2020: Review and Resolution

 OMG! Where does one even start with the year 2020? 

THE GOOD STUFF:

BYE-DON! Dump lost; Biden won. I can't even explain what a relief this is. And we have a woman vice president. It's about time.  I can now go back to not stressing about politics and feel confident that adults will be back in charge very soon!

FREEBIES. I wrote a recent post on my hoarding. It's such a joy and practically the only public entertainment I have lately. Most recently I acquired a blender. It was ugly, formerly white, covered in old black and brown dried food. Nasty. Scary nasty. I brought it home and plugged it into an outlet outside. That's how scared I was! It worked. I kept my mask on, wore gloves, carefully carried it to the kitchen sink and with all kinds of tools (tweezers, Q-tips, scrubber pads, soap, rubbing alcohol...) worked on it for two hours. It now looks like new. SCORE! Love it. I wish I would have taken a "before" photo, but I was afraid of contamination!

FORCED SECLUSION. I love it! I love it that we are expected to stay in our houses and people aren't wandering around wearing their stink and poisoning everyone as much as they used to. I love there isn't as much air pollution. I love it the animals want to come out in the open since humans have disappeared. I love I no longer feel like a weirdo secluded in my house when everyone else is free and bragging about how free they are all the time. I love the camaraderie of everyone's misery.

EMPLOYMENT. I'm still employed. In the spring when this pandemic started a lot of people didn't know what to do and many were told to go home and isolate which shut down a lot of businesses. This caused me to be on a lengthy staycation since no one was hiring me never mind I work from home and could very easily have kept working. Thankfully the people I work for figured it out, learned to work from home, and never went back to the office! Work is slow and I've lost money, but so thankful I'm still employed when some people aren't and have run out of options.

PAINTING. Or pandemic peace of mind. Or happiness. Or sanity. I've painted rocks, lamps, floors, rooms, bulletin boards, paintings, tables, switch plates...if it has a surface, it's calling for some paint on it.

CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS. I got a lot done this year: fixed my fence, replaced deck boards, and stripped and refinished my living room floor. At times finding supplies was a challenge with manufacturing slowing during the pandemic and finding the energy or know-how to do the work, but I persevered and got things done! The living room remodel inspired me to clean other rooms, reorganize shelves and closets and do a basic make-over. Then I painted my office. Next maybe the kitchen. One room at a time....

I seriously love this room now!

GARDENING. I downsized and cleaned the whole garden and added bark to the walks. Beautiful. It makes me feel happy and content, first, because it's nice to look at and second because there is so much less work now.

 

CHRISTMAS CARDS. Last year a friend sent me a recycled Christmas card she made. OMG! What a brilliant idea!  I love finding new art projects and I went a little crazy. I send maybe ten cards to friends and a few to my favorite businesses...sometimes...when I'm motivated, but I made about forty cards most of them snarky since that's the kind of Christmas card I like and can never find. Many were political since this is an election year. I ended up participating in an online art show, although that wasn't a great experience, it was still time-consuming and a distraction from the world around me while it gave me a voice to rant my complaints about society.

GLASS MOSAICS. I was determined to use up my supply of glass and the last of my large frames so I could STOP doing glass mosaics. Although I do enjoy it, it's a very expensive art form and dangerous. I got tired of my hands cut up and infected. I felt very productive and proud to accomplish so many with so little supplies!

Immersion

Life is Not the Beach

Male Privilege

Season's of Love: The Fall

TILE MOSAICS. I have been collecting free, brightly colored plates all year. I wasn't really sure why. I loved the colors, but had no idea what I would do with them. Then all of a sudden I was compelled to take a hammer and break them! Doing glass mosaics made me curious about tile mosaics, or, in this case, creating decorative frames from broken dishes. This is free glass so cuts down on cost and the edges are not so sharp so less dangerous. Pulverizing dishes with a hammer is exceptional for stress relief. I also needed some new, different and colorful wall hangings for my newly painted and colorful rooms. I was tired of painting. Not sure if I'm excited about this new media yet, but it was experimentally fun.

