Fixing Up the House

Old houses require a lot of repair, and I'd been neglecting mine for years. It was in need, of, among other things, a good wash and window cleaning, and the fallen leaves and ivy had taken over the yard.

When I returned home on January 12 the weather was fine and I had no excuse to put things off. I got to work.

First, I raked the leaves-- maybe 40 bags full, which is remarkable, considering how tiny my lot is. Then I pulled ivy-- maybe 20 bags full, beating the pestilent vines back beyond the property lines. Then I joined the volunteer leaf crew because I felt guilty about having so many bags to haul away.

Next I scrubbed the white vinyl fences, which were green with moss. Then the house, as high as I could reach, then the back deck, and finally the gazebo in the front yard.

I pulled down the multicolored rope lights on the front of the house, since large sections of them were burned out, and replaced most of the sections of the white rope lights on the Louisa May Alcove Memorial Gazebo. I replaced almost every plastic anchor, since they broke when I removed the lights. Small wonder; they were ten years old.

The artificial flowers on the window boxes had disintegrated with age, so I took them down. When I saw the prices of plastic flowers at Michael's I went to plan B; I picked up some metal yard doohickies at Tuesday morning and stuck them in holes in 4"x4" boards I placed in the bottom of the flower boxes. Meanwhile, impatiens had come in, so I planted the flower boxes on the first floor and stuck a few in the ground for good measure. I also planted some spearmint Paul on Dahlia and his wife Susan had been good enough to give me, and some boxwoods along the side of the house, since the azaleas there had failed to thrive.

I bought some grass seed and sowed it in two batches several weeks apart, and soon green grass was showing in the bare spots between the weeds. I recently had to mow it. I used a great electric mower I bought for $50 at an in-city yard sale. Yay!

With some help, I retrieved my aluminum Grumman canoe from a neighbor's yard, where it had been for six or seven years, scrubbed it, and, set it to rest in its customary home atop the lean-to shed at the back of my house.

The heavy cast iron farm bell on the gazebo was leaning precariously, so I took it down and rehung it, this time attaching it to the gazebo's frame instead of a 4"x4" post.

Sooooo Leaning!

Inside, I gave everything a good cleaning. I took the blinds outside to wash them, pulled the furniture away from the walls, and swept away cobwebs and washed windows and walls. I repaired the bad fixture on the ceiling fan in the living room and called a furniture repair store to fix my Morris-style recliner, which had shed its springs, making me sit on the floor.

Years ago, after a break-in, I put keyed sash locks on the Rockbridge side of my house, since the fence hides anyone there from view. It took some doing, since neither Lowe's nor Home Depot carried them any more, but I found them on Amazon, ordered them, and, when they arrived, installed them.

Lisa Kellerman (Handy Ann) did a great job pressure washing the parts of the house I had been unable to reach and set the upper window boxes straight (I was reluctant to climb that high on a ladder, and besides, I had no ladder that would reach that high).

To celebrate, I took myself to Pike's Nursery in Toco Hills to buy a yard flag with a spring theme.

What??? You want HOW much?

I found a great flag for $12 on the interwebs. Sorry, no photo.

My project took three months. I didn't push myself, and besides, I was working on my car at the same time (next post). Still, I'm happy with how much I got done and how much better the house looks inside and out.

Things aren't yet perfect. The upstairs ceiling fan no longer works and will need to be replaced. Fortunately, it's under warranty and Home Depot will give me a new one. I'm still looking for someone to put down new vinyl flooring in the kitchen cheaply, and the kitchen stove is shot and needs to be replaced. The carpet is old and should be replaced. And thanks to Lisa for letting me know I need a new roof. I'll need to save for that!

This summer my project will be cleaning, reglazing, and repainting all 16 windows on my house. Glazing compound and I don't get along, so I'll be using an alternative-- I'll miter-cut small-size quarter-round and use it to hold the glass in.

I'm no fan of hard work, but I don't mind it, especially since my income is limited and it's so much cheaper to do it myself. Except, of course, when I can't do it myself. I don't think I'll be climbing up on that roof.

Although, maybe...