a great job and was happy to have friends come to see her.  The rest of the evening was an interesting mix of songs and stories by various people.

On Sunday we were invited by Bob to look at some laminate flooring he had installed at another house in town.  The couple who lived there was very nice and quite happy to show off their new flooring.  They also has a solar system installed last year and took some time to share their experience and findings with us.  We were more interested for our home in the Valley since we do not use a lot of electricity in Payson.  Earlier we had noticed that we needed to add some screws to the fascia board on the front porch as it seemed to be pulling away from the decking planks.  So we added some screws, but found we needed longer ones for some spots.  After a quick run to Home Depot, we were able to finish the job.  Now the boards have a much smaller gap.

We spent quite a bit of the weekend discussing our future flooring plans.  We keep waffling between doing tile throughout the house or laminate.  Having tile installed is the most expensive option, but the one choice that should outlast other options and work while the house is a vacation home.  However, Laurie is concerned that the tile will be too noisy (doesn't absorb sound) and also too cold in the winter.  We really like the idea of using laminate and have found many styles we like, but all of them require a climate controlled setting (usually between 65-85 degrees) and during the winter we only keep the house at 45 when we are gone.  Also, we have not found any laminate that has received good reviews in the long run.  All of it looks great right after installation, but as time goes on, people find issues start to crop up.  We received an email response from one vinyl manufacturer that suggested we use a fiberglass backed vinyl (not one they sell) for our situation.  We started to look into this on our way home (our broadband connection works almost the whole trip) and found this would be a great option, esp. for our kitchen, laundry room and pantry.  It is installed as a free-floating floor and we can do the install ourselves.  It will also be easy to replace once we start living there full-time and have other flooring options available.  We may still tile the bathrooms (have decided to replace the master bath tile) and even though we were against it at first, we will do carpet in the rest of the house.  It is cheaper and warmer and will withstand the non-climate controlled winters.  We will definitely look at other options once we are living there all the time.  Hopefully this will be the last decision on this subject, but I am not holding my breath.

Stats: 2 Home Depot trips; 2 Walmart trips
Remodeling expense 1/16/12-1/29/12: $10
Remodeling expense to date: $39,121

Country Dancing and a Finished Deck

Back in November, Laurie's boss had promised her that she could start working from home.  Finally this month, due to her adoption of the "squeaky wheel gets the grease" plan, she finally got the tools she needed to work remotely.  So now on Fridays she can start work earlier and, since she does not have the long commute, we can leave the house when I get home and make it up to Payson by late afternoon.  This was our first weekend to take advantage of her new work schedule and it sure was nice getting to the house before dark.

Our goal this weekend was to finish the front porch.  With Matt's help, we came up with a solution for the last row.  Part of the plan was to remove the front fascia board and replace it with a 2x8 size of the decking planks and also to add the same decking boards over the fascia boards on the side.  In order to accomplish this, we had to return the last two 2x6 planks and get some 2x8s. 

Before we could take off to the store, we had asked Bob (the handyman who helped build our workshop) to come by and give us a quote to lay our flooring.  We talked to him at his New Year's Eve party about it and he said he has done it many times, in fact, he was doing another house in the upcoming week.  He and his girlfriend Denise stopped by to look the job over.  We had a nice time visiting with them and getting ideas for the flooring.  While we were talking, they let us know that the Oxbow Saloon on Main Street will be open now every weekend and that they were going to have a live band Saturday night.  We have always wanted to see the inside of the Oxbow (it is a historical Payson landmark), but, in the past, it has only been open for the rodeo and Halloween.  We made plans to meet them there later.

After getting our supplies at Home Depot (the long boards let us try out the new hitch extension on the Jeep - it worked great), we started on the porch.  We cut the pieces to go between the posts to make it easier than making notches in one long piece, esp. since we would have some diagonal rip cuts.  All the cuts went well and the pieces fit nice and snug into their positions.  The sides board which covered the fascia also were fairly simple to cut and install; however the front fascia board was a pain.  Due to the uneven rocks, bricks and mortar on the front, we had to chisel away some excess mortar and block as well as make many very unique rip cuts to fit the space.  It was a very long afternoon, but just as it was getting dark, we finished getting all the screws in and put the rails back up.  The deck looks really good.  We also made good use of some of the tools I got from my Mom which are now in the workshop.

Old front fascia boards removed

Trimming the ends. . .

. . .on both sides. Lots of sawdust!

Edges all nicely trimmed

Using table saw I acquired from my Mom

Making corner notches

Placing first board. . .

. . .and it is a nice, tight fit

Fits like a glove

Finished end with new fascia board and filler piece

One board done and a few to go

Chiseling out some blocks

Cleaning up the mortar around the bricks

Using table saw to rip cut a board

The completed deck left. . .

. . .and right

From the front. . .

. . .side. . .

. . .and other side

We had left the old plywood from the porch out by the dumpster in hopes someone might drive by and take it, but that did not happen.  So Matt and Laurie came up with an idea for him to make some outdoor furniture with it.  He looked through the books we had and found a couple of projects that could use the wood.  While we were dancing at the Oxbow Saloon, he drew up the plans and calculated how the boards needed to be cut.

We had a great time at the saloon and met a few of the band members and the owner.  The dance floor could use some work, but so can our dancing (Laurie blamed all our goofs on the tennis shoes we were wearing), so it was good enough to have a great time.  The band played mostly country at first and then later mixed in some classic rock for the younger crowd that showed up later. The place never got too busy, but it was only their 2nd weekend being open and they hadn't done any advertising.  By the time we left around midnight, there were just a few people still there.  We would definitely like to do this again.  We had an even better time getting to know Bob and Denise better.

