Archive for the 'Home Maintenance' Category
Hurricane Irene: Feeling Fortunate
The storm has passed, the skies have cleared, and the wind has died down. It is a bright and sunny Monday.
Sunday morning – before the eye of the storm arrived – turned out to be the worst of the weather for Greater Hartford. That’s when the bulk of the rain came through, and the strongest wind gusts, though they did not approach hurricane strengths. The rain died out quickly as the storm moved north of us, and the heavy winds that were forecast never materialized.
Our biggest concern before the storm was that massive trees would not be able to withstand the heavy winds, especially with the saturated soil. We were worried about cars and homes getting hit, and were mentally prepared for a power outage. Thankfully, neither happened for us (though we know others in the immediate vicinity that were affected).
Our biggest actual issue during the storm was the heavy rain. Like most homes in the area, our basement has a portion of the foundation floor cut out at the low point to allow water to drain from inside to outside. During especially rainy stretches we sometimes see water collect in the pit, and attribute it to the rising water table. Early Sunday morning we began to see signs that the water may try to use the hole to come into the basement.
Our makeshift solution is shown in the picture – we basically tried to plug the hole using whatever we could find. The key components ended up being over sized garbage bags as a liner, wet kitty litter to mold the the bags to the irregular shape of the hole, a sheet of foam insulation to hold down the perimeter, and then lots of weights to apply pressure and seal the edges. It’s an ugly solution, but we didn’t get any water in the basement.
We feel very fortunate that we seem to have emerged unscathed, and are also grateful that the scope of the damage in the region was much less than expected. Other areas of Connecticut experienced considerably more problems – flooding, trees down, and power outages. Some friends in NYC were evacuated from their high rise apartment and then came back to water damage. Friends further south have also reported major problems.
Worst of all, it seems like just about all of southern Vermont, our home state, was devastated by flash flooding. All the major routes we would take to get from Hartford to Rutland are washed out – Route 103 in Chester and Ludlow (near Okemo). Route 9 in Wilmington (near Mt. Snow). Route 4 in Woodstock and Mendon (near Killington). Other towns sustained major damage away from the primary roads, especially Brattleboro. It’s the worst flooding pictures and video I have ever seen. Please consider taking a trip up to VT this fall or winter for some touristing activities – it’s a wonderful place to explore and their economy is going to need our help.
Hurricane Irene Prep: Essential Supplies?
Since we’ve never been through a Connecticut hurricane before, nor have we been through one in a home we owned, we’ve spent the past couple of days preparing. We’re taking it seriously – this could be a dangerous situation. We’re most concerned about the large trees surrounding our home. Amy is worst-case-scenario-ing every tree near us falling on our house and the damage that will be done. Staying locked up in the house with her for 48 hours is going to be a real treat…
Just about everything outside has either been picked up or tied down. We have enough non-perishable food to get us through a few days – maybe even a week – without power. We’re planning to park the cars somewhere relatively tree-free. And we’re in the process of packing what I am calling a “Go Bag” for each human and canine member of the household.
In addition to these measures, we’ve also gathered a modest collection of supplies in the basement just in case we have to deal with an extreme situation. Tarps and rope, batteries, work gloves, duct tape, baseball bats (for when the zombies attack, I guess?), and bubbles (to amuse our kid). The essentials, really.
Whether or not this all pans out awaits to be seen. The weather people work for ratings, but it is important to take this seriously. Please make sure you’re prepared and stay safe!
Bat Adventures: Who is the Bat Man?
This post continues our story about bats in the attic…
It’s time for the bats to go, but how does that actually happen? Who do I call to help me get them out? We keep a list of contractors and other service providers so that we have someone to recommend to our clients in any occasion. But there is nobody on the list for wildlife removal – somehow I don’t think the bug exterminators are right for this job.
In situations like this it’s great to work in an office with other friendly and knowledgeable agents. Surely some of them have had to help their clients with bats over the years. I sent a quick note requesting information and received a number of helpful responses.