NEW STOVE! I waited fifteen years to get rid of the mismatched, rat-infested stove/oven that came with the house when I bought it. It lasted a good amount of time before it started having problems...during a pandemic. I waited for the universe to send me a free one, and I actually was offered a free, used one but it was too old and I didn't feel comfortable. I was told the old ones are energy suckers, and, of course, if it dies having it hauled away would cost. Many of the big-box hardware stores' products were back ordered to next summer, but I found this outstanding small, mom-and-pop appliance store that had exactly what I wanted. The customer service was outstanding, the FREE delivery was outstanding, and the FREE haul-away-the junk was outstanding. What an outstanding experience. So rare these days! Merry Christmas to me!

FRAGRANCE-FREE FRIENDS: I am so thankful for my friends. One drove hours to deliver food to me when I was sick. Another drove hours to visit. Another bought art from me which helped my finances. I so appreciate their online conversations, support, and constant advice when I am in need. Thank you!

LIFE!!!!!!!! I AM ALIVE!

THE IN BETWEEN STUFF:

CONSTRUCTION WORKERS. I started running out of time and energy and hired two sleazy, lying workers to help remove and replace fence posts. What a waste of money! I know better, but I was worried I wasn't going to get it done and the fallen down fence repair was a priority. They did save me a lot of time and effort, but the expense was outrageous. Such a waste of money.

THE BAD STUFF:

THE PANDEMIC. Duh. It goes without saying. It's affected everyone on the planet and most would say this is the worst year in their lives. Even if we haven't experienced death or near-death illness first-hand, we are surrounded by it. The stress has infiltrated every facet of our existence. People are on edge either fighting to stay safe or fighting for their perceived personal rights. We are at each other's throats. We are inconvenienced in every way. Our health is constantly on the line as access to medical care is limited since all resources have gone to fighting this pandemic. Grocery shopping is a pain in the ass. Supplies are inaccessible. Going out in public is risky. Lack of income is affecting our ability to pay bills. This is all common knowledge by now. I had the coronavirus in the spring and continue to experience side effects that may or may not be serious, but thankful to be alive. My income suffered, but not nearly as much as others who have lost their jobs and/or homes. I'm so tired of the whiners complaining about how many parties and family functions they can't attend or how bored and lonely they are as if they aren't complaining about my normal chemically sensitive lifestyle. (Damn, I miss concerts!)

COVIDIOTS. For instance, my neighbors who send their grandkids to play outside my house during a pandemic. REALLY? A friend of mine went to a big family wedding and then had a big family Christmas gathering. People are tired and have stopped caring which also makes them apathetic to everyone around them. We live in a very self-serving world. I could list a million examples of the stupid, but more than likely you've seen them in the news or in your own neighborhoods.

DUMP. That incompetent, foolish, fake president needs to go away and his silly, unprofessional, immature, sociopathic antics need to go with him. Take all the white supremacists and treasonous GOP, too. His entitled family and rich cronies need to vanish. May they all disappear. I'm so tired of looking at his face or seeing constant complaints about him. Really tired of his ignorant, racist followers.

THE WAR. Yellow jackets, mice, rats, ants. Good lord. It's never-ending!

So...the year has sucked, BUT honestly, I look at this list and it's been a really good year for me!

New Year's Resolution....Simple....Just survive.

Self-Reliance

It's home improvement season! I have a whole list of projects that need to get done. I intend to do most of them myself, but there are a two that give me pause. The first involves cutting a hole in my roof. I'm not excited about that.

The second is replacing a rotten fence post, the one that supports the gate. This is the same thirty-year old fence I repair every year. I know how difficult it is with the rotten wood, rusty screws, rusty nails and huge, heavy plugs of cement. This is the gate post. I'm sure they used a huge amount of cement to stabilize it. Will I be able to get that plug out of the hole? And then pouring cement and cutting the post to size which I can't do because I don't have the proper tools. Hmmm.

I received a recommendation for a new construction worker in the area. He's supposed to be knowledgeable and honest. That's rare. I email him and of course he's very busy with the summer projects of others. We confirm a date for a quote and I make it really clear not to wear perfumes, colognes or scented products. The date gets postponed several times. I'm feeling impatient, but not only do I want the quote, but I want his advice especially on the roof.

