Knee Deep

     Not saying life driven by garbage night - Tuesday last: two front room plaster/lath walls poor enough induce some previous tenant sheet rock over 'em.  Sheet rock has no Swett Lodge reuse; dump consign.  Rip out cat piss stench sheet rock, twelve shopping bags refuse dice, cram; rescue one large piece replace funky stove heat shield.  Late breakfast, decide gut entire front room: break cement plaster free; bucket load; haul behind garage; pry lath off, later dice stack.  Finish some time 'round dark, clean system's dust yuck - extended purge process.  Enjoy evening meal, couple beers.  Miraculously some wee hour twelve neatly packaged/stacked by garage sacks sheet rock refuse disappear.  Not saying .... gotta love elves.  Ducks too! 

     Lungs need fresh air work break: ventilate garage, finish ventilate house back burner materials on hand projects.  Position/climb ladder, remove couple top back garage siding pieces splinter by splinter; cut screen, old front screen door wire mesh; slip under pried loose trim pieces; position; single (center, shiny) nail; hammer snug trim: kind a cute adequate vent - small leak, etc. moisture above ceiling some where to go now.

Ladder climb atop carport, give garage front same treatment though rip siding piece maintain same size as back vent.  Inexpensive, functional, attractive architectural detail.
     Swett Lodge front well ventilated beneath porch roof,

back requires similar treatment.  Break out few siding courses, pry trim loose, cut plastic lattice - used wood lattice in front - lath strip/brads fasten two triangle pieces, nail screen over opening, lath combo over screen, replace/snug trim: bit o' paint'll make everything dandy. 

     How best remove ugly, dirty plaster/lath debate boils; remove, denail Swett Lodge east side interior trim; possible future use stack.

Saturday am decide: gut entire east side at once, Duck evening game looms.  Demolition garb - coverall, gloves, hat - three foot 4x4, three foot crow bar bludgeon down all east side plaster/lath.  What mess!  Knee deep cement chunks, nail porcupined lath, demolished bedroom wall 2x4s in all but small front room section intimidates/inspires frenzied action least 'til loo path's clear.

Front bedroom circle saw dice lath, stack; shovel cement load bucket, horse behind garage, dump; repeat.  Opened building clues help orient inside Swett Lodge: middle bedroom next to bath.  Pictured is mess remains after nine/so hours Saturday, three/four more Sunday.  Four/five more ought to clean it up: rebuild fun begins.

Twelve bucket loads Saturday plus Tuesday's front room batch makes nice carport pile: expect dozen more east side buckets.

Tease countless small stacks lath from mess, front room haul, dice, stack.

Manage clean hall, bath plaster/lath knee deep mess by 7:30 game time, radio listen, clean up, enjoy beer; half time local tavern cycle join Spud 'n Kate for Ducks over Huskies - quite a day!  

     Open Swett Lodge east side breeze into west side living area, plaster/lath removed both sides kitchen/bath wall prompts garage wall fabric salvage, hang.

 

Unearth larger (than lath) demo lumber, denail, middle bedroom window 'lumberyard' export,

sort, stack.  Dice up, front room corner stack bunch more lath: these photos show it at this stage of the game.  Stand by east side front window look north toward hall door.  Dismantled bath sink behind ex closet behind tool bucket next to circle saw, fabric loosely covers door in plaster/lath free hall left.

Click right.

Again.

Once more, face front east corner 's lath/firewood pile.

Down hall toward bath - remember 'twas literally knee deep -

stop beside west side door.  Left: throne.

Click right.

 

Couple clicks past middle bedroom knee deep mess, more knee deep mess before, 

and after clean up efforts - big diff eh?

Click right.

Again.

Diffinitive view: from the throne.

Some say grass's greener other side - can't tell by Swett Lodge: back yard thickens nicely.  And while this week's work's nastiest grittiest, care not dwell on it any longer than absolutely necessary - marathon effort reasoning; once done it's done, way made for new, and as Kate says 'what else would I be doing'....    

God bless.  Peace.

Halloween

 

     Scrap guy brought discard frame/handlebars by, enjoy afternoon into evening: old steed add new bars.  Longer junker front brake cable replace Schwinn's, augment back brake cable sheath, mount dual reflectors: sweet upright ride'll save back. 
    Don under house garb - foil dangly spider webs stocking cap, coveralls, knee/elbow pads, gloves - slither after light into Swett Lodge crawl space east side opening

 

ascertain nearly full length east side beam appropriate.  Sort stack 'beam' earmarked, line up likely 3 ply 2x6 candidates: first three step back from blue radio,

middle set blond 2x6 back right,

final set includes two short finishing segments lower right.

Circle saw trim, match three house lengths lapped joints 2x6.

Nail: three semi manageable beam sections which get crawl space stuffed.

Jack west side beam low spot, shim; rescue west side 4"x12"x8', east side 4"x12"x10' - apparition like below - previous partial prophylactic house supports; future use set aside.

Level five beam pier 4x16x16 cement pads Toyotaed from Powers, give 'em each cement block,

nail sections together form house length triple 2x6 weighty beam.

Muscle one end onto pier cement block, figure jack raise beam as west side:

shallower space makes levering more practical.  Position beam,

measure each joist depth at beam - 7-3/8 smallest, 8-3/4 largest this side, record.

'Lumberyard' match, cut, number appropriate shims, wiggle house under, nail atop beam.

Throw bunch short 2x4s under house, follow 'em, circle saw dice, nail above beam, between joists stabilizing blocks.

