Crumbly Acres – more tales

 Well, it is a tad chilly out there. We were happy to see the sun (now and then). It sure makes a difference.

We sure are grateful for where we live. 

I was happy I could fix the SD card. It happened at the beginning of this week, after the rain/ice/snow storm. The app told me that there was no card. 

There is one star in the sky here! You may have to enlarge it.

Then, the Crumbly Acres camera did it again. I won't say that I have a screw loose, because I actually have two!

I had to go back out Wednesday and fix the mini-SD card for the camera. It just wasn't working. I couldn't see the card on Wifi. I don't know if it is the cold, damp, or what. It did not go well! I climbed on the ladder, and unscrewed it, took out the card and thought I'd replace it. I dropped one screw, and looked and looked for it. 

Then, I looked for it some more. 😂 I think the screws bounced, or something.

I had a helper for entertainment. I'd offered Walkies before I did my (theoretical) repair work. He managed to find some entertainment.

Reading the manual (a PDF file!) it said it was crucial to unplug the machine. I did not do that last time! Whoopsie. This is one of the shots I got last time ↓! 

The camera I flipped down in order to access the back of it. Trying to insert the new mini-sd card, I dropped it. It has to be straight under the camera, in the sand. I'd put the first one in my pocket. What to do? OK, I had no more of them. I re-reinserted the old one. Hoping it would work. 

I thought I was OK, as there are two screws holding the little flap in, covering the opening for the card.  After I dropped the first screw, I thought I was in trouble! Mind you, I did that on Monday, and found it. Sure enough, I dropped both screws, and the cover plate. The cover plate is white and was easier to find. I ended up covering the opening with duct tape! 

I was now two screws short. There is a joke or pun here, although my screws weren't loose! Emailing the company, they got back to me with the specs of the screws. PM2.5*4mm  It may be Mission Impossible, but JB offered to try and get more. I interpreted that to mean↓ this. I could be wrong. sigh.

Cheat Sheet

Thursday afternoon, Joseph Brian went back in to town, armed with his Cheat Sheet. He went to a large chain store, nothing small enough. He went to the Perth Valley Tool & Fastener store, and all they had were 3 x 6mm. They sent him home with 4 free screws! What a kind gift! I dropped one, and tried another. No luck. They are too big. All that was left to do was to put the plate back in and duct tape that. 

I got out a shovel and bucket, and sifted the sand like a gold miner. Still nothing. I emailed them back, and she reiterated that I try find it online or in a local store. I'm not sure we can order it online. I'm having trouble searching, as weird things come up in the search.

I may just be happy with the duct tape keeping the plate in. 

Two cats were happy to sleep in the sun, when it was out. Cinnamon was tired from helping. Nutmeg, always wary. For cats found in a ditch, they have done well.

Our eavestrough replacement

 Our eavestrough was in sad shape. It looked pretty bad. The house dates back to about 1985-ish. We had new shingles put on awhile back. Someone had painted the eaves twice, over the base coat of dark brown. Now it is all flaking. Painting eavestrough doesn't work with Ontario's freeze/thaw temperatures. 

Oct. 2020 – I had to repair the downspout, during a pandemic. It was a common problem when we got big dumps of rain. We had 🎥55 mm one day one year! 

What has been happening in the big storms is the eavestrough has pulled away from the fascia, and the water has been running in under the roof, and dripping in the Muskoka Room. This is not good.

We decided to get some quotes. We phoned a couple of companies, and didn't hear back. Finally, one company returned us a quote, but didn't specify that they would remove the old eaves, nor did they actually inspect the house. Company #1 quoted us on 154', based on viewing the house via Google or something. Thing is, we don't have eavestrough on either end of the house. 

No mention of: 

• Remove and take away old stuff
• Possibly new fascia
• Warranty period
• Aluminum($2/') vs. vinyl ($1/foot but we have woodpeckers and squirrels!) 
• The fancy stuff is much more expensive.

Looking at the companies online, they only seem to offer the really expensive stuff with the gutter guards. That just won't work with the heavy storms we get. It overflows as it is. Plus, they are very expensive. 

Company #2 – we haven't heard from. It's been a week.

Friday, April 28th

Company #3 – referred to us from our local Facebook group, don't seem to offer anything but the ones with gutter guards. He finally phoned and will visit Monday or Tuesday. 

Company #4 – I ended up registering online for Rona. They can give me an estimate, and someone to install it. It's not a complicated job! They emailed in response Fri., April 29th, saying they would be back in touch within two business days. It's Tuesday, May 3rd, so far nothing.

May 2nd

Company #3 – He visited May 2nd, it was raining at his job site and he'd stopped work. He will give us a quote. He is booked until July. He won't replace the fascia. He's been doing this since 1974!

May 3rd – JB visited the place in town, Company #2, Above the Rest, and they said they do fascia. No quote yet, though. 

May 4 – Company #3: estimate from Dobbie, no removal of the old stuff, or replacing fascia. He was booked for weeks.

