... around the house.
Besides the massive remodeling project we've started in the basement, there are all sorts of other things that always need to be done.
Today, I took the kids to the Gnome Despot to pick up a 5 gallon bucket of DryLock to paint onto the cinder blocks in the basement. Apparently, a good chunk of the basement cinder blocks are already painted with DryLock, but the part of the basement that will be our living space does not. It will take 2 coats to do it right; the first coat should be painted up/down whereas the second coat should be painted left/right. Hopefully, this will be an initial moisture barrier!!
When I got home, I inspected the basement walls to see if there is any mold or mildew. I don't think there is, so I don't think I need to scrub them down with a wire brush and bleach. However, inspecting the walls made me notice that there are some holes that I should probably patch with some quick setting concrete before I start painting with the DryLock.
After lunch, I decided I had the energy to tackle a job I've been wanting to do since we moved in, but on days I had the energy, it was bad/cold weather... wash the windows! Today was the perfect day as it wasn't cold, it wasn't hot, it was sunny, and the bugs aren't out in force yet.
Now, I didn't take a shortcut and Windex the inside window only. In fact, I would have made my father proud today! I washed the inside AND outside of the windows with a Lysol solution-soaked rag, squeegeed them dry, and then washed each of the screens, the tracks, and the sills. What I found was that the windows were not only disgusting, but the number of STINKBUGS hiding in the window tracks was also disgusting!!! It turns out that these 1992 windows don't have a wide enough weather strip to keep the bugs out from between the screen and the window. UUUUGH!!! I'm wondering if Gnome Despot has weather stripping for windows like these. I'd have to custom cut one for each window, but it would be worth to keep all of these critters out!
I also have to call Andersen to see if they are still under warranty (I think I have until the end of this year, actually) because there is condensation forming in between the panes of 3 of the windows. Guessing the Argon gas has leaked, so either they need to be refilled or replaced. Either way, I have to call soon!!
As if that wasn't enough work, I also decided to tackle the Ghetto Light project. The Ghetto Light is the one light outside of our garage that lost its top during the winter of 2009. To protect the bulb, we covered the top with a piece of tin foil. Pretty ghetto..... When I looked at all of the lights that hang off the garage, 4 matched, and 4 didn't. I found the lights that look like the ones that actually match, and bought them. Today, I decided, would be installation day. Naturally, this was not as simple as it should have been as it required drilling extra holes to make the hanging screws fit. Steve helped me with the first one, and I did the second one. After throwing the breaker back on, we confirmed our lighted success! No more Ghetto Light!
Hurray for house projects!!
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