Monday, February 25, 2008

A smaller tent!

The floor guys were just here. The floor for the most part is dry! They even pulled out the dishwasher (for the first time!) and the floor under there is dry as well. There is one spot on the opposite side of the stove as the dishwasher. Weird. So now the tent is only about 4 square feet. We are also a go for the new dishwasher to come tomorrow. Yeah!

Friday, February 22, 2008

Update on the floors

They came out today to check the floors. They are dry! But for some reason in this one spot when they push the meter into the floor, it comes up wet. But nothing wet on the surface. They go under the house to see what it's like down there. DRY! So they cut out a square where the meter shows wet. The very bottom layer of plywood is wet - visibly wet. No need to sick the meter in to see. There was a sheet of something that they cut out. The second layer of plywood is wet to the touch as well. :-(

So now I have a "tent" in my kitchen "hooked" up to a dehu. They are in the process of building a tent in the crawlspace with another dehu down there. I think they said something about forcing hot air in the space as well. Another 5 days of this. At least this is much quieter! The dehu makes about as much noise as a dishwasher (not one of the really quiet ones!).

I should have taken pictures of all the fans and dehus before they took them out.

Update on my knee/running

I haven't run this week do to lack of time and it's cold. I have found that once I shower, I do not go back out and run (or exercise really). The time issue is meetings - Children's Ministry meeting one day and co-op the next. When you have to be out of the house by 8:30 in the morning and the sun isn't really up until 7, well time to run is almost non-existent.

That aside, there are still issues. I have shin splints for one thing. If I run more than 2 days in a row, they hurt while I run. Then last night, in bed, having not run for 2 or is it 3 days, my knee hurt. The way it hurt in bed is the way it hurts when I've bent it too long. I still notice the extra bump sometimes too. There are times it feels just, well, numb for no apparent reason as well.

I'll try running next week. I need to do something about the shins. This is getting old!
On Friday(2/15), dh noticed the wood laminate in the kitchen was swelling at the joints. Saturday we found out why. A hose from the dishwasher wasn't connected/broke something. There was water standing under the dishwasher. Then as dh watched, water started pouring out under there somewhere.

He called several friends who are DIY-ers or work in the biz. Get a new dishwasher and call the insurance company. Yep, the floor is covered.

So on Tuesday (2/19)they tore out the wood laminate, the pad under the laminate, the old nasty linoleum. We're down to sub floor in the kitchen. And the subfloor was actually wet in one place. I have 4 (count them! 4!) heavy duty fans and 2 heavy duty dehumidifiers. It is loud. I had to go upstairs to make a phone call. And the joy! I get to have these things until Friday!

We bought a new dishwasher on Sunday. It was supposed to be delivered Friday. But since they will be back to get the equipment on Friday, dh said let's move the install. So now the dishwasher will come on Tuesday. But hey, look at the bright side - my dishes should dry on the counter in record time, right?

Day two of air movers in the house
The fans have been here overnight and well into the next day. UGH! They are loud. But at least I had a meeting this morning that I could take the kids to and Thursday is co-op. They did come this afternoon to check the floor. It's drier. Parts are still quite wet, not visibly so. They have a meter. Parts are still in the red. Most of it is in the green.

On a side note, dh called someone to look at the dishwasher since insurance wanted us to. The guy was a piece of work as dh says. He turned on the dishwasher, making the floor more wet! He did fix it but he also said "I wouldn't use it." I guess a hose actually fell off. Even though he re-attached it, it could easily fall off again.
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Thursday: I took the kids to co-op. Someone came to fix the sink in the afternoon. It looks much better now. All the gaps are closed. They reinforced under the sink as well to actually hold the sink up in place. I thought it couldn't get any louder in the hose. Then the sink guys turned on an air compressor! OY! We can't use the sink for 24 hours! The pain!
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Friday: The floor guys are supposed to come today to remove the fans and "dehu-s". I am so looking forward to things being quieter around here!

Monday, February 18, 2008

The Perils of Home Ownership

In a nut shell you are responsible for everything!

The outside needed to be painted again - the last time I was pregnant with M. So we hired someone to do it. He did a good job and just finished a week ago. While trying to change out light fixtures for us, he ran into a wiring problem. J called an electrician who came out last Monday morning, first thing and fix everything on the deck. Then the painter came back to pick up his ladders and touch up a few places. While he was here, we got an estimate for painting the foyer and re-papering the kitchen. Yeah! I get to choose new paper. Oh My! What am I thinking - I only have a month to decide, and buy, new wallpaper!

Then this weekend, J really started to look at the floor in the kitchen. Every seam on the laminate is swollen. He thought it was the sink as there is a seam on the sink that is not closed any longer. He took pictures of the floor and the sink and into Home Depot we went. (We got new counter tops and an under-mount sink from them almost a year ago.) But the person we needed to talk to wasn't there. That night, for reasons unknown to me, J pulls the kick-plate off the dishwasher. (I don't know if that is what it is actually called, but that's what I'm calling it!) First he sees water standing on the floor under there! Then as he continues to look, water starts pouring out of a hose onto the floor. This must be why the floor is swelling.

So J calls several friends who know this kind of stuff. They recommend getting a new dishwasher and calling the insurance company - it should be covered just like a leaky pipe. After church we went to Sears and bought a new dishwasher, this time they are installing it. (I'm still waiting for the call.)

Then this morning J called the insurance company - they will be sending an adjuster out. Our deductible is $500 and then they should pay the rest to replace the floor. Then he called Home Depot - yep, the seam should be closed and the work is guaranteed for a year so again, it's covered.

On a lighter note, we discovered a new way to cut the dog's nails. Make him stand up on his hind feet! K held him up while I clipped nails. It worked wonderfully for the front paws! His back paws, K held him, I put my back to him and clipped his back paws. One dog down, one to go!

Friday, February 15, 2008

Kid pictures Feb 2008







K does not like this picture of her. I think it is beautiful!

















I think this captures who H is.


















M laughs a lot. They got him to laugh!

Wednesday, February 13, 2008

Wordless Wednesday


No, it's not this warm here. But this is what the kids and I did this morning. Portrait Innovations is great!