Task #5 - New Air Conditioner

The good folks at Four Seasons Heating and Air Conditioning came out and installed a new Lennox Air Conditioner/Coil for the basement and 1st floor. We already had a roof AC for the top floor. We went with them because they were a large company, promised 2 hour response time for service calls 24/7/365, were relatively cheap, and provided an additional +4 years on the manufacturer's warranty (parts/labor) for a grand total of 14 years.

This didn't require us to do anything other than hanging out at the house for 14 hours as they did the work.

Before - pile of rubbish



After - working AC



And the New Evaporator coil attached to the existing furnace

Task #4 - Ripping out the Carpet

Next up, ripping out some carpet. We had nasty carpet in bedroom #2, bedroom #3 and in the master closet. We hoped that there was some beautiful pine under the floors that can be refinished. What we found... well, you'll see.

Below is Bedroom #2 Before, during, and after decarpeting. What you can't see in these pictures is the smell and it's not particularly good.



We tried to take out the subfloor, but it proved to be a much more formidable opponent than the carpet. 100 rusted 2 inch long wood screws per board, tongue and groove connections, and asbestos glue = not much progress. I guess we'll leave that to the professionals.



All I could do was stab it with my flathead screwdriver in frustration to expose a 1 inch diameter hole. Is that pine underneath? I guess we'll find out later.



Here is Bedroom #3 Before and After






Master Bedroom Closet Before and After



Yep, you're right. That is asbestos tile with asbestos glue. Another subfloor for the professionals to take on.

Task #3 - Installing a Mailbox

Next up was installing a mailbox on the fence. This wasn't a task that I had originally envisioned doing, especially considering that we have a mail slot in our front door. However, as I was cleaning up debris in the front yard, the mail lady walked by and ALTERED HISTORY FOREVER. She asked me to install the mailbox to make things easier for her. The subtext behind her request was "I don't like walking up those damn stairs to your house and I'd rather throw your mail away than have to do that every day, mmmm hhhhhmmm." I like receiving my mail, so I kindly obliged her.

Below is a picture of my fence (and door with mailslot) before...



Here's the mailbox I got from Lowe's Hardware for the not so Low price of $65




Here's my quality installation which consists of some screws/bolts and a metal bar with holes in it....


And here's the final product...




I haven't gotten a thank you from the mail lady yet... but then again.. every day that I receive my mail.... I feel like that is thanks enough.

Task #2 - Rig Fix for Downspout

A broken downspout has caused $$$$$ of damage along the back side of the house. Fixing this is top priority. We're currently accepting bids from masons to repair and replace the brick, but for the time being we need the downspout addressed so it doesn't cause any more damage.

See the following pictures which show the missing section of the downspout and the water damage it has caused.

As it rains, the inside of the house is like a waterfall.



Here is a closeup of the damage. I love the moss layer on the outside. Was this the previous owner's attempt to "go green". Does the government offer tax rebates for that?




That's quality masonry there!



This is a picture of the finished rig work. I've added myself as a stick figure to illustrate how I addressed this issue. I almost died, but it was worth saving $50 on having a professional do a superior job.

Task #1 - Replacing the Locks

Task #1 - replacing all of the locks. I guess the previous owner of the house forgot to hand over his set of keys as he was being escorted off of the property by the "Man".

It was rather unceremonious when we closed on the house and received not a set of keys but a combination to a keybox which contained a single masterlock key to the padlocked front door. Also, the listing company wants their combination keybox back. :(

New deadbolts and entry locks were needed in the front main entrance, front basement entrance, back entrance, and garage. Some of the doors were difficult to get open because they were glued shut or had non-opening locks that had to be drilled out. The garage was a real pain the the arse since it was locked from the inside. I tried drilling out the lock but it was a higher quality Schlage lock that just ate through my drill bit. To get in, I had to unscrew panels from the side from a poor repair job and jump through the hole like a ninja.

Attached is a picture of the broken/replaced locks. I plan on turning these into x-mas ornaments next year.