Just as I'm about to give up on him, he shows. He's very nice and professional. His wife is with him and she is also very nice. I smell something on him (not her), but truthfully, I'm excited to find a new construction worker so I go into denial. He won't be in the house.  Maybe I can just avoid him?

He quotes both projects, each will take one hour plus supplies and he comes up with about $100 for each. Hmmm...OK. I get a whiff of his stink again. I can't identify it. I ignore it. I announce I'm excited.

His wife says, "Are you excited about the price? You think it's a good price?"

I clarify, "I'm excited to get things done."

As I wait to hear from him, I stress out. He stunk. I had migraines all night. It could have been worse, but that's bad enough. I make it a practice not to give money to stinky people. I don't really want to hire him, but I don't want to do these things myself. Maybe he'll be too busy to get back to me?

A day or two later he emails me his written quote...$150.00 for the roof and $200.00 for the post and he forgot the cost of the 4x4 post in the quote so add on $20.00 for $220. WHAT THE HELL!!? No way am I paying that much! Did the wife think I would be happy to spend extra? I have hired handymen to replace posts in the past and at the most it costs $50.00. I was willing to pay $100 for quality work, but now even that sounds too expensive.

Today I got working on the fence post. As expected, rusty screws that kept breaking, nails that wouldn't budge. Then I get to the cement plug and dig and dig and dig. Yep, it's twice as big as any I've seen and more importantly, I've lost my thingy-majiggy. You know that big metal thing I use to cantilever heavy things. I have no idea where it is or what I did with it. How do I get this monster cement plug out of that hole without it? I think. I tried a few other things, a broom handle, a small crowbar, then I found a metal pipe which allowed me to move the plug back and forth in the hole a little. I watched a few online videos with men and their man tools doing fancy removals, but I don't have the fancy man tools. Heck, I don't even have my thingy-majiggy!

I go out to the hole and ponder. I move the cement back and forth, thinking, thinking, thinking. I can do this, but how? And then an idea comes to me...if I can refill the hole from the bottom up which might push the cement plug up higher and higher, maybe I can get it high enough and just roll it out?

I can't believe that worked! I actually did a happy dance.

I'm using that cement plug as a sentry-sculpture outside my gate. I can't move it anywhere else. I should go find the other plug I left in the bushes last year,  roll it over, put it on the opposite side of the steps and call it art. LOL!

SO BEAUTIFUL! And so tall!
I don't have tools to cut it so it'll stay tall.
I'll put a bird house on it.

So I just saved myself $200.00!!  Next is the roof...I can do this!!! Who needs a construction worker? Useless people....

Mother Nature and Monsoons

I love monsoon weather with the rain beating so hard on your house you can barely hear yourself think. I feel safe inside knowing I've worked to keep this house rain-proof and construction-sound to weather nearly anything Mother Nature throws this way. About six years ago we had a storm with 123 mile per hour winds. My 93 year old fortress stood strong.

I like it less when it all creates more construction work and expense for me:

My poor, poor newly stained fence bit the dust...what you can't see is the rest of the fence flapping in the wind. It's very disturbing. I feel like the perimeter is breached and my security compromised. Sigh. I do remember laughing to myself when I was staining it and noticing all the rot that at least when it collapses it'll look good. It does look good - even horizontal!! My newly painted porch is soaked, still lovely, and no longer slippery. Painting it was a good plan.

The Winter War is here. It's a never-ending battle. I can't wait until summer.

Got DOORS?

Junk yard score!  I delivered tasty treats to the junk man today and FINALLY found suitable house parts! Two outside doors in very good shape and in a pretty Christmas red!

Left side: front door...Right side: back door!

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ME!

I CAN'T WAIT UNTIL WINTER!

Office Heater!

I got heat!!!!

Heater boys came today to install cadet wall heaters in my house. They arrived right on time which is shocking and amazing. They were pleasant, personable, and patient as I asked them one hundred questions and reviewed every torment I've experienced in the last year as I was shopping for heat.