The first thing I learned was that bats are a protected species, so the appropriate way to address a bat problem is to “exclude” them from a house rather than “exterminate” them. This made me feel bad about killing one years ago, but that was an accident (honest!). I guess it’s good that we didn’t get any in the traps we had set.
I also learned that the people who deal with wild animals, like bats, have a separate license from the State. So they usually are different people than those who would deal with ants, termites, or other bugs.
And, of course, I got the names of multiple people who I could call to help with my current problem. They have been added to “the database” for future reference.
To end the suspense, the Bat Man is named Rich. He’s a very helpful guy, and knows quite a bit about how bats live and what they’re likely to do. For example, bats like to crawl into our houses on their belly (rather than fly in), so their fur leaves a little oil spot near their entrance. That’s one of the big signals that a building has a serious bat problem.
Rich also told me that bats like to come out to feed on insects at dusk, and they’ll often return to just outside their access point to enjoy their food. This means that if there are a lot of bats in a colony, then there will be quite a mess below their access point from the droppings.
The Bat Man’s professional opinion was that we only have a few bats in the house, maybe three or four. He also felt that their intrusion into our living area was more of an accident/coincidence than a major problem – that was the good news. The bad news was that he didn’t see anything that jumped out as an obvious access point. And without an access point there isn’t much he can do.
His recommendation was for us to try to figure out where they’re getting into the house. He could do a more thorough inspection, but that would be quite expensive and he seemed worried that he might not actually find it since there weren’t that many bats. That puts the ball back in our court. We have to figure out how they’re getting in on our own.
Rich recommended that we stake out the likely access points at dusk. He said we should grab a cold beverage and set up our lawn chairs and just watch to see what happens. We should be able to see them come out for the evening and then periodically return with their meal. In addition, we’ve been assigned the responsibility to trying to count the total number so that none get trapped inside when we begin plugging the holes.
Will this make me the Bat Man too? I think it will … I am the Bat Man.
Bat Adventures: Unwelcome Guests
It’s time for our house guests to go.
Not the relatives who are down for a visit, but the bats that have moved into our home. Last week was the final straw – we found evidence of them in the actual living area for the very first time. Previously, they had respected our space and kept their mess and activity confined to the attic area.
We first discovered the bats a couple years after we moved in. We could hear the scratching in the ceilings and walls and decided it was time to investigate. The droppings in the attic gave us a sense of the size of the animals and where they were. At that point we thought it was mice, or maybe squirrels, so we set out traps of various sizes to see what would happen.
Bottom line … nothing happened, we didn’t catch a thing.
Shortly thereafter I was crawling around above our home office and heard a crunch. Uh oh. Thankfully it came from between two boards I was moving around to span the rafters rather than under my knee. Dead mouse? Nope, dead winged mouse – a bat. That’s how we first figured out what was up there.
In a way, learning it was a bat was a relief. We were worried it was a squirrel or something else that was more destructive. Bats seemed less concerning, though still potentially a problem. We eventually gave up trying to get rid of them and reluctantly accepted them as “tenants.”
But last week’s activity changes the dynamic of our informal contract. We called in the experts for a consult … more on that in the next installment.
Goodbye Engine-less Lawnmower
June 2004: Amy and Kyle have just bought a home in Hartford, their first … it’s time for some yard work.
I was very excited to have property to take care of for the first time since I worked summers during college as the maintenance guy for our Town Park back in Vermont. As you might imagine, the lawns up there are a little larger than down here in the City. The parks I maintained involved quite a bit of mowing – acres and acres.
Our lot in Hartford, on the other hand, is 0.16 acres. Most of the land is taken up by house, driveway, gardens, and a crushed stone “patio” area, so there really isn’t much grass at all. I figured it would be a breeze to keep it mowed. A riding mower was out of the question. Not only was it complete overkill for the time and effort required, but we also don’t have anywhere to park it. A traditional push mower and a string trimmer were more than enough to keep our property under control.
The local home improvement center had numerous options for lawn mowers. One that really jumped out at me was a reel mower – the kind that doesn’t have an engine – just spinning blades that act like scissors.