Cut ten 4x6 blocks

bolster previously semi adequately reworked partial bathroom plywood floor under tub,

one inch rough cut fir floor above rotten joists.

     Attempt more social, believe not accepting leads to less invites: accept Saturday evening masquerade invite, knock off Swett Lodge under 'bout 6.30pm, warm enough evening - yeah even while east gets snow storm hammer - cold water bathe, enjoy beer.  Cowboy hat, denim jacket, work glove 'disguise'; party cycle.  Enjoy conversation, costumes, campfire, choreographed dance routine - energetic folk about! - couple beers; favor final raise Swett Lodge push Sunday before Halloween nutrition, rest: retire early.  Unlike working folk's regular hours, free weekends, Swett Lodge pushes sometimes happen on weekends: semi retirement joy/curse. :) 
     20 ton jack oompah pah beam, second jack leap frog beam length few times (toward house front, worst rotten joists evident):

by golly, up she goes!  Evidence: daylight above foundation,

decided gap below rotten compressed perimeter joist.

Perhaps anticlimactically original level raise Swett Lodge on year in OR's eve.  Hoped for progress accomplished this year, though perhaps not in expected order: very pleased heavy yard work - stump removal, concrete stair/slab relocating - looms not ahead, rebuild concentrate.  Choices content: Eugene grows on one like fungus; balmy dry fall weather beguiles; cozy easy maintain home continuing change well situated - good growing climate/plot, water aplenty, nearby merchants, wood heat: bring it on!  Swett Lodge triple beam stabilized, begin lightening load final raise/repair prior.  Middle room plaster crashed to floor during jack, time to get stench out, take weight off:

gut begin! 

Peace

Subterfuge

   Blog delay last week, earnest attempt secret Swett Lodge advances from Kate, her surprise birthday party my place Sunday prior; Kate's Friday stop by biking to LCC nurse faculty party foils.  None the less Kate surprised by family, friends at Swett Lodge Sunday afternoon.  Dutch oven eight pounds pork roast - six disappear, cook monster squash whole, steam final garden green beans.  Gnocchi, cheesy squash, corn bread/souffle donated sides make feast.  Piece de resistance: Spud 'n Kate in da hot tub hazelnut Cory & Ruth cake.  No worries: beer in hand, Kate has her suit on!

 

Confab prompts current kitchen table/counter incarnation.  Nice having stenchy clunky old kitchen wall gone.  Numerous wall removal projects on Swett Lodge renovation list, had not decided 'til kitchen wall, remove all interior wall plaster & lath.  Seesaw 'bout ceiling: currently think remains.  Old cement plaster holds so much stench; wire, plumb refresh; insulate; certain amount wall restructure - gut the works!

Certain areas hold more odor: by front door. Remove plaster/lath backside wall by door: smell reduce (hall into front bed room).  Meticulously break away all plaster from lath; pull lath, sort into firewood/keepers; scrape floor, dump cement/plaster into bucket, haul behind garage; good lath to 'lumberyard', firewood out front, circle saw dice; sweep; trusty deconstruction refuse burgeoning bag Kirby layin' down on the job but sucking like a .... vacuum up: next stage ready.

Bring Recycling weekend half price window sale draws another sucker.  Find thermo pane kitchen window storm appropriate, break down spend hard cash - seven dollars fifty, gingerly Toyota haul home, fit, clean, mount: Swett Lodge living side winter ready; raise Swett Lodge east side, strip interior free.

     Mornings cooler, air crisper, leaves more brilliant, thin.  Broiler burner orifice only gas stove orifice requires changing to convert from natural to LP gas.  Originally supplied on stove near gas regulator: no longer there.  Stop by appliance service center.  They have no parts, give me their supplier's number.  Call, find tiny aluminum orifice will cost 20USD plus same S&H.  Ain't happenin'!  Higher pressure LP gas requires smaller orifice opening.  Remove natural gas orifice, place in small socket on cement back step, gently hammer peen close orifice, making as smooth/round as capable.  Remount orifice, test: works good enough to leave alone for the amount of broiling I'm likely to do.  LP gas convert range prepares Sunday's party fare wonderfully.

Nail punch might have been purchased day or two ago, post premonition, found protruding from kitchen wall top header electric wire/hole adjacent - tried to make hole; punch too far through; walls already plastered, unretrievable; left behind ninety years ago.  Can be traces.  Hang on to this baby.

Swett Lodge internet increasingly dodgy, continue to pick up important freebie items off Craigslist.  Local tile business donates styrofoam blocks attic insulation perfect (middle bedroom stacked).  About eighty square feet ten plus inches thick, said they stock pile this much every couple of months: will return.  Easy install, easy work around, great insulator, no cost: no prob!

Spend Saturday launder, shower, listen Ducks dominate Buffaloes at Kate's, can't deny hippy freebie chair attempt on way home.  Score, shun ugly squat purple table.  'Bout 12.30am few brewskis better, realize table adjusted good yard item: bike about a mile, haul heavy cumbersome metal table home almost crash least twice, walk final quarter mile: fits in dang it - birthday cake action first day on the job!

Clan member's motorcycle move requires old pickup, spread cement/plaster/gravel over carport area opportunity.  So far dry this fall; rain, activity will make pretty good car park out of the old wall plaster.

     Next objective: under house, east side beam; attempt thorough, understandable record.  House beam stabilized both sides, center; will remove wall plaster/lath, reduce Swett Lodge weight, ease raise.  Things continue along, more noticeable interior work not far off: plenty ahead!  Peace