May 6 – Company #4: Rona, in Carleton Place. Their confirmation email says they will get back to me in 2 working days! I contacted them online 7 days ago. Nada. 

                Company #2, Above the Rest, visited Friday at 4:30. They measured 146'. The owner came, and took all our notes about the house, the colour of the new stuff, vinyl or aluminum.

May 18th  – Company #2, Above the Rest, gave us a quote. It was competitive pricing. 

                 – Coincidentally, Rona emailed. It could be several weeks before they can send someone to measure for a quote. Also, they charge $85 for a quote. They don't need our business!

June 17th – a phone message from Above the Rest, can they come Saturday, June 18th? 

June 18th – It was the day. I saw a man walk by the house at 9 a.m., wearing a warm hoodie, looking up at the eaves. It was a cold morning, but we were in business. 

We had our lights flicker, there were quite a few people without power from the winds that ripped through the province. We were happy to keep out power, as they needed it for their tools. 

They began in the front, and there was much action. The 'Red Ripper' ripped it off the fascia, which was fine, BTW. 

The cats were not impressed. Cinnamon first went downstairs. Nutmeg stood looking through the front door at the strangers standing there. She moved to the cat tower. Then, when the crew moved to the backyard, ladders and all, Cinn perched himself on the second from the top step leading down to the basement. 

Nutmeg disappeared. This is why! The Red Ripper was working on the roof. It's quite the tool.

eavestrough removal from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

Ta da! 

By 2:30 they were done, my plants hanging back in place. I'll have to wash down the railings, again, non-mental note. The cats had calmed down and had a bite to eat. We have a new bill to pay, but it is a relief to get this done! 

Rainstorms

There were issues. It leaked on the back deck. They came and fixed that. Then there is the front. We've still issues with the new eavestrough. It sags in the middle, right over the door. I've emailed them with videos. 

Eavestrough 2.0

eavestrough from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

eavestrough 2.0 from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

July 24

eavestrough 3.0 from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

eavestrough 3.1 from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

UPDATE: July 25

They came and fixed the eavestrough, again. (I'd sent a video.) They seemed grumpy, dropping the F* bomb on top of our eaves as they undid screws and changed the level of the eaves. Left without saying they were done. They warned me of the debris in the gutter, but it wasn't much truthfully. The angle of the trough needs to go from the high point to this, the drain point over the downspout. 

This is the fascia I thought they should have replaced. They told me they hadn't needed to during the original installation. We shall have to see what the next big dump of rain brings. 

eavestrough fascia from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

UPDATE: July 30

Before and after: 

I think they are as irritated with this job as we are. They turned up, didn't ring the doorbell. They worked. They left. No face-to-face contact at all. We'll need a storm to let us know if it works. I am glad they came back. It's been such a trial.

Chores, ditch diving, home repairs

Things are shut down here in Ontario. Our numbers are rising in the cities. There are some hot spots, as well. Next week is March Break, deferred to April. We'll have the girls. We're pretty safe, as the stores are really excellent with their protocols. We get our shots next week, being old farts.  The politics of this have been terrible. 

I went online. The guest room, AKA Isabelle's office, has been chilly in winter. We put up a piece of cardboard at night, and remove it in the day for light. I ordered a smokey blue blind for it, single panel.

Izzy promised to help me install it, as it arrived this week. This is both her office, her virtual school bedroom and our guest room. It's also where we installed the cats when we first adopted them. 

Home repairs are tricky in a red-level lockdown. I ordered the wrong stuff the first time. This I ordered from a company in southern Ontario. The trick is knowing what it is called. A lot of the hardware stores have really weird search results!

Then, the under door sweep needed repairs. You can see it below. I scoured the websites, and found the product we needed. After 35 years, everything needs repairs. 

We wrote out the SCU# and I sent JB off. Ta da! What I realized is that you can't just install it. You have to know how high or low to place it. Fortunately, it was subzero overnight, and in the morning I could hear the wind blowing under the door. I could feel the cold air, as well. I lowered it a tad. All is good. The hard part was getting back up off the floor!

Another operation, I put down some flashing for the bluebird nesting box. I did some research, and tried to figure out how to attach it. I gave up on pretty and just cut two strips.

Pitch In

April chores include ditch diving! I figured I best get out there. I should have been cleaning the kitchen and bathroom floors, but resisted the urge. Instead, I went outdoors!!! It was raining, but there you go. Only two discarded face masks, and no personal hygiene items. Several beer cans or bottles. It was a good day.

The hoses did not do well. This just drains into the garden, anyway. 

I took a fabulous photo of this tap spewing water in four directions. It seemed odd. We'd had it replaced in 2017. I went to YouTube, as one does, and found a video that explained how to disassemble them, check that the washers are good. Turns out it just needed tightening. Now, imagine me, this is just above my shoulder level, trying to tighten it. I was soaked as the water went right down my arm. 

OK, back to the drawing board. I went downstairs and turned the whole thing off. Back onto YouTube, and still couldn't find a tap like mine. Back out, and it turns out it was loose inside the thing. All is good!