Both of them have ductless heat pump heaters in their homes and both almost talked me out of the cadet wall heaters as they spend most of their time REMOVING cadets so the people can replace them with ductless. Great. This is what I don't need at the last minute. So I asked the same questions I've asked many others for months: If ductless is so great, why don't they heat the whole house? Why is it my neighbor paid $5,000 and STILL has sheets hanging to close off the rooms so she can get one room warm enough for comfort. Their only explanation was that maybe some old houses don't have good insulation so the very expensive ductless can't heat the whole house. OK. But that's not good enough. If I pay $5,000, it damn well better heat the whole house and no one can guarantee it will. No one can guarantee the fungicides they use to control the mold won't make me ill. No one can guarantee the nitrogen gas they use to pump the ductless heat pump won't make me ill. No one can guarantee anything. And then there is the issue of heater guys not showing up or giving me astronomical quotes and insinuating I'm asking too many questions. These wall heaters seem to be my only option. My only safe option.



Living Room Heater!

Then I asked about the efficiency of these cadets. Well, they aren't as efficient as a ductless (and they aren't nearly as expensive) and my heating bills will be higher. OK. How high? He tried giving me a formula for cost but he couldn't remember it exactly. I'm imagining bills as high as $400 -500 a month. So I said, "My two neighbors use cadets and Eden Pure heaters and their monthly bill at the peak of winter is only $200." He says, "Oh, no, it won't be as high as $200." OK. Good enough for me. I'm sold.

Of course, they only have the cheaper models although I clearly said on numerous occasions I wanted the more expensive and hopefully more durable heaters like the ones I have upstairs. Damn. I wait a year to get some heat and now I'm going to cancel it all? I probably should have, but they said they install these a lot, no one complains and these are the latest models. What the hell. He looks at the ones I have upstairs and tells me they are the same wattage. My impatience always gets me in trouble and it all makes me tired which makes me compliant. He offered to install only one to see how I like it first, but in a flash I visualized these guys never coming back and me freezing my ass off and my pipes freezing. No. I've pondered and tormented myself for a year on this. I've read consumer reports and online comments. These heaters are fine. Just do it.


Kitchen Heater!

In addition to the living room heater, the office heater, and the kitchen heater, I also added a bathroom heater, new outlet, new light fixture and removed the old, ugly baseboard heater that's near the front door (the spiders use it for a hotel). Major electrical rehaul!

I feel so satisfied. Calm. Clean. Organized. Like everything is right in the world. All my major projects are done in the house. The creepy ducts, heat pump and furnace are gone. The register holes are covered and sealed. The closets are finished. It feels so right.

I have heat! Every now and then as I walk in and out of rooms, I turn one on even though it's the middle of summer. Jeez, it's hot right away so when I come in from the cold I can stand in front of it and warm up immediately. I think these will be great. If not, I guess I'll have to rethink the plan later on. For now I will swim in the goodness of it all.

I CAN'T WAIT FOR WINTER!!!! BRING ON THE FREEZE! I'LL BE SO WARM AND TOASTY IN DECEMBER!

 

 



This is what old-style construction looks like. This is what they used instead of sheetrock. Little 1 x 1/2 boards sealed together with what looks and feels (and cuts) like cement, but what was used as plaster. The electrician had to cut through two of these to get through a wall. Very interesting. This proves my house is damn near indestructible!

Descent into [My Personal] Hell

It's really difficult to summon the courage to crawl under the house when looking at the hole:

 

 

At least someone thought to wire lights down there which helps, but not a lot.

 

 

What you can't see is the smell and it seems to smell worse this year. Like dead, mildew-ish air. Rotting things. I know it was stuffy last year, but I don't remember it smelling this bad. Maybe this is from plugging up all the holes? Although there are still ventilation openings all around the crawlspace, it definitely doesn't get as much air flow as before. Hmmmm....

I donned my homemade bio-hazard suit and ventured forth with my bucket of tools crawling through spider webs, over rat shit while fighting with fiberglass insulation. Detaching the ducts wasn't easy. Whoever attached them did a great job so I needed a variety of tools to cut through wire, remove nails and splice tape.

In the end I removed a lot of duct work and insulation:

I took it all to the dump.