Because the yard was so small, I figured it would be a nice solution. Small, so it wouldn’t take up much room in our shed. No engine, so I wouldn’t have to deal with buying and storing gasoline, and just a little more environmentally friendly than the other options. Plus, the extra effort of pushing the thing around for 15 minutes would be a good way to get some exercise. So I bought one, why not give it a shot?
July 2004: Reality of a reel mower sets in.
It turned out that reel mowers aren’t all that effective with a lawn that is bumpy and weedy. The bumps cause the reel to bounce around, making it difficult to keep the wheels in contact with the ground, which is critical for maintaining the system’s momentum, and for getting a clean cut. The result on our lawn was a very uneven cut, and lots of missed blades that eventually grew quite tall. Reel mowers are also less effective at the longer blades and weeds, meaning that the stuff I missed the previous mowing would either get tangled in the reel or get missed again. I had to use the string trimmer to clean things up.
Reel mowers work great on golf courses. I eventually realized that there were considerably more differences than similarities between my lawn and a golf course. My lawn is not made up of a uniform grass type. My lawn is neither irrigated nor chemically treated. My lawn is nowhere near as smooth. And my lawn is not mowed frequently to maintain the grass height. So my lawn is not a good match for a reel mower. Nevertheless, I was determined to stick it out for the first year to give the reel mower a fair shot.
May 2005: Kyle gets real.
Going into our second summer, I decided to get serious about the lawn and buy a normal lawn mower. I no longer wanted to work extra hard to mow the lawn, more frequently than otherwise necessary, yet still end up with sub-par results. The first couple of mows with the power mower were wonderful – the lawn looked perfectly smooth.
The reel mower moved to the back corner of the shed, out of the way. It was still available if needed, but was no longer the primary mower.
July 2005: Kyle can’t get the gas mower to start.
Gasoline engine lawn mowers have their challenges too. For me it was trying to figure out why it consistently took 25 pulls to get the things started. Seriously? Just start! I never had this problem with my reel mower.
This issue did not cause me to pull out the reel mower.
July 2008: Kyle’s gas mower needs a tune-up.
Why does the mower’s engine sound like it’s slowing down every 5 steps? Maybe it needs a tune-up. An oil change. Or a new spark plug. What else do small engines like this need? It probably needs the blades sharpened, but that’s not causing it to sound funny.
On the plus side, I figured out why it was so hard to start. When storing it in my shed, I was tilting it about 30 degrees to the side and driving it on two wheels in order to avoid an obstacle. Somehow that was causing the engine to flood, which made starting it much more difficult.
Reel mower? What reel mower?
May 2011: Kyle’s gas mower still needs a tune-up.
The gas mower still works, but the sounds it makes do not inspire much confidence. Like modern electronics, it seems to me that the lawn mower was built to be thrown away rather than maintained and kept for a long period of time. It cost about $100. And I can’t imagine finding anyone who would be willing to figure out what’s wrong, buy the parts, and fix it for less than $50.
I’ll just keep using it until it finally gives out, offer it for free on CraigsList to someone who can fix it, and then go buy a new one. And maybe this time I’ll get one that actually comes with an instruction manual that talks about how to service it and what parts might be needed. I can follow instructions. But I’m just not interested in trying to figure out what’s wrong and then try to fix it. Besides, if it makes it through this season, year 7, then it will have cost about $15 per year to own plus $10 per year in gas. I’m comfortable with $25 per year in equipment costs to mow the lawn.
July 2011: Kyle decides to part with the reel mower.
The reel mower has been sitting in the shed since it was retired in 2004. For a while I had hoped to fix the lawn so that it would be reasonable to use it to mow. But now I’ve accepted that even if the lawn does get fixed (which is unlikely), I would still prefer a gas powered mower.
It’s time to get rid of the reel mower. Would anyone like it? I’m planning to listing it for sale on CraigsList, but if any reader is interested in giving it a go, I would be happy to let it go for free.