Category: Home Ownership

While we were traveling in England in April, a major hailstorm struck our neighborhood. Our neighbor took photos of hail next to a golf ball for size comparison. Though we missed the storm, I knew what would follow… stormchasers, the collection of construction and roofing companies knocking on the door (usually during work) or leaving flyers offering a free inspection, looking to claim insurance money for the repairs after every wind- or hailstorm. Some of them are recognizable names, some aren’t… and most of them are pushy. I turned them all down, even though I have a dent on my car’s roof showing that it was a significant storm.

That is, until our neighbor had their roof inspected and discovered he needed a replacement roof. Yikes. And they have trees protecting some of their roof; ours is exposed. Knowing he’s diligent about such things, I still researched the company he was working with and discovered overall good reviews and an excellent rating with the Better Business Bureau. (Assuming everything goes well, I will share the name of the company in a later post.) I reached out to the company and scheduled an inspection.

Oh boy… yes, there was damage. This is our siding – marked up with chalk during the follow-up inspection with the claims adjuster from our insurance company. Each chalk mark is highlighting an indent on the siding.

And then there’s the roof. I didn’t get good photos of the chalk mark all over the roof – the insurance found hail damage everywhere except over the garage (the side leaning away from the storm’s direction). This photo is one of the vents – soft metal sticking out of the roof, now with multiple dents on it. In between the roof and siding, of course, are the gutters, which were one of the first upgrades when we bought the house. They’re harder to photograph, even when marked up with chalk.

And, last but certainly not least, the garage door. That was fairly new – the old one allowed light and air through underneath, so we had a new one installed in 2021. The new one was a massive improvement both on insulation and privacy – the old door had windows about chest height, allowing anyone passing by to see into the garage. The replacement door has higher windows, still allowing light in, but only allowing tall people right by the house to peer inside. I’m a bit a sad that we have to replace it, but the claims adjuster pointed out that if we don’t, any damage to it by a future storm would probably not be covered. I am grateful for having selected a reputable insurance company (Allstate, if you’re wondering) and for how seamlessly the construction company seems to work with them. Outside photos – probably some before and after shots – will appear in a separate post once the work is in progress or done.

Creak went the sofa, again, as I sat down on it. Clink when I leaned against it while sitting on the floor. I had found a metal piece on the floor a while back, and only recently noticed another one on the side table. Sitting down on this old sofa – and it was old, a hand-me-down from family with both a scratchy fabric and pattern that made me wonder which decade it was from – was making me nervous. I placed an order for a new sofa online and moved the old sofa, then removed the cushions.

I don’t know a lot about furniture design, but I’m fairly sure the metal supports aren’t supposed to be curling downwards. The pieces we found on the floor were those round bits at the end, which the supports hooked into.

The new sofa required some assembly. Honestly, this was a relief, as I was concerned about getting a sofa into the house; taking the old frame out was challenging enough. The packaging was quite clever: box 1 held the base, with all of the vacuum-packed cushions, the back support pieces, and the legs tucked inside the base itself; box 2 held the essentially armrests. The legs screwed in with simple twisting, and all of the other pieces simply slid together.

The sofa was, of course, cat-tested (and approved) immediately. Actually, there was some cat testing during assembly, but I was too busy to get those photos.

My first clue something was wrong was the milk that started smelling sour on its purchase by date. I noted it, but sometimes that’s a fluke, a single bottle that progresses faster than normal.

My second clue was less subtle: a sticky spot by a cat food bowl and a gooey puddle nearby, on the freezer side of our old (still current) fridge/freezer. I opened the freezer and tracked the slimy substance upwards to a middle shelf, where a Ziploc bag of overripe bananas lay careless flung at an angle – apparently not properly sealed – and clearly defrosted. I bemoaned the loss of the future banana bread and composted them, then scurried to move whatever was salvageable to the garage’s full-size freezer that came with the house, wiping off banana goo as I found it.

We had plans, so I postponed shopping for a replacement to the following day, exploring several well-known companies that could potentially provide a replacement. I measured the space, multiple times. Then I measured the doors – the front door is slightly wider than the door to the garage, so we’ll plan on the fridge going in and out that way. We discussed styles and narrowed our options down before placing an order.

And now we wait, fortunately with a semi-functional fridge that looks surprisingly bare, stripped of all its magnets and decorations on the outside, and down to the bare minimum foodstuff that we haven’t finished on the inside. The new fridge/freezer (top/bottom this time), originally estimated to arrive the day before Thanksgiving, was delayed and shipped that day instead.