I had hoped to remove the furnace, too, but I didn't have a clue where to start and I worried about how heavy it was or the elaborate electrical system. Then someone warned me about the Freon they use to pump the heat and how I will need to drain it first because if it's left under the house it could offgas and become very toxic. Oh great. So now I need to figure out how to find and hire someone qualified to remove it and quickly before the rats figure out I left all those holes in the furnace and decide to crawl up into my walls. I also still need to figure out how to move the metal parts under the registers and patch up the holes in the floor.

Welcome to my personal hell...this is not fun.

Closet Remodel: Let the Summer Projects Begin! (Part 1)

I have a list of projects I want to do this year: new heating, removing old heating, re-roof my garden shed, build a cement step, and line my closets. These are the extracurricular activities that keep me sane while living isolated in the middle of no where. My plans began weeks ago. Unfortunately it was in the middle of unloading supplies when I stopped to swing at bees and slammed my foot into the cement. Projects were delayed while the foot healed. I'm now ready to go!

This year the theme of my summer construction is: "Practice for a Tiny House." I figured since I'm not quite ready to start building a tiny house as I have no land to put it on, I'd learn some of the skills I'll need to know on my current house. I've often said this is my "practice house" and I've done some major screw-ups all in the name of learning.

 

I have two unlined hall closets at the stair landing on the upstairs level outside the bedrooms.

Right side.

 



Left side.



"Cantaloupe" (right side)



"Mango" (left side)

Yes, that slanted ceiling is the roof line and each closet has one side that is an exterior house side. Someone told me these closets were probably used for cold storage in the old days. I believe that. In the winter they are damn cold! I've never used them for anything so it would be nice to make them usable. And pretty.

When I first moved here both were lined with raw, formaldehyde-soaked, toxic fiberglass insulation although someone forgot to enclose it all with walls. I couldn't stand the thought of something so toxic so close to my sleeping area so I ripped it all out. I'm pretty sure throughout the years much of my winter heat has escaped through these closets. The floor insulation is still showing and anytime I go into the space my lungs and sinuses start hurting.

The second step was to use caulking and plug up the holes in the wood. Yep, you could see outside through the holes! They weren't big, but big enough for a bee, hornet, or spider to get through. (I can't even imagine what the rest of the house looks like!) The great thing about these old houses is they are built with good, solid, beautiful, un-treated wood. Another awesome thing about old houses is they breathe. They breathe because they aren't sealed up tight like new construction and that also makes the indoor air quality less toxic. Unfortunately, the breathability also means they lose heat and allow in all kinds of critters not to mention rain and weather. (Untreated wood means they are susceptible to house-eating bug infestations, but let's not talk about that and I'll continue to keep an eye on everything!)

My plan is to line the walls with insulation and cover it with paneling so there are real walls. Constructing walls is something I'll need to do with a tiny house so this will be good practice. I also plan to add lights to these closets. Learning electricity will be a huge challenge, but filled with enormous benefit. If I get electrically comfortable, I'll replace my own heating and not have to rely on electricians and heating guys who just don't bother showing up! I'm ready to do this! I am BRAVE!

So let's get started...

Someone on Freecycle gave me a half roll of free roofing felt/tar paper to line the walls (and to use on the garden shed roof). The cavities are all unevenly measured, something you might not find in a newly constructed house. Most houses these days are 16 on center so the 2 x 4 studs are spaced 16 inches a part. Tiny houses use 24 on center to reduce the weight of too much wood. The wall cavities in my closets are 12 inches, 14 inches, 14 1/2 inches, 15 inches, 22 inches, etc. Weirdness. Makes it really difficult to measure as there is no consistency.

Next step, add insulation. I've been reading a lot on different types of insulation. There are concerns when packing walls, floors and ceilings with filler: fire, mold, bugs, and chemical toxicity. Here are the types of insulation I've found so far and some of their properties:

Fiberglass with Formaldehyde  This stuff is as toxic as it comes, even cancer causing, but really cheap which is why it's so popular. It's also easy to install and has a ready-made plastic vapor barrier. I hate plastic. I will avoid this type of insulation.

