Wednesday - 20070725-2100 - Rain - New York Rain by Arkady Nemerovsky; DIY - Lowe's - shutters; paint; DIY - Painting; asbestos shingles; faux asbestos shingle; DIY - Lowe's - sander bits for drill; plinth blocks; crevice foam; vacuum cleaning kit; trim; saw blades; DIY - Lowe's - flooring - staining vs. replacing; painting asbestos shingles; DIY - Foam; DIY - Glue and nail durability; A retreat away from the hustle and bustle of the world; Incoming Mail - Saturday 20070721 - Thusday 20070726

Rain - New York Rain Larger image

A shot from a site Arkady Nemerovsky. This image is from Older Galleries - New York I. A brilliantly-designed site. A rare combination of photos of domesticity and art scenes. I'd recommend spending some time in any of the galleries. As I glanced at some of the people, I thought I'd like to meet this person.

After my visit to Lowe's on Friday, when I discovered that their shutters were akin to giant jello molds, I decided to rethink the idea of buying new shutters. Even if money were not a constraint, I'm now skeptical of ordering from on-line, because the composition of the shutters might not be at all what I envisioned. And there is that pesky color problem. On-line color samples and text color samples are no assurance of what the color of the actual product might be. In fact, if you'll look in the fine print, you'll find a line or two to that effect.

So I looked at the current shutters again and decided the simplest, most flexible and cheapest route is to paint them. So Saturday, I traversed the aisles of Lowe's trying to understand the arcana of paint. I'd made a decision to spray rather than use a brush or a roller. With all the slats, it would take hours just to do a single shutter.

My first stop was the paint sprayer section. The least expensive sprayer was $60. But I grudgingly put in my cart anyway. Then I turned the corner and noticed cans of spray paint. Duh!!! It took me about ten seconds to return the sprayer. My color of choice is a radical departure from the yellow and white, I'm going to use a color called "Summer Squash." I'm not sure what color a summer squash is supposed to be, but this is a light tannish-yellow that I think will be a good contrast to the gray shingles.

I'd also figured out it would be easier to finish the front door by some judicious painting that trying to use wood or plastic trim. I'd carefully looked at the front door and noticed that several sections were not uniform. For example, the side of the trim might be 3/4-inches at the top, but only 1/2-inches at the bottom. I'm sure that with any door or window, you have to make sure it fits in the space and opens and closes properly, you then can worry about the trim work. Which may or may not be uniform. So out of this came the purchase of two brushes, a small (but expensive) can of white exterior latex flat paint and some painter's masking tape.

I went in thinking I want a simple can of white paint. Oh, was that good for a laugh. And I wanted two simple brushes. Haw! Haw! Haw! Nylon, camel's hair, some weird-ass synthetic fiber, hair from the tail of the rare albino snow mouse, etc.

(Out Saturday 20070721 - 1332: $52.50 - Bank Debit Card)

I finished the front door on Saturday and Sunday. The paint was very easy to use, and was just the right color and consistency. The most remarkable aspect is how easy it is to clean up any over painting, even on asbestos shingles. And all it takes to wash the brushes is soap and water.

But there was the little problem of the trim around the back/carport door that has not been touched since the door was installed. I attacked that Monday. And again, it was relatively easy to accomplish. However, the trim here is the original wood, so the finish is not as nice as the front which is all new. There were marks from hinges of a screen door and the bolts for a hand rail.

Something odd that I've noticed before was a metal plate over about eight-inches of the threshold. And the six-inch high section between the threshold and the step seemed haphazardly attached. As I examined it, I discovered it was not a shingle but a thin piece of wood painted the same color. So I removed it. Underneath, I found that the shingle had cracked in several places and had been re-attached with duct tape.

This most definitely gave me pause. I've heard far too much about the hazards of asbestos in old shingles. Fortunately, I had on a high-quality breathing mask and heavy gloves. So I very carefully removed all the broken pieces, wrapped them in duct tape about three times, placed them in a garbage bag, and wrapped it with tape and then repeated the process. By the way, underneath was the original light green clapboard. This is my first time to see this much of it. I suppose one of the great mysteries will be why asbestos shingles were added. Well, I guess it was a fad in the late 50s. Sorta like fifteen years ago, it was a fad to add vinyl siding. Is there a comparable fad today?

Next, I went after the piece of metal. Hammer and chisel proved useless. So I moved up to the reciprocating saw and after what seemed like a lot of work was able to remove the covering.

Today, I sought out a sander I can add to my drill to even out the threshold. And I found two I'll try. At one point, these were rounded piece of metal covered with sandpaper, but the new ones are like steel-bristle brushes.

