A One Day Break

Roger here....  This will be a short post to update everyone on the progress of our work here in Pendleton, IN.  We have several things on our plate right now that we need to work through before our departure on Labor Day weekend.  


Our immediate concern is getting the small house that our daughter lived in, until her move to Florida, ready to sell.  The sooner it is ready, the more likely we can sell it before we leave.  We are hoping it can be ready in a couple of weeks.  We are definitely making progress.  

You already know about the ceiling tile fun and the yard work.  The next task was dealing with a few of the wall boards which had separated from the sheet rock behind.  I reattached the loose places with wood screws and was very pleased that they readily found purchase and pulled back to the wall.  


The next task was to recover the walls to give them a more finished look.  Dianne did some investigation, resulting in a trip to Lowe's.  She put sheetrock mud

on the walls, then rolled them with a loop brush roller to give them a textured look.  She then repainted the main room and the dining area, first with tinted drywall primer and then the finish coat.  She picked a neutral light tan color called "mushroom."  (Dianne here:  I found the idea using Google.  Here's a link to the instructions for the project that I followed:  http://www.hammerzone.com/archives/interiors/paneling/conceal.htm  When I opened the five-gallon can of mud and first scooped some up to spread on the walls, I thought to myself "Oh, my gravy, what have I gotten myself into??!!"  It took a while to get the hang of it, and was a two-day process to get both really small rooms done, but worth the effort.)

  Hours and hours (Rather, days and days.... - D) of work with a good result.  Both rooms look a lot better, and Dianne has finally been able to wash all the mud and paint from her arms, hands, and face.  (By the way, I am not trusted to do interior painting, for some reason.)


While Dianne was working on the walls, I tackled a new floor surface for the utility room.  Last summer we ripped out the old carpeting and put temporary carpet scraps over the sub floor, knowing that we would do something more permanent when we returned.  I definitely wanted a hard surface on the floor, as it is the only pathway into the house from the garage.  It now has a neat looking dimpled-rubberized surface similar to those that you see in school locker rooms.  It looks great, and I am sporting a nasty blister on my thumb from cutting the tiles.  It will heal, but Dianne's lack of sympathy is quite hurtful. (Poor Baby....) 


We faced a similar situation with the bathroom floor surface.  After ripping up the old nasty carpet (why does anyone put carpet in a bathroom?), I cut a vinyl linoleum sheet to fit the floor area.  When it is glued down, it will have the appearance of terrazzo. 


Which leads me to the reason for our one-day-break:  When I pulled the carpet remnant from the toilet area, I noticed that the sub floor was damp all the way around the toilet bowl.  Uh-Oh.  When I touched it, it felt soft.  UH-OH!  We certainly did not need another expense, but what can ya do?  It had to be fixed.  So today we are relaxing by the TV in the house while a very likable and conscientious plumber is repairing the leak and installing a new section of subfloor in the toilet area.  The good news is that the floor joists all look great.  The better news is that Dianne did not collapse with the toilet into the crawl space this past month while doing her business :-).


Our issue of the day is that we have no water until the work is done.  Normally, that would not be a problem, as we would simply use the motor home for water, showers, rest-rooming, etc.  BUT, the motor home is at Mt. Comfort RV (a business that we truly do trust) for its annual service.  We really have no access to water, and we can't leave for the day with the plumber in the house.  So, we are taking turns finding public restrooms in town - lots of fun.  Dianne visited the Village Pantry (convenience store), but felt guilty doing so.  (Dianne here:  I didn't really feel guilty, because I bought a chocolate bar, but couldn't bring myself to keep going back there time after time!)  I (Roger) found public restrooms in the park.  The neighbors must wonder why in the world we keep leaving on foot, separately, every hour or so.  Oh well, gotta get rid of the morning coffee some way.


Dianne again:  Such is the disadvantage of a one-bathroom house!  On the other hand, we mentioned before that this little house has a great location.  One aspect of that is that it is a short walk to the Village Pantry convenience store or to the park (restrooms), library, community swimming pool, and/or downtown shopping area.  This came in really handy today.


Our next blog should be more interesting.   All three couples on our camp-out have Sea Eagle inflatable kayaks, so an excursion down the Flatrock River is definitely on schedule.  Menus are being planned and anticipation is building!  Hope you all have a great Memorial Day Weekend, too.