Fiberglass without Formaldehyde This stuff is half as toxic, but I still don't want to breathe fiberglass particles. I had enough problems with my fiberglass-constructed heating system.

Cellulose Blow-in  Cellulose is made from recycled newspaper, cardboard, cotton, straw, sawdust or hemp. Yes, it's a natural product which makes it a huge fire hazard so to compensate it is treated with toxic ammonium sulfate. It also will slump in a wall cavity and mold, but I've heard it's good for flooring insulation, aside from the toxicity. It's normally blown-in so you have to own or rent a blower.

Denim This isn't recycled blue jeans that have been worn for years by people; it's denim remnants, or left over pieces of fabric from clothing manufacturers then treated with borates for fire and pest protection. I was really excited about this when I first heard. Who doesn't want to recycle? Unfortunately, I couldn't find a store that has it in stock as it must be specially ordered. What a pain. I got online and ordered a free sample swatch from a company. Then I was reading the blog of a chemically-sensitive tiny house builder who said after using this insulation she became sensitive to cotton. I've known people to be allergic to cotton, but everytime I hear of someone who says they've "become sensitive", it's usually because the cotton has been treated with chemicals rather than the cotton itself. Like my "organic" sheets. "Blue" jean material is dyed with some really nasty chemicals and then saturated, like most new clothing, with formaldehyde and other mildew resistant chemicals. This jean material wasn't well-worn and washed multiple times allowing lots of time for offgasing. It's brand new. Who knows what else they are doing to it once it's mushed up into insulation. Hmmm...I wondered about this. The sample arrived a month later. It has a nice feel and I stuck my nose into it. No strong smell, but it did give me a "ugh" feel. I also read denim insulation slumps and can have mold/mildew issues due to its weight. Tiny houses due to their small interior spaces can have condensation issues which can result in mildew/mold. It's also only 2 inches thick and most cavities are 3 - 4 inches so it doesn't seem very effective. It also comes in strange widths and some have complained trying to cut it and install it is a nightmare.

Wool  Wool is fire resistant, bug resistant, and mold/water resistant, but unfortunately it's really expensive. As high as ten times more than anything else. One company sells it for $35 - $59 (depending on the thickness) for one batt (about 12" x 22"). I think wool would be great if you had access to sheep and could get it free. I don't know if wool slumps nor if it's as effective as other types of insulation. Cob house people love using wool and it's natural.

 

Stone Wool  As I'm shopping the hardware stores, I came across Roxul Insulation. It's stone wool, or spun rock (?) with added recycled material although the type of recycled material is not listed. It's fire resistant, bug resistant, water repellent, and "planet-friendly" with certification for indoor air quality. They advertise its use for hospitals and baby rooms for noise resistance and low toxicity which caught my eye as well as having a fairly high insulating efficiency. The salesperson told me it was brand new in the store which accounts for why I've never seen it. It's also three inches thick. Great marketing campaign. Look at that sweet baby! Someone knows how to sell! So I get online to research what they might not want me to know. They use formaldehyde in the adhesives, but only 5-6% and the company claims it's is offgassed in the heating process. Right away I'm leery, but this product seems to be the most hopeful and I feel adventurous. It's about the same price as the pain-in-the-ass denim, but it's right in front of me so I don't have to special order it and of course, it's the same price as the wool insulation only I get 11 more batts! I come to the conclusion there is no perfect insulation and I'm working on these closets as an experiment so why not be brave and make some discoveries? If it all goes wrong I could rip it out and give it to someone else. I buy one bundle which is twelve 47" x 15" batts. I'm told by the salesperson to cut it with a bread knife as using an exacto knife would mangle it. Hmmm...OK. Weird, but in a cool way. I wore a mask and gloves because it still has an itchy, creepy feel. Cuts like butter, easy to install, and no smell at all! In fact, prior to its installation, being in the closet with the floor insulation made my lungs hurt, but once I got this stone wool insulation up, I didn't seem to have as much of a problem, but it still bothers me. We'll see once I get the walls up if it affects the air quality.

