NOT a Good Thing!
The above picture is of the lower corner of our kitchen window. Up against the trim, you can see crumbling siding and caulk.I discovered this last night, after I finished caulking the shed. I still had caulk and daylight left, so I started walking around the house to inspect the caulk on the windows. First I noticed that the caulk was crumbling away from the bottom of the window. When I poked the caulk with my finger, my finger went THROUGH the siding!
After turning the air blue with a few choice words, while jumping up and down like a madwoman, I checked out the rest of the windows. THREE other windows also had crumbling siding underneath. I stomped into the house, mixed myself a drink, sat down, and BAWLED!
Today, upon closer inspection, it looks like we'll only have to re-sheet the 48x37 inches underneath the 4 windows. The hardest part will be removing all the neatly caulked trim beneath the windows.
Z and I made a trip to Menards this afternoon, to purchase 2 sheets of preprimed siding and siding nails. It saves sooo much time now that Z is big enough to help me load the sheets!
After suffering through a summer of drought, rain is forecast for this weekend. Doesn't that just figure?! If the rain holds off, we SHOULD be able to complete this project this weekend. L and I will start tearing off trim and siding by 7:30 tomorrow morning.
On a lighter note; here is our newly refurbished shed. All we have left to do is move the rampback into place.
SATURDAY MORNING UPDATE: Yup, it's raining! Looks like we'll be working in the garage today, installing hurricane clips and windwash board. If it's still raining tomorrow, we'll be building our new AC cover. We're hoping that this rain isn't leaking through the bad siding.
posted by tshsmom @ 6:05 PM
34 comments
34 Comments:
Aww, man! It just never ends, does it?!! We are putting on a new roof... well... we're paying someone else to do it, which is also painful (though not physically).
Take a deep breath. You can get through this, too.
Thanks Euro, I feel a lot better about it today(I think it was the drinks).
I KNOW that we can handle this project. It's just that we're running out of time. :(
We don't do roofs either!
'Oh the joy's of home ownership'
Luckily for you it's restricted to accessible area's.
Most of the land in oztrayer is plagued by termites(White ants)and once they arrive undetected it sounds the death knell for the family shack.
Jeez, I need a drink too. My caulking isn't coming undone, but damn it's been a rough week!
N D, I believe I am getting to the position of all caulk and no substance, meaning totally stuffed. the only highlights have been P K's in order to have a good nights rest. R about it.
Vest, fortunately our climate is too cold for termites. We do have their close relative-the carpenter ant. :( Hopefully we won't find bug damage when we start tearing the siding off.
Notta, how 'bout we meet in Oklahoma for a drink? That's about halfway isn't it? ;)
Cute shed! Sorry about your unforseen repairs. The joys of homeownership, eh?
WC, it's getting less joyful every day!
Well, the shed looks great, if it's any consolation at all!
SME, your call last night, was all the consolation I needed.
BTW, whodunit?
Sorry for your discovery tshsmom, thank heavens for your home aids L and Z to help! Glad it isn't snowing yet too. NOW understand your comment over at my place.
I'm kind of new at this maintenance stuff, guys. How often do you have to check caulking? Never thought of it before. I had new windows installed last year, do I have to check that caulking?
The house is 20 years old, do I have to check the caulking around the patio door (sliding glass door, wood frame)? All of the siding's plastic.
Don't houses ever get tired of screwing you?
And the shed does look great!!!
I STILL haven't gotten to the juicy part of the book, and it's almost done...maybe nobody took the rap for it at all. ;(
Garrison Keillor wrote a letter to the congregation: "As good Lutherans do, you're examining your consciences with a steel brush, and I beg you not to scrub too hard and hurt yourselves." Heehee.
ND, you should check the caulk every year. We check ours every fall, when we wash the outside windows. This is especially important on a mobile home, as our roof doesn't overhang and all the water pours down the side of the house. :(
New windows should be checked as soon as the installers are done. Most contractors don't caulk very well. We learned this the hard way!
