Corner

 

Spring angel this week appears, reminds prayer wheel ever spins.

     Neighbor purchases flat screen TV, expensive antennae, converter box, power signal booster: minimal reception.  Visit, attach my rabbit ears directly to flat screen, channel scan, receive dozen or so channels including major networks, public television.  Have had this experience a number of times now.   Consumerist plot?: Joe's getting decent rabbit ear reception, seeks improvement; purchases more expensive analog antennae, attains worse reception, decides 'screw it, I'll go cable'.   Seems unless one seeks simple, low cost answers; one finds only money pits these days: consumer beware!

     Trusty cheapo China made wonder bar, literally put through hell this last year, snaps extracting 20 penny nail; tool store bike ride, select another sharp one. 

     Typical morn these days: awake; load, crank stove; boil oatmeal; enjoy fruit, cereal.  Attempt regimen change up: consistently floor exercise five/six days/week, neglect other healthful aspects; decide try daily alternate floor exercise/guitar practice.  May incur stricter regimen on guitar playing, though probably not: love to play, improv game name - in guitar play, most other life aspects.  Kitchen sink sponge bath, brush teeth, work dress, commute.  OK, there: tough!  

     Find next east side Swett Lodge joist toward front rotten full length, west side mate end rotten too.  Remove, discard all carefully measured, cut, installed new beam joist shims, blocks: makin' it right sometimes requires retracing.  Double 20 ton jack, 4x4 support floor along joist: one setup center beam east, other center beam west.  Chain saw three piece, kick, wonder bar extract joist; 

end cutter nip flooring nails flush underside floor: reduce work snags, ease reconstruction.

West side joist mate rotten foot or so beyond center beam, sever beyond rot.

Measure, circle saw shape replacement joist;

 2x6 persuade into place, nail.  

Not Oregon unusual: rain.  Continue work, find necessary lay boards on ground, keep ass out damp.  First time in weeks break clamp lamp light bulb, crawl out, scavenge another, continue.  In short succession break two more bulbs while piece, remove next joist; damp now puddles.

Intend use 2x12 porch rail cap to stub this joist; attempt sub floor board split/remove; lose control; wonder bar adds smile 'bove left eyebrow to injury list.  Glasses once again serve protective function: smashed into, cut nose bridge too - though near healed short week later, bleed like hell on the day.  That stops work!  Kitchen sink hasten, staunch blood flow, assess damage - not bad - clean wound, face, hands; strip muddy, wet clothes/coverall; sink wash; hang, hot wood stove press dry; clean up work area.  Should have gotten three broken bulbs 'quit work' message: how severe 'follow flow' reminders if kept working post injury?  Don't get it easy?  Has to be hard: pay attention.  Learn drought ending rains most intense in decades, cause statewide floods: no wonder under Swett Lodge work conditions nasty!

     Coverall clean, dry dehem, let out short by couple inches legs, revert cover some things (NOT pant hems) to cover all.  Front door/back door, east temp wall/west temp wall stretch string, quickly line level check floor relationships: center beam high, both sides bit low.  Front to back reasonably level: complete rot repair, level entire floor system.

 

      Dry, above floor work shift: bath floor removal time.  Bath section temporary wall bears no weight, remove.  Circle saw firewood dice unsound pieces; denail, stack reusable.

Third bath floor original wood flooring (linoleum right) intact: remove, denail, 'lumberyard' stack.

Tub comes out: turn water off, disconnect faucet hoses, drain lifts up through floor with tub; allows

removal two under tub sheets plywood (middle bedroom relocate tub, photo lower left; plywood center wall leans), cap water lines, turn water on.  Denail, dice rotten plywood, garage save couple pieces: bug/rot evidence in not terribly old rework - absolutely poison pests upon work's completion.

Though previous reworkers deck screw fasten hardware abundantly (two joist hangers for each short 2x6 joist stub), fail nail stubs/hangers, save me some work.  Remove 'em all.

If their 2x6s were flush with joist tops could have worked with it: no, gotta go.

Rework 2x6 perimeter joist removes easily enough; descrew/dehanger 'lumberyard' consign. 

 Inner hanger joist lag bolted to original joist, 

requires half inch breaker bar with (orange jack handle) extension to remove:

guess they wanted that joist to stay.

Further examine, original joist proves rotten; whole works come out.

Chain saw couple rotten sub floor boards under hall floor by bath door,

cut hall floor angle where bath door sill will meet bath floor: clean straight cut should bath floor treatment mate well.  Plywood replacement sub floor will tuck under hall wood floor, engineer strong enough to bear tile floor.

Throne remains atop west side (rotten end) joist cantilever while slip east side 2x10, 4x10 new joists underneath, stub north/south joist 2x6s from 4x10 to cement foundation with salvaged hangers, lay 3/4 inch plywood bath sub floor.  Then remove stool, rework floor underneath, replace stool: minimal time without basic hygienic facilities.

Closer look under throne reveals rusty cast iron waste plumbing awaiting plastic replacement, rotten joist end excise ready.  New 4x10 will run just water pipe/mumbo jumbo left.  

     Celebratory mood, rot limned Swett Lodge east side, feel corner turn, reconstruction commence.  Certainly plenty work, west side probs remain; majority Swett Lodge secrets revealed. 

     Heavily consumer nation invested?  You'll be glad to know Swett Lodge solution part: box lumber store, Gertie journey; couple 1x4x8s settled in rain gutters, 1x6s across, support treated sill plate 2x6s, perimeter joist 2x6s, 2x10 replacement joist.  Avoid fuzz, back way home, economy wildly enriched by $75 spent on renovating Swett Lodge east side.  In all reality more will be spent - insulation, wiring, sheet rock for starters - but look at spending 10 to 15k total on Swett Lodge renovation.  Keep it reasonable enjoyable challenge.

And of course a jaunty Succumb Neck Squash, who says 'what neck? head's gettin' bigger', continues Swett Lodge nod.  No denial here, move over Steve Tyler.

     Peace.  Enjoy.