I pretty much gave up on getting a denim insulation sample so I bought the Roxul before it came. Here are the stone wool and denim side by side for comparison:

The denim is so much softer than the stone wool, not as scratchy and oily feeling, but it doesn't feel as strong or rigid. It's like cotton balls. Hmmm...I like it, but would it really work inside a wall? It seems to have sagging potential which I wouldn't like. The smell isn't strong, but this is a fairly small piece.

It looks like they are the same thickness, but the stone wool on is more compressed. It tends to expand more once out of the package. The denim is light and airy...like a big cotton ball. I wouldn't think it would be as efficient as the stone wool. I do like the idea it's recycled material, though.




Here is the stone wool insulation cut to perfect size and fitting snuggly. It even stands in place by itself and that makes it easier to install. I think the denim would be sagging all over making it harder to install. I think the stone wool was a good choice.

Then I had to consider what kind of wood for the lining. I didn't want anything that was treated or smelled. Everyone suggested cedar because it smells good and because of this popular for closets. Cedar is also fairly bug resistant, but I don't want smelly stuff. Cedar is also more expensive. Not only that I want to paint these closets to match the rest of the house which would negate the cedar-y smell. For a tiny house, I'd probably use knotty pine, but since these are closets I got the knotty pine panels which are a little thinner, but still wood. They are untreated and smell good to me, like wood.

Pine is so pretty! And this is without paint.

Thinner panels are cheaper, too, and cheaper means less quality, but I'm experimenting. For the second closet, I might be getting old tongue and groove oak flooring from a remodel job which I'm really excited about. I'll have to sand it down, but it's free so I'm not complaining. Of course, oak is awesome quality so I can't decide if I should use it for the second closet or save if for my tiny house. I'm interested in learning how to create a wall using tongue and groove wood, how it works, the best way to attach it, and problems I'll encounter.



See studs at sides? They don't go all the way up.

I'm already freaking out about how to attach the wood. Do I do the ceiling first or the walls?  Screws or nails? The studs up the walls are not flush with the center stud in the ceiling so how do I line up the ceiling panels? What is the best way to measure a wall that is the shape of a triangle? How do I get everything to line up so it doesn't look like crap. How do I get around the electrical wires that weren't embedded into the studs? Should I wire for lights first or do it after I install the walls? Jeez. Never fear. I am getting loads of information off the internet and I have a construction friend who is giving me advice.

 

Electrical wire and box wraps around the stud instead of through it.
I was told to leave a hole for access. Darn ugly, if you ask me.

  

Now to work out the logistics...To be continued...





Crawling Through Space, or Construction Karma, Part 5,201

You can't imagine how much it irritates me that I'm still working on getting my crawlspace fixed and sealed. At the onset of fall I discovered my heating system was making me miserably ill. I called too many heating specialists only to be told by most their area didn't include the edge of civilization. I finally found one who arrived with the goal of selling me a brand new very expensive heating system. I thought I hired him for an inspection. Since my heating system works, there are no rebates and I can't even justify so much expense. I was also told because of the type of furnace and ducts, I can't even get it cleaned. I found a duct sealing person to check the ducts and offer a quote. At that time he also suggested he could clean and seal the crawlspace for me. It's been two months and I guess he changed his mind since he unprofessionally refuses to respond to my emails. This is typical behavior at the edge of civilization.

I called and emailed another ten companies who advertise crawlspace work, but none of them would come to the edge of civilization, so I did what needed to be done and crawled under my house in an attempt to do it myself. Through rat shit, opossum shit, fiberglass insulation, dirt, dust, and spider webs, I took a ShopVac cleaner and vacuumed as much as I could. Unfortunately the ShopVac was too large to go too far as it wouldn't fit under the heat ducts. I used spray foam to seal the holes found between the cement skirt and the house. When I wasn't swearing or screaming, I was crying out of frustration. I completed one quarter of the crawlspace before I gave up. It took me about three hours. My knees were bruised and my lungs were a mess, but this gave me a very realistic idea of what this work entails.

