Construction and Industrial Articles
posted on 17 May 2012
If I had enough money, my first purchase would be some new draught excluding pvc windows to replace the rotten, wooden ones we have in our semi detached property. I need more light in my house - I've got some floor lights and wall lamps, but you can't beat natural light. We have needed new windows for just 20 years! Yes they are the one thing we still haven't saved up for. When we do get them, we will be delighted and will feel like the King and Queen of our street. They have nearly been purchased before, but something else always comes up which has to be done first. The brown wood has been repainted by us many times over the years and we have even resorted to sticking pieces of plastic over them in the winter to keep out the draughts. Obviously this doesn't work and it is a terrible job, dealing with all that sticky tape and plastic sheeting. Roll on the time when we can afford to replace them with some wonderful plastic windows. We are looking forward to the day, but I don't know when it will be. My husband operates a post hole auger at work, so he's a capable guy and may be able to do these jobs - if not, he'll know someone trustworthy who can. |
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posted on 9 February 2012
I love our midwestern suburban house but I have learned that the good people of 1972, the year it was built, had completely different expectations about comfortable bedroom size. Back then they didn't have the conveniences of hook and loop fastenings and the like! The master bedroom is what I’d call an acceptable size, helped by an angled entry into the corridor and a sliding-glass door to the garden. But bedrooms two and three, adjacent to each other, are both truly tiny. Naturally it’s occurred to me to knock out the wall between them. Well, more than that, really. I have it all worked out, actually, accounting for the closet space (we wouldn’t lose any), the load-bearing supports (none), the difference in property value between a two-bedroom and three-bedroom house (we’re willing to make the sacrifice for the sake of livability), down to a fairly exact budget and even paint color after the wall comes out. But something is holding me back. A little voice tells me this is a Big Deal. In the back of my mind, something worries me about tearing out that wall. Isn’t that funny? |
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posted on 6 February 2012
I always envisioned the day I moved into my first apartment would be an exciting and happy occasion. Unfortunately, it turned out to be a nightmare I’ll never forget. Although the apartment still needed a few minor repairs and fresh paint, I was assured that everything would be taken care of by maintenance. I signed the lease, paid the required deposit, and was then given the keys to my kingdom with a promise that I would be able to move in two days later. With great anticipation, I put my key in the lock and swung open the door to my new home. To my horror, I was greeted with dingy, grimy, unpainted walls, floors covered with dust bunnies the size of golf balls and foggy windows. I've cleaned slimline oil tanks and done other messy jobs, but this would require even more patience and hard work from me to deal with this.
When I confronted the landlady, she simply shrugged her shoulders and informed me that the painters wouldn’t be available until the following week. However, I was still free to move in since I’d already paid that month’s rent. How generous of her. Instead of telling her off, I redirected my anger to the monumental task of cleaning the apartment from ceiling to floor. Bucket after bucket of dirty water was deposited down the toilet as I scrubbed the walls and floor. It took three medium-sized garbage bags to collect all the dust from the floor. I polished the windows until they gleamed. The sinks, bathtub and toilet would have passed inspection better than those in a hospital. Twelve hours later, my apartment was finally habitable. I then headed for the shower to clean off the grime and dirt that had collected on me during the cleaning process. Every muscle in my body ached and I was exhausted by the time I stumbled into bed. Instead of falling asleep with the odor of fresh paint in the air, my aroma therapy was pine-scented disinfectant and bleach |
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