And we’re grateful to the helpers… the family member who offered to loan us a mini-fridge, and the neighbor who asked if we needed space in his. If the fridge had died completely, we certainly would have availed ourselves of the offered assistance.

Home ownership is a constant challenge of maintenance and ents, deciding which projects take priority in the budget each year, and occasionally scrambling to include an unplanned project – like my new furnace a couple years ago.

I knew when I bought the house that I’d have to fix the driveway at some point – the inspection write-up included “replace cracked and settled driveway” and walkway. There were times it didn’t bother me so much, but those uneven sections could be a painful jolt when shoveling snow (or mulch), and the gap on one side, an unfortunate bump any time I backed out of the garage, were unfortunate reminders that I needed to hire someone to replace it.

During the summer, I looked into several companies and requested estimates. The company I selected – Taber Builders – had a bit of a backlog, and pouring concrete is dependent on the weather, both on it staying dry for a day or two, and staying above freezing. A couple weeks ago, I was given last week as a possible date. It proceeded to rain most of Sunday and Monday, so I was pleasantly surprised when I got a call Tuesday morning saying they could start that day, and pour within the next couple weeks.

It should come as no surprise that several parts of this process are quite loud. The first phase of the project was to break up the old concrete and remove it. A couple days later, the crew returned to smooth out the surface of both the driveway and walkway, laying the wire mesh across the entire area. They did make sure I had a safe route in and out of the house, which I appreciated.

Bright and early Saturday morning… no, actually, they started arriving before the sun was up, so just early Saturday morning, several vehicles parked along the street, including a concrete mixer. Right at 7am, the mixer noises started. Starting with the walkway, then the driveway, they poured the concrete, and then spent a significant amount of time smoothing it out and making sure every bit was level (except for the one spot that’s a ramp down towards the yard).

A couple crew members were back on Monday morning to remove the wood framing the concrete and most of the caution ribbon, leaving just the end of the driveway blocked off as a reminder not to drive on it for at least a week. My car is currently parked on the driveway’s skirt, perpendicular to all their hard work.

Saturday started like any other day: I woke well before my alarm with four cats on the bed, and still got up early enough to shower before feeding them. After feeding them, I made myself breakfast, then went for a walk, planting Pokemon in several nearby gyms. I hung my laundry on the side patio, and decided to move my awesome new minion rain barrel to middle of the mulched area. I realize, it’s not a practical spot for a rain barrel, but I get to see it out the window every day.

I decided I should pull the trellis over to support the honeydew that volunteered by the radishes. I noted when I pulled it off the mulch that the indoor planter, emptied of plants and stored upside-down by the shed, had been resting slightly on it. I picked its placement and opened the shed for a digging tool, to better push in the supports. I then dangled some honeydew vines over the trellis (adding insult to injury, these need to be re-hung), pulled a weed, and put the tool back in the shed.

Carrying the weed still, I was walking towards the side door when the first yellow jacket stung. Thinking it a mere wasp, knowing there was a wasp nest further out in the yard that I’ve been dealing with, I made a brushing motion towards my right shoulder and said “wasp.” The second sting hit my left leg, at which point, the cursing began. I swung my hand that direction and glanced at my right shoulder, noticing a yellow jacket attached to my black t-shirt.

Moving faster now, I flipped open one of the compost bins, dumping the weed I was carrying into it. Standing outside the side door, I brushed off the various spots that had been stung and shook out my hair, in case any of the beasts was hiding in there. I stepped into the garage and felt another sting on my shoulder. Imagine, if you will, a pixie only as tall as your thumbnail jamming a tiny poisoned dagger – repeatedly – into your skin. I stripped off my shirt and dropped it on the floor, searching for the miniscule monster that was causing my pain. Unable to find it, I shook out my shirt and fled into the house, rushing into the hall bathroom before pulling off my shorts and checking them for any intruders.

For some reason, Cassandra, who had just woken up, was looking at me weird.

Having confirmed that none of the yellow jackets were in the house with us, I addressed my injuries and prepared Cassandra’s breakfast. I stepped out to the garage again during that preparation and realized the last – and presumably first – yellow jacket was trapped in there. With Zuko’s help, might flying insect hunter that he is, I found the offending creature and smashed it with shoe in hand against the window screen.