SME, Keillor's got them pegged! ;)
TSHS - Tee, hee - I'm sure there are bars in Oklahoma, but is there much else? You're one of the few people from blogland that I'd love to have a drink with. :-)
Notta, I was going to suggest Kansas, but I think they're dry.
We could really have a GREAT bitch sesssion, couldn't we?
I'd really love to have our sons meet each other. I think they'd get along famously!
Every year?
Oh oh..........
p.s. sorry about the rain, must have gotten some of the weather dance steps wrong...
Oh dear - I am so sorry - we thought your were really getting done in order to hunker down for winter? Hurricane clips? I thought for some reason you live up north! My hubby got hurricane clips and plywood for house in Florida (finally! It took Ivan to convince him!) If you are living in that climate, I understand all the hard work - stuff out here just petrifies - down there it rots! Anyway I see yellow trees - fall is arriving wherever you are at as it is here. That's what I spend vacations doing when I go home - inspecting for needed upkeep.
N Drew: An old strayer abbo told me, its not the didgeridoo music and rain-dance which brings the the rain, but it can be more convincing if an accurate weather forecast is obtained before the rain dance commences.
That sucks. I hope the repairs aren't too bad to do. We just had to repaint the kitchen, which we hadn't planned. But Ichabod thought he found the original paint for the kitchen. When he used it to cover some patched nail holes it was the wrong color. So today, we painted. Probably a lot easier than your job.
Oh CRAP! That bites! Aren't they responsible for their work?
I haven't the foggiest what "hurricane clips" and "windwash" are, as if that should be surprising. ;D
Diana, we are up north. Our hurricane clips (that's what the contractor called them) are like a stud hanger. They're supposed to reinforce the roof trusses where they join to the garage wall.
LOL Squirl! That sounds like something I'd do.
Candace, unfortunately the warranty on our house ran out about 15 yrs ago. :(
SME, windwash board is a coated cardboard that you staple between the garage wall and the roof trusses. It's supposed to prevent the attic insulation from blowing away in the wind from the ventilated soffits.
I think it's dumb, but it's code.
Hasn't anyone ever told you, you shouldn't go looking for trouble? ;-) Sorry about the added repairs, but look at the bright side, at least you caught them before the winter set in or more damage was done. :-)
At first it looked like a beautiful waterfall. I'm sorry it isn't! :(
I am so glad I rent!
Nancy Drew. 'Every year'
'Oh no'.
Yeah that's right. like your annual reciprocal comment you make on my blog in reply to my 400 on yours every year, "It aint fair".
No prizes for guessing.
OK, now I need to know what "soffits" are. (This could go on forever, heehee)
Soffits, a sort of ceiling material under eaves, usually made from the dreaded asbestos cement product(Fibro) from James Hardy Australia.
There are several class actions under way in various international courts regarding the debilitating diseases that asbestos has created.
(tell me about it).
Thank you, Vest! I just saw a "join our tort" lawyer's commercial on asbestos yesterday...didn't know it was still a problem.
wosa j, aka vest, the reason I wasn't visiting your blog was to avoid the double plague infesting your place (two specific commenters). But since all my pals here are brave enough to risk it, so am I.
And I have been sending you four billion jokes....a week....so I think that we're even....*grin*
VV, we were lucky to find it now. I shudder to think of the damage that would happen by spring!
Me too, Miranda!
GWB, the ONLY advantage is the absence of a rent payment. ;)
Vest, use your real identity. We don't like playing games!
SME, our soffits are aluminum. Grandpa loves them. He says they're too nice for a garage.
ND, we NEED to get together. I'll type for you and you can read for me. ;)
Tshsmom:
"Yes sir".I must try hard not to be funny.
The aka, hardly a mind bender, if N D got it right.
Yes I believe its imperative that your vision recovers soon as it does seem to have created an imbalance of your other faculties.
Take time off, rest, It will be a proving time for others to evaluate your worth.
Get well soon, vest.
bye
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