Pains of fixing up old house (7/12/04)

I used to think that arched windows were attractive. That was before I went out to the kitchen to fix supper last night and noticed that the windowsill had a big enough bow in it to be mistaken for a miniature mountain. I thought I saw a tiny ski lift on one side of the slope but I was wrong. I assume the flag planted at the peak was also an illusion.

We are having our foundation repaired and in the process of fixing it the window decided it needed attention. The following morning I showed earring-boy (also known as “the cute one”) the newest problem. He uttered something slightly stronger than, “Oh, dear.” It was amazingly similar to what I said when I first noticed the problem. The foundation people have since coaxed the sill into some semblance of flatness.

I knew there would be casualties when we started this project. I was prepared for the inevitable trampled flowers and the mangled grass. I should give the workmen credit because they have yet to murder anything I specifically asked them to be careful of. Thank goodness most perennials are able to survive one bad year.

I suspected there would be cracked inside walls from having the house jostled around so that the necessary work could be done. I didn’t expect the shattered drinking glass in the sink. It’s a good thing that my brother, Michael, used to give me drinking glasses every year for Christmas and my birthday. This went on for many years until I finally asked him to stop. Therefore, I’m not upset about one broken glass even if I did cut myself cleaning it up.

I didn’t panic when I could see daylight behind the stove but I was grateful that nothing was looking back at me, not even the brazen rabbit that has been feasting on the bean plants in the garden.

I will admit that seeing the base cabinets tilt at a 45-degree angle caused more than a bit of concern although it did allow me to easily clean that area where the stove meets the countertop.

All old houses have problems. The uneven floor in the kitchen is a great place for the cat to play with a ball. If she bats it in the right direction it will come rolling back to her. Once the foundation is fixed we will need to tackle the floors so that they will all be level and solid. Then I will be expected to play ball with the cat as her toys will no longer return by themselves.

I am not an avid do-it-yourselfer. I much prefer hiring someone with the know-how and proper tools to do whatever needs to be done. The problem with hiring people is that they go home at the end of the day while we are left to quietly panic when the house creaks, groans and finally settles down to rest. An old house hates being messed with. It much prefers to quietly sink into the earth at its own pace.

I’m sure we will have more unpleasant surprises awaiting us before all is said and done. I go out every evening and take pictures of the progress that has been made. I have no idea what I’m going to do with more than two dozen pictures of our foundation.

Maybe I should get a couple of pictures of the workmen while I am at it. Do you think earring-boy, tattoo-guy, the young one and the guy I used to work with will pose for me or will they be too busy trying to fix problems that arise as a result of their work?

One thing leads to another. When one thing is repaired something else goes haywire. That’s just the way it goes. I’ll be glad when this project is over and the house can come to terms with the work that has been done. A good foundation is a start. Maybe one day all the maintenance and remodeling will be one.

Then it will be time to start all over again. I just hope we don’t have any more arched windows in the near future.[[In-content Ad]]