After much searching I found trim that was exactly three-inches wide, that way I can use two of them to cover the space. By accident I also found two undecorated plinth blocks which will give the ends a finished look. Oh, I also picked up a can of foam. There are a couple of places underneath the front door that are open to the elements. And there is a 1/2-inch gap between the bottom of the clapboard and the step on the carport.

While I was there, I also bought a micro cleaning kit that you can attach to your vacuum. I spent about an hour Monday, trying to remove lint from the dryer that somehow had bypassed the filter and was building up underneath between the outside and inner metal sections. I definitely don't understand how this can happen. There must be some tiny crevices around the filter that allows the lint to slip by. The cleaning kit looks ideal for such a situation.

Actually the first item I picked up was two blades for the reciprocating saw. I only had one new one left, and two old ones.

Among my last several visits to Lowe's I've looked at the options for dealing with the flooring. Saturday, I asked about staining and was told for a new stain to adhere, it would be necessary to remove the old stain which means sanding. Yuck! Although a home-owner can tackle such a task, I'm not sure I'd want to try. Also I discovered that some floors are not sandable or worth being sanded. And if you use decide on certain finishes, the fumes may make the house unbearable for several days. Well, that certainly made me feel all warm and fuzzy.

I'd glanced at the selection of replacement floors and after looking through the brochures, I realized that some of these and interlocking and do not require glue or nails. I can see how this would work on the flat surfaces with toe molding at the edges. But I've noticed that none of the door corners have molding. But it may be possible to buy these. I'm not sure how the shaping will work. (I looked at this again, on Thursday, and I'm lost at to what you do.)

Yesterday, I asked about painting asbestos shingles. Oh, me. Oh, my. None of the regular paints will stay, you need a special paint akin to roofing paint.

But in looking on the web, there are several recommendations to "paint the siding with a latex masonry primer and high-quality latex paint."

Well, I'm not planning on doing it in the next couple of days, so at least I have some options.

I decided to work on the section of wall under the car port door this afternoon (Thursday). First, I wanted to fill the cavity between the bottom of the wood and the step, so I gently squirted in some foam. And quickly scrapped off the excess. But ten minutes later, it was oozing out again. And I think this happened two more times.

When I lived on Woodbury, I made the mistake of using it around a window air conditioner. It oozed and slithered and extruded like something from a bad sci fi movie. And the one and only thing that will get rid of it is acetone. And that's only within the first 30 minutes or so.

I glued the left plinth block into place; the backing there was a solid piece of asbestos shingle. As I looked at the right, I realized that the area where it would go was part shingle and part underlying clapboard, so it would be uneven. I dug around in the trash and found the faux shingle composed of thin wood. Fortunately, it was exactly the depth of the shingle. So I figured I'd just nail it in place.

Now a new problem arose, one that I'd partially noticed while working on the front door. Just because you have a nail, does not mean it is suitable for all surfaces. I had a batch of 1.5-inch white nails, which I was planning on nailing through the faux shingle into the clapboard. But the second one hit the clapboard, it would bend. Which tells me that I should have used a larger nail or a more "durable" nail. So the next time I go looking for nails, I need to figure out the "durability" factor.

So I resorted to using the smallest drill bit and drilling a starter hole into the clapboard. That does the trick but is a lot more work.

Friday, I'll install the second plinth and then the horizontal trim.

Since I'm on the subject of home repair, I'll mention the following, although I doubt if they fall in the "fixer-upper" category.

If you need the perfect little hide-away, then try the Hala Ranch in Aspen, Colorado, currently owned by Prince Bandar bin Sultan bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud". The asking price is a mere $135,000,000 USD.

Believe it or not, this is not the most expensive home for sale in the US. The most expensive is a home formerly belonging to newspaper tycoon William Randolph Hearst at $165,000,000 USD. See BBC News - 'Most expensive' US home on sale.

Saturday 20070721
August, 2007 issue of "Wired" (keep); solicitation Deuce McAllister Nissan (junk)

Sunday 20070722
None

Monday 20070723
Monthly bill from State Farm for house and car insurance ($104.18) (keep); July 23, 2007 issue of "The New Yorker" (keep)

Tuesday 20070724
State and School Employees' Health Insurance Plan - Explanation of Benefits (07/20/07) (keep); solicitation Howard Wilson Mazda Used Cars (junk); solicitation Regions CheckCarddrsetrgf Rewards (keep); Smart Market (Mail South) Advertisement Package (junk)

Wednesday 20070725
None

Thursday 200707026 AT&T statement ($75.50) (keep); solicitation Capital One (junk); State Farm solicitation (junk); project starter discount cards from Lowe's (keep)

(In Wednesday - 20070725-2100 / Out Thursday - 20070726-2100) This entry was written in multiple settings.