Sunday brought a lazy start due to the late evening before, but we were able to get the old metal shed moved to a different part of the yard so it did not obstruct our view of the workshop. Then Matt and I spent a few hours cutting all the pieces from the plywood so we could fit it in the car.  The table saw came in very handy and we used the front workshop apron for our workspace just as we planned it.

Moved the metal shed to the side - will tear down later

Great view of the workshop

The time of day was great get some good views. . .

. . .from the apron side. . .

. . .and the window side

Cutting boards on the apron

After winterizing the place again, we were off for the Valley by mid-afternoon.  It was nice to not only accomplish some work at the house, but to also have some fun and take advantage of what Payson has to offer.

Stats: 1 Home Depot trip; 1 Walmart trip
Remodeling expense 1/3/12-1/15/12: $62
Remodeling expense to date: $39,111

A Week On My Own

With work and holiday events in the Valley, we were not able to make it back up to Payson until Christmas Day.  After a brief stop at the house, We traveled to Pinetop to have dinner with my Dad and his wife since they made the trek to Payson to have Thanksgiving dinner with us.  The roads were clear and we had a great visit and amazing meal!  We made it back to Payson in the early evening and spent the rest of the day relaxing.  It was a nice and peaceful Christmas.

Laurie and Matt had to go back to the Valley on Monday since Laurie had to be back to work on Tuesday and Matt was scheduled for a flight on Wednesday to visit his girlfriend in Ohio.  I had the week off work, due to a standard work shutdown between Christmas and New Year's, so this would be my first time at the Payson house on my own for a whole week.  Laurie has done it several times in the past year and a half, but except for one weekend, I have never had the chance.  So we had a leisurely day on Monday and went to the movies in the afternoon before they left for Gilbert.  My plans for the week were to finish the priming of the den and hall bath, get the ceilings painted with a flat white top coat, reinstall all the light fixtures and fans, and start/finish the replacement of the deck on our front patio.

Of course I started with a project which was not on my list, but which has been bugging me since day one.  The front porch gate sagged when we first bought the house and I have tightened all the screws as well as replaced some.  It has held up better since then, but was starting to sag again.  I decided to take the gate completely apart so I could fill the screw holes with a drillable putty and add some diagonal supports.  I bought a piece of redwood at Home Depot and some stain at Neumann's for my diagonal piece.  It did not match the older wood as well as I would have liked, but it does blend in well.  I got them all back together with some new screws (no leftover parts) and then hung them on the porch.  The gates look good and no longer sag.

Front porch gate all disassembled

Rebuilt gates with diagonal supports

I spent one day getting the supplies I needed from Home Depot, Walmart and Neumann's and renewing the Jeep's registration in Payson since that is where it stays most of the time.  Registering it in Payson also eliminates the need for annual emissions testing.  With all my supplies, I was finally ready to start painting.  I finished the priming of the den and hall bath on one day and then did the ceilings over two days.  Boy my arms were tired.  After putting in an especially long day painting, I had hoped to finish up the ceiling that evening, but had to leave it until the morning as I could not reach above my head anymore.  Once the ceilings were finally complete, I was able to put up all the light fixtures and smoke detectors.  By the time Laurie arrived Friday night, I had all but one ceiling fan back up.  I finished the last ceiling fan in the great room the next morning by using a support from the security screens to help keep it in place while I did the install.  Worked much better than having Laurie hold it in the air while I did all the connections.

Priming completed in the den

The den alcove

Hall bath completely primed

Lights back up in the kitchen. . .

. . .dining room. . .

. . .and pantry.

New ceiling fan for the den

New light fixture from Restore for hallway

Another Restore light fixture for the entry

Our bedroom got the same old ceiling fan

Where the guest bedroom got a new one just like the den.

Screen door support used to hold up fan in great room

This fan was new when we put it up last year.

While I was working during the week, Craig and Bob came by a couple of days to work on the shed.  They had done more work since our last visit and, now that the holidays were done and the weather was nice, they had time to finish it.  The color we got from Neumann's for the shed was perfect.  It blends well with the surrounding trees and we have decided to use the same color to paint the house when that time comes.  After the shed was completed, I rented an appliance dolly and moved all the woodworking tools and washer and dryer into it.  The great room finally has space, except for the decking lumber.

The completed workshop/shed

The workshop got full real quick. . .

. . .where the great room is mostly empty.

The last planned project was the replacement of the front porch decking.  Laurie was originally against tackling this job as she thought I should have a few days of rest during my "vacation" week. However, I was able to talk her into it after assuring her it would be an easy task (really, nothing is EVER easy with this house).  The old wood came up fairly quickly.  We were thankful that not too many of the screws had stripped heads.  The next step, laying out the flooring, was more difficult.  We were using 2x6 planks instead of plywood and Laurie wanted to try something more unique than the standard pattern of alternating short and long boards.  We tried many different plans on paper, but all of them used more lumber, had more cuts and ended up with joints in high traffic areas.  We decided to keep it simple and it still took us all afternoon to get most of it completed.  We could not finish the job as, when we got to the end, we had a bigger gap that a 2x6 would fill, plus the final row was uneven.  We decided to leave it until the next trip and then review our options.  Matt (our resident Engineer) would be with us and would hopefully have some suggestions.

New decking made with 2x6 lumber

New decking and the fixed gate.

The final day was a morning of rest followed by the trip back to the Valley.  It was a very productive week and our house is finally starting to resemble a home.

Stats: 4 Home Depot trips; 4 Walmart trips
Remodeling expense 12/18-1/2/12: $334
Remodeling expense to date: $39,049