val922's Diaryland Diary

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Working Weekend

The house D and I currently rent is very poorly maintained. The basement foundation is cracked and so old it crumbles in some places to the touch. The furnace is a 1985 model. The windows are probably just about as old, the chalking is non existent or cracking and most of the windows have mold around them inside and out. The roof leaks in the bathroom and the back bedroom. The sun porch is literally falling off the house. This house is so old in fact its walls are made of slats not drywall and they are insulated with strips of newspaper.

When we call the landlord about problems he is quick to fix them, the problem is when he fixes them he puts the equivalent of a band aid on a cut that needs not merely stitching but staples. Trying to get this man to spend any kind of money is like pulling teeth from King Kong. My philosophy is if you put out the big bucks to have it fixed correctly then it will cost you less in the long run.

At any rate the point I am trying to get around to is that D and I had requested in order to stave off another high gas bill this winter, for him to chalk all the windows. After 2 weeks of waiting we decided to do it ourselves. We purchased plastic to cover all the windows, new weather stripping for the back door, four tubes of chalking and a chalking gun. Cost us about $50 and one afternoon of work.

Our other project is still under way. During the course of Binner�s stay we made every effort to make sure he was comfortable in his basement apartment. Moving chairs down there for him to use, keeping our eyes peeled for cast offs like the carpet D got from work as well as offering to help him fix it up. For the most part he feigned interest but didn�t really try to make it homey. Now that he is no longer with us we have moved C back down there. Here are the before and afters so far:







And that my friend is how we spent our weekend.

4:06 p.m. - Monday, Oct. 02, 2006

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