So I lowered my standards and went shopping for a construction worker in the Rathole area. I had no confidence, but I also had no choice unless I wanted to repeat my crawlspace experience. I hired a guy everyone has told me not to hire as he's incompetent, slow, and for every mistake he'll make he'll not only charge you for the time to figure it out, but charge you for all the extra supplies he must replace. Word travels fast in a small community. What was I thinking? I was obviously desperate. A couple people told me he might do well with a very simple project. It's dirty and time-consuming, but it doesn't take a lot of mental ability. I figured if I could do it, anyone could.

He shows up with two teenagers who will be his assistants and expects I will pay all three of them. I assume it will take one third the time. He refused to get under the house. He spends the first two hours arguing with them as they try to explain what it looks like. He offers a couple of substandard ideas on how to get the work done which I reject and we finally come up with a solution. He kept repeating the better solution will take more time and cost me more. He gives me a price $300 to seal the whole crawlspace (the cleaning part was ignored!). I'm fine with that as he doesn't realize I was willing to pay three times that amount to get it done right. He's also offering some elaborate construction plan to block the openings on the west side of the house - this is where Santy Claws front door was located last Christmas. OK! I'm still not confident he knows what he's doing, but it sounds like a good plan. I intend to watch every step they make.

As the project starts, he continues to argue with the teenagers. They seem to know more about construction than he does, but he wants to appear to be the boss. His job is to cut the wood to the dimensions they request. The rest of the time he stands around. Every piece of wood he handles he either cuts it wrong or forgets to cut it, the kids drag it under the house and THEN realize it's wrong, drag it back, it all starts over. Such wasted time. His management of the teenagers is pathetic. Every time he drops something it takes him an eternity to pick it up. Is he just old or is he purposely trying to waste my time? The dollars are flying out of my pocket. So tired of watching everyone stand around arguing, I got under the house and looked at what they were doing. Yeah, they are adding wood to block the open space, but there are still holes big enough for rodents to get in. Eventually I decide it's bad enough watching him stand around, but when the teenagers start standing around, I take over management and tell them exactly what I want done. They complete about 15 feet of crawlspace wall to my specifications. I fire them only I do it so nicely he doesn't realize I just want him off my property. He charges me $253 for 15 feet and exclaims, "See, we came in under the quote!" My mouth dropped open and I replied, "Three hundred dollars was for the WHOLE crawlspace, not just 15 feet." Good riddance.

So I get back in the saddle and call a few other Rathole construction workers, names I've not heard of. If I haven't heard of them, that is a good sign. Many don't even return my call. One shows up, a new roofing company in town with a claim they do any kind of construction. When the owner arrives I recognize him. He has changed his company name probably because of all the problems he had in the past and his bad reputation for being incompetent. I try to tell him almost half of the crawlspace is done, but he says it'll still take two men and six hours to do the job. He quotes $600. He also refuses to get under the house to actually look at what needs to be done. I tell him, "Oh, that's a really good price - for ROOFING. This is a crawlspace." He comes back with $400. I tell him I'll call him. As always, I stress about the two men who will show up at my house. Will they stink? Will they smoke? Will I need to tell them to leave? Too much stress and worry.


I give up. I'm out of construction workers to call. I buy more spray foam, don my home-made biohazard outfit, and crawl back under the house to do the remaining half. This time I made sure not to remove the mask until I was well away from the crawlspace and had removed the dirty biohazard jumpsuit. No lung issues this time. I'm learning, BUT I don't want to learn! I don't want to do it at all! I see all the holes the teenagers missed AND I finally see where the heating ducts have detached from the furnace. I push them back into place. You'd think with all the people I've had under the house, someone could have pointed that out. It only took me one hour to get the rest of the crawlspace sealed. My whole body hurts, but I saved myself $400. Priceless.

The crawlspace is done to the best of my ability, I know nothing was dishonestly left undone, and I didn't have to deal with the stress of incompetent people.

I bought a new infrared space heater that's heating my house just fine. Hooray!

Now I'm worried about the two puddles of water under the house...where did they come from?

This house is a never-ending money pit. Can I move now?

MudGirls

This is a collective of women who build houses using earth, nature and recycled materials! They are located in British Columbia, give workshops, and will travel to build you a home! Check out their website HERE.

Can I join? All that girl bonding looks like fun!