As I wavered on going to the farmers’ market – for bread (again) – I remembered the company, Clean Pest Solutions, that dealt with our ant problem a couple years ago. I couldn’t tell from their website whether they would handle yellow jackets, so I submitted a quick note on their contact form and headed out to do my shopping. I might have been five minutes from the house when they called me back.

Yes, they could handle yellow jackets. Their next available date was Monday… was that OK? They could send someone out with a bee suit to address the issue, along with some preventative measures around the house.

I showed the gentleman where the issue was likely to be (I was right!), confirmed that there was a shovel in the shed, then retreated indoors as he geared up the bee suit and filled his tank from the front hose. Then I stood in the bay window as he pulled my indoor planter away from the shed, dug into the dirt with the shovel, then retreated – a couple times, once all the way to the front yard – before he began spraying the area. Eventually, he dug out the nest and carried it over to the window where Zuko and I were watching, before disposing of it. (Zuko was trying to hunt all the flying insects outside the window.)

After finishing and shedding his bee suit, I was told to leave the area alone for 48 hours – including leaving the shed, which he sprayed inside and around, open. This was apparently the most aggressive nest he’d encountered, making me grateful that I’d hired someone to deal with it.

If you’ve never dealt with yellow jacket stings before, they start small and spread out over time. The near circle on my left leg was about 2 inches each direction Monday morning; by the afternoon, it was 3 by 4 inches, still somewhat rounded. It seems to be the worst one, though I don’t know if that’s due to location or if I was stung there more than elsewhere. I recommend putting yellow jacket interactions in the “don’t try this at home” category.

Two and a half days later, I ventured out before dawn in a light rain, illuminating my path with a headlamp. I cautiously approached the shed – open these past two days – looking inside for any buzzing creatures or the beginnings of a new nest. Having spotted none, I peer in, shining my light on the other half of the shed and moved a couple items they could have hidden under. Satisfied to find no signs of yellow jacket life in my shed, I secured both doors, wondering where the lock was. (I was able to spot it from the bay window – it’s on top of the shed, which will require a step stool for retrieval.) I’ll have to keep an eye out for new nests, and I’ll store the empty planter in the garage once it’s fully rinsed of both the yellow jacket carcasses and stuff that killed them.

I can’t say that’s a phrase I ever wanted to use. A furnace certainly wasn’t on my top ten things to shop for list. But I knew it was coming.

I had hoped my boiler would limp through one more winter. Last winter, it gradually lost water over a period of three to four weeks, with no obvious leak. That implied the leak was somewhere in the pipes to the radiators, but those pipes are buried in the foundation throughout the house. I learned how to bleed the system – drain the water and the build-up of air into the garage work sink to allow the water to replenish – buying functionality for another pair of weeks, until the room temperature variances started again.

As with all home improvement projects, I did my due diligence and requested estimates from multiple companies. Ultimately the one I chose was not just because they included a maintenance package and removal of the boiler, but because their sales representative explained what he was looking at in the house and attic, and what they needed to do for each piece of the puzzle.

Switching from a boiler and window air-conditioning meant there was no ductwork in the house yet, so we spent four long days with people crawling around in the attic and hammering away in the garage. I pulled what little I store in the attic down, moved furniture around in the garage, and parked outside for a week in December.

When they were done, I had a working furnace, a smart thermostat, and more importantly, peace of mind.

And an air-conditioner. Because I have ductwork now, and it will be far more efficient than window units.

This isn’t my first work from home rodeo. You’re going to notice things in your house and neighborhood that were outside your scope of awareness before: the thunk the washing machine makes as it switches to the spin cycle, the water running through the pipes if you have a boiler, the creaking as a strong wind pushes the house, the way one cat announces before she uses the litter box and the other howls as she prepares to produce a hairball (typically while I’m working out).  You may wonder why the small cat makes a thump when she jumps onto the counter, but the large one only thumps coming down.

Even in these strange times, you’ll notice things about your neighbors too.  You’ll find out which ones hire a lawn service (and wonder why everybody on the block hires different ones), notice when the truck that always leaves at 5am is home or gone, and wonder why the curtains across the street are still closed this morning when they’re usually open before you head to work.

You may hear the guy who talks to himself – loudly until he notices somebody outside – as he rides his bike, or see the couple that takes morning walks year round, even in our winters.  You can watch the birds at the bird feeder as they alternate with the squirrels, observing the different visitors as spring advances.  If you look carefully later, you may see the evening visitors… woodchucks, raccoons, and skunks.

When you inevitably return to normal office settings, you will know so much more about your home and neighborhood if you take the time to look and listen now.