What Next

After several days of entertaining guests it was time for us to go on our own little vacation.  I can't remember the last time we spent a full week away from the house, and I never thought a motel-efficiency could be so relaxing.  The break was well-deserved.  Amazingly, though, all the tasks that I left behind were waiting for me when I returned.

Much of the summer was spent getting some essential jobs done so that we could provide a comfortable stop for traveling friends.  Now that those essentials are in place (2 functioning baths and guest rooms) I need to decide on the next step in the project.  Which road do I take.

The upstairs bathroom, though functioning, still needs wainscoting installed in one corner and the door needs to be trimmed-out as well.  There are several electrical tasks that need completing (vanity light and radiant floor mat) and the bathtub needs to get painted and installed.  It would be nice to finish that job before getting started on something else.  Throughout the project I've completed a lot of jobs to the point of "good enough for now" as the demands of daily life dictate what comes next.  A few more days on the upstairs bath and I'd be able to call it done.

But another large job has been nagging me for a while.  The sill under the front door is rotted and needs to be repaired.  This job will require removing some of the cement asbestos shingles that were added as siding to the house sometime in the '50s.  Once I've done that I'll no doubt discover a whole lot work that needs to be done to the sills and siding underneath.

Another exterior job that needs getting to is putting new shingles on the ell where the asbestos siding was removed to install a new window.  This part of the house has been an eyesore so long that I've almost forgotten that it hurts.

The two exterior jobs require decent weather, and the months of September and October are nearly perfect for doing work around here. If I spend too long mucking about with the upstairs bath, that window of good weather will be closed.

And then there's the ceiling in the living room with its lovely exposed plumbing, and the kitchen counters of 3/4 inch plywood that contain a 2 year history of crumbs embedded in the rough surface, the window casings and baseboards downstairs.  There is much to do between now and the next vacation...

handyman