This isn't what you want to see when you are 7000 miles away and the furnace in your house is broken! It's also quite unusual for the area. Everything turned out fine. My Realtor set up an electric heater in the basement to keep the pipes from freezing and the repair man came today to fix the furnace.
Monday November 22, 2010 9:11 AM PST
LIGHT SNOW ACCUMULATIONS UP TO 2 INCHES LATER THIS AFTERNOON & EVENING WHEN SNOW LEVELS FALL TO SEA LEVEL
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PORTLAND OR
555 AM PST MON NOV 22 2010
NORTH OREGON COAST-CENTRAL OREGON COAST-CENTRAL WILLAMETTE VALLEY-
SOUTH WILLAMETTE VALLEY-SOUTH WASHINGTON COAST-
555 AM PST MON NOV 22 2010
THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF NORTHWEST
OREGON AND SOUTHWEST WASHINGTON.
.DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT
A COLD SYSTEM FROM BRITISH COLUMBIA WILL BRING THE POTENTIAL FOR
LIGHT SNOW ACCUMULATIONS UP TO 2 INCHES LATER THIS AFTERNOON AND
EVENING WHEN SNOW LEVELS FALL TO SEA LEVEL.
.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...TUESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY
MODIFIED ARCTIC AIR WILL BRING COLD TEMPERATURES TUESDAY THROUGH
WEDNESDAY WITH LOW TEMPERATURES BELOW FREEZING AT THE COAST...
AND IN THE 20S AND LOCALLY UPPER TEENS INLAND VALLEYS.
Nov 24, 2010
Nov 21, 2010
Furniture Delivery
When I moved to the island, the stuff that I didn't sell, ended up in storage. I didn't keep much. The most valuable of the items was a bed and dresser. It turned out that the shipping costs were less than replacing these two items so the arrangements were made.
So, at least the other people that get to stay in our house (cause we won't get to for awhile) will have a place to sleep and a place for their clothes.
I can't wait until it's our turn!
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I can't wait until it's our turn!
Nov 15, 2010
Master Bedroom
We haven't decided on the carpet yet, some things we'll just need to be there to decide. Plus we're considering some renovations that may change the layout of the bedroom too so that should be completed before the carpeting gets done. Most of the house has beautiful hardwood floors that we plan to restore but we both agree the bedroom should be a carpeted area.
Nov 1, 2010
The Real Cost of A Project
Of all the projects to pick, siding is probably one of the most likely to run into unforeseen issues and extra costs. You never really know what's under that top layer that you can see. Sometimes, as in our case, there is no history whatsoever provided to help you even guess.
The existing siding in our case was easily recognizable to the home inspector and even the Realtor as L-P siding. Right off the bat we knew it had a reputation and it wasn't a good one.
The biggest and most frustrating problem and one that added considerable extra expense was the fact that there was not only one, but two, and in some areas three layers of siding on the house! Whoever installed the L-P siding installed it over the top of shingles! This resulted in many unexpected labor hours as well as the need for a second dumpster for all the extra waste. You know how shingles are angled? This person went so far as to add shims to counter the shingle angles to make the L-P siding level but in the process created large gaps of air that bugs, plants and mold were growing in. Pretty much defeating the purpose of installing new siding. You can be sure that they never considered the impact of this decision on future homeowners or contractors.
As a result of the decision to add the L-P siding to the existing layer of siding, the 12 new vinyl windows that we installed at roughly the same time, were mounted so that when the old siding was removed, they were sticking out about two inches and would not be flush with the new siding until they were reseated. That was an expense of about an hour and a half per window that we had not expected. The contractor offered us a less expensive alternative but we wanted it done right. No sense in putting on siding with a 50 year warranty and jimmy-rigging the windows in the process.
Additionally, there were several areas of dry rot that needed repairing. It really was a great thing that we decided to do the siding first, it needed it!
The last item that caught us off guard was the back door. When we inspected the house, the glass in the back door had been broken, it was very thin single pane window glass. It appeared as though someone may have tried to break in. Not only that but the back porch was level with the door so when it rained (all of the weather comes from that side of the house) it leaked under the door. We had intended to replace it at some point but the contractor pointed out that it would be best to do it before the siding was complete as the whole casing had to be removed. I had no idea how much doors cost! It is nice to know that we don't have to worry about any more problems with that now either.
Its hard not being on site during a project like this to make the split decisions needed by projects that are derailed by the realities of life. The contractor said this was the first time he had ever done a project like this via email. I'm appreciative of his cooperation. The new siding is completed, and feedback from my family and neighbors is good. We are dying to see it for ourselves!
In all it was $4,500 more than our original quote but considering all of the surprises, we're lucky it wasn't more. The good news is, everything after this will seem cheap and easy and the new siding will prevent further damage from causing us more problems in the future.
The existing siding in our case was easily recognizable to the home inspector and even the Realtor as L-P siding. Right off the bat we knew it had a reputation and it wasn't a good one.
The biggest and most frustrating problem and one that added considerable extra expense was the fact that there was not only one, but two, and in some areas three layers of siding on the house! Whoever installed the L-P siding installed it over the top of shingles! This resulted in many unexpected labor hours as well as the need for a second dumpster for all the extra waste. You know how shingles are angled? This person went so far as to add shims to counter the shingle angles to make the L-P siding level but in the process created large gaps of air that bugs, plants and mold were growing in. Pretty much defeating the purpose of installing new siding. You can be sure that they never considered the impact of this decision on future homeowners or contractors.
As a result of the decision to add the L-P siding to the existing layer of siding, the 12 new vinyl windows that we installed at roughly the same time, were mounted so that when the old siding was removed, they were sticking out about two inches and would not be flush with the new siding until they were reseated. That was an expense of about an hour and a half per window that we had not expected. The contractor offered us a less expensive alternative but we wanted it done right. No sense in putting on siding with a 50 year warranty and jimmy-rigging the windows in the process.
Additionally, there were several areas of dry rot that needed repairing. It really was a great thing that we decided to do the siding first, it needed it!
The last item that caught us off guard was the back door. When we inspected the house, the glass in the back door had been broken, it was very thin single pane window glass. It appeared as though someone may have tried to break in. Not only that but the back porch was level with the door so when it rained (all of the weather comes from that side of the house) it leaked under the door. We had intended to replace it at some point but the contractor pointed out that it would be best to do it before the siding was complete as the whole casing had to be removed. I had no idea how much doors cost! It is nice to know that we don't have to worry about any more problems with that now either.
Its hard not being on site during a project like this to make the split decisions needed by projects that are derailed by the realities of life. The contractor said this was the first time he had ever done a project like this via email. I'm appreciative of his cooperation. The new siding is completed, and feedback from my family and neighbors is good. We are dying to see it for ourselves!
In all it was $4,500 more than our original quote but considering all of the surprises, we're lucky it wasn't more. The good news is, everything after this will seem cheap and easy and the new siding will prevent further damage from causing us more problems in the future.
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