I need to find someone local who hunts bear and see if they would be willing to part with some of the meat. At some point I plan to get a hunting license but I have too many other things to think about right now.
I got the next sheet of soundproofing screwed to the ceiling joists. Now I have a strip between them that's about 9" wide. I knew there would be a slight gap in the middle, so now I just need to cut some narrow strips and screw those into place. That should be easy by comparison - the biggest problem with working with larger sheets is the sheer weight of it all. Trying to align a roll of material so it unrolls along the desired route, screwing it into place and repositioning everything when the roll weighs 40-50lb or more can be tricky. At least with a strip 9" wide and 4' long it will only weigh about 3lb, so it won't pull itself off the screws under its own weight. I guess next up I need to figure what I'm doing regarding the wall between the bedroom and bathroom, so I can get that framed.
I'm now the proud owner of 352 square feet of insulation panels. A friend with a trailer drove me to town and brought them home for me. Curiously between different members of staff at the hardware store they brought out the panels and loaded them into the trailer for me, without me paying for anything. When the assistant had put the last of them in the trailer she said I was good to go, and seemed more than a little surprised when I said I needed to pay for them. But then, having let her know I hadn't paid for them she seemed to be watching closely as I secured the trailer. I'd have thought that volunteering the information that I hadn't paid would have been a clue that I fully intended to pay and wasn't going to clear off with a load of free supplies, but apparently not. Anyway, a short trip back to the till later the panels were paid for, and I was on my way. Now I just need to move a load of stuff propped against the walls so I can actually fit the insulation, and start framing my wall.
In today's business world, anyone that volunteers truthful information about their debts or obligations is suspect as being mentally unstable and subject to immediate random acts of violence with a 347 round fully automatic semiautomatic single shot assault rifle. Good thing you weren't wearing a "Jesus Loves You" T-shirt or you'd be in the gulag.
Just as well I left the shirt at home. I wonder what would have happened if I'd been wearing a MAGA hat.... Today I get to figure out what to do with a salvaged bathtub. My first thought was to keep it and reuse it but the sides that keep water from the showerhead off the walls are discolored in a way that I don't think a good clean will fix, so I'll probably end up dumping the whole lot and buying something that matches what I want when it's time to renovate what will be the main bathroom. The bath came out of a bathroom that really isn't big enough for a full bath, so that's going to end up with a toilet/basin/shower rather than trying to squeeze a bath in there too. I hope my garbage company will take it away without charging me too much. It probably won't fit in my car (and frankly I don't really want it in my car), I don't imagine I'd get anything meaningful if I tried to sell it, and I really can't be bothered to hang on to it based on the chance someone might want to come and collect it for free. So maybe it will meet Mr Sawzall and end up put out with the trash...
The question is what is it made of? Some materials can be resurfaced. I know cast iron tubs can be reenameled.
It's fiberglass, and the sides look and feel like plastic. It's light enough that I can carry the weight unaided - at a push I could probably lift the weight with one hand - but it's tricky to move because of the size and shape of it. I considered moving it up to the attic until we can use it but then got to thinking it's probably easier to just buy what we want when we want it, than have yet another thing in the attic that may never see the light of day again and will be in the way until I do get rid of it.
I looked into refinishing fiberglass tubs and it looks like it can be done. We have a cast iron tub in what will remain the main bathroom, but it's on the smaller side so I'm not sure whether we'd look to frame something around it and put a shower over the top, or just get rid of it. I'm reluctant to get rid of something that is probably as old as the house, but I don't really want to be stuck with a bathtub that's too small for an average person to actually take a bath in. But that's a decision for further down the line. If I do haul this fiberglass tub up to the attic I can always cut it into pieces if we decide to get rid of it. In the meantime I can get rid of the nasty plastic sides, because if we do keep it I'd probably look to tile around it rather than using plastic sheets that discolor. Edit: the bathtub is now in the attic. It was heavier than I first thought, but I got it there. As with so many things the weight was manageable but hauling something over five feet long and nearly three feet square is tricky even if it weighs nothing at all. Now I just need to get rid of the sides.
Hopefully today I can clear some clutter from the walls, fix any outstanding issues with the concrete and mortar, and maybe even get some of my shiny new panels installed.
A depressing amount of time spent fixing walls today. I figured I needed to fix a couple of issues I spotted with the brickwork before putting the insulation panels across it all, and then decided to fix a couple of other things that maybe didn't really need it but once the panels go up the option to fix them goes away. Then having chiseled out a load of mortar, replacing it with fresh mortar, and cleaning everything up I thought I saw a flash of light. And sure enough I spotted a tiny gap that I'd never noticed before. Upon closer inspection there were a couple of others, so I ended up replacing a bunch of extra mortar seams. It's really tedious chipping out a section, brushing it, blowing out the dust, mixing up some cement, spraying water into the gap, packing mortar/cement into the gap, and moving on to the next one. But I think I've got two complete walls ready to roll now so hopefully I won't find anything else that needs doing, and can actually get on and install these panels.
Nasty headache for much of today so didn't think drilling into concrete was going to be a great idea. Maybe tomorrow, assuming no further wall inadequacies come to light.
I did sleep for more of the day than seemed ideal, but I guess I needed it. Things are better today, although I'm preaching on Sunday so writing my sermon is more important than fixing my wall right now.
Sermon is written. Remaining debris from chiseling the wall is cleared up. Tomorrow maybe I can finally get these panels carried up and put into place.
Had to euthanize our cat yesterday. Vet came to the house and was awesome. We are doing OK, but of course, hitting Mrs. RabbiKnife really hard. 18 1/2 years is a long time to have a little furball running around the house and them him suddenly not be there. First world problem, especially in light of Israel today. But amazingly, not to make light of Israel, but to make great praise to Jesus, Jesus cares about both situations with unlimited love and utmost care. We have a truly great God.
Sorry to hear that Rabbi. We have a stripy furball of our own and neither of us is looking forward to when his time comes. But hopefully we'll have him a good while longer. Israel - hard to know what to say. Been in discussion with a Jewish friend, who is understandably badly shaken by it all.
Much appreciated God’s grace is there even for the loss of our beloved animals. the whole Israel thing is so bad
The insulation panels are going up. So far I have two of them in place. The first one was easy enough, the second one was trickier because I needed to cut it around the window frame. A third one is roughly positioned but I need to cut a narrower strip to fit between it and the window. Then the rest should go in easily, now I've figured how to do it all. Edit: Rather conveniently, the piece I cut out of the second panel to allow the window to continue to function as a window is almost perfectly sized to fill the space between the corner and the next window around. So where I expected to end up with a spare panel as a precaution (I'd rather end up with a spare panel than find I need to go out and buy a single extra panel), it now looks like I might have a little bit extra still. I'm not sure what I'll do with it if I do, as I'll want to keep it flat and protect it from too much moisture etc.