Old Stone House

I’ve decided it is time to clean up this website – no, I’m not drastically changing the design. I’m happy enough with the way things look and I’m not going to spend the effort making huge changes when they’re not necessary. Will I update the site? You betcha – This design is going to be 3+ years old soon and I’m tired of it – as well as I’m pretty sure I can improve on it – just like me house.

Anyway, I upgraded the blogging platform, cleaned out some useless plugins and reviewed my unpublished drafts and links list. The link-list has been very poorly maintained. As I use Google reader for all my blog subscriptions, and upload posts to this blog via platforms such as ScribeFire – I rarely visit my own blog – and thus I lost track of the state of my links list.

Sadly, there are some sites that have disappeared from existence. One example is www.nightmareonelmst.net. I thought this blog was beautifully designed and enjoyed the writing – but alas – it has been cyber-squatted and is no more. Likewise, there are a handful of sites that are suffering from neglect; sites that haven’t been updated in 2+ years. Looking over these sites final posts I realize now that I was ‘hooked’ – interested in the next stages of each authors project – only to never read another update. No farewell, no ceremony, just inactivity. Heartbreak!

It’s understandable why websites fade. They are work. They offer little return. They are another responsibility added to the daily routine.

In an effort to update this site, I’m using a little bit of web-foo to include my google reader information, manage my blogroll and highlight posts I like. I’m pretty sure that once I’ve digested these changes I begin the process of overhauling the site and freshening it’s look.

On a side note: Have I overlooked your blog? Should I enrich my life with your musings? Please, suggest your blog or a friend’s. I’m always looking for a new site.

If you are a regular follower of this blog, you’ll know that we have had a number of issues with ice dams over the last few winters. Our first year in the house we didn’t have and problems, but since then we have had ‘water in the kitchen’ event every winter.

At first we thought the water was the result on backed-up gutters. But judicious cleaning ruled that out. We considered that the terrible soffits might have something to do with our wet walls, but that theory was disproved after replacing all the soffits (reinstating walls etc.) on the ugly addition.

It wasn’t until I ventured onto the roof in the dead of winter with a shovel and crowbar that I discovered a 6″-8″ slab of ice atop the roof…

Now, the reason for the ice is simple. The roof is not insulated properly, has a shallow pitch, and does not breath. Heat is trapped in the roof rafters (cathedral ceiling inside) which melts snow, refreezes as ice. The ice – a glacier at this point – rams its way up under the shingles, melts, and ruins out lives.

The fix is actually quite simple. Tear off the roof.

I did the estimates this summer, and the total repair cost (materials) would be less then $800. This includes re-sheeting some areas, adding proper venting, ice-shield, and new shingles. Without a doubt, this would remedy the problem, but wasn’t a solution that we had time/money/weather to implement this summer. So, we’ve decided on the only other possible solution – gutter wires.

For those of you in more southerly climates who are unfamiliar with the practice of electrifying eaves-troughs, the basic premise is that you install thermal wiring (much like an electric blanket) on the roof which melts the ice and snow. The trick is to install the wires in such a way as to help the melt water to escape, rather then created melted pockets.

As you can see in the photos, the valley has been tarred, re-tarred and tarred again in the past (not by me) in an effort to stop water from penetrating the house. I know this to be a problem zone, so I installed a generous compliment of wires to keep the valley clean. I also installed the wires along the gutter in a rather tight pattern. I don’t want to give the ice any opportunity to wreak havoc.

Sunlight was dwindling when I shot these images so the installation is incomplete. I also didn’t bother to include and image showing how the wires travel inside the down pipe. I installed 120′ of thermal wire for a 16′ wide area of roof. Likely overkill. I don’t care.

On a side note – notice the broom. I swept the roof clean before starting work. 1 hour later, you can see the accumulation of leaves. Needless to say, we clean our gutters often.

2008 has been the bastion for economic uncertainty. One year ago people were recording record house sale profits and the economy ‘appeared’ to be steaming along without issue. However as well all know, economic times were not a good as once thought and now North America is gripped by financial instability.

People are losing their houses, their savings, and their hope…

…so does anybody want to talk about poverty?

One year ago, Blog Action Day focused on the planet, and housebloggers from around the world talked about their green choices, recycling strategies and money saving tips. Green is/was fashionable; it feels good and is ‘easy’.

But what of poverty?

In a time when people are feeling the economic pinch, who really wants to talk about the ‘less fortunate’ when we already tend to consider ourselves the ‘less fortunate’? We housebloggers are lucky – we have houses, and therefore jobs. That doesn’t mean that we don’t have struggles, and it doesn’t mean that our every day crisis’ don’t create more stress then we can bare. What it does mean that we accepting our financial realities unashamed, applauding/encouraging each other to make positive changes in our lives.

Let’s face it, there is a good portion of the population that has been completely insulated from the economy – a class of worker that only has themselves to blame for any personal financial debacles. But the recent tide changes have meant that more and more people are becoming vulnerable to market instability and the vast majority of people centralize many of their decisions based on raw economics.

So what can we do?

In our household, we do what we can – which may not be much – but it counts for something.

We give to the Foodbank. We shop in bulk, clip coupons, purchase sale items and do our best to stretch out dollar. We also try to foster a giving spirit while we shop. We consider how much we just ‘saved’, and try to split the difference in donations. (It’s easy to grab a few extra tins of ‘whatever’ for the food bank – try!). If you can save money while helping someone less fortunate, consider the situation a clear win-win.

We have also been doing our best to de-clutter intelligently. Critically assessing the things we need and the things we don’t, and doing out best to make sure that anything we deem redundant doesn’t wind up in a landfill and given an opportunity to enrich someone else’s life. Sure, it may be our cast-off door, coffee maker etc., but for someone else these items may represent a ‘deal’ that saved them enough money to get buy, or a small luxury that made them feel whole. Never underestimate the ‘value’ of anything that still has use.

We frequent second-hand stores. We have found a staggering number of deals at consignment shops, charities etc., that we would have otherwise never looked for. The fact that purchasing ‘previously enjoyed’ keeps good items out of a landfill, while allowing sale proceed to help others is again a win-win.

Are we changing the world? No. Are we making a big difference – probably not. Are we getting a warm-fuzzy feeling despite our minimal efforts? Yes.

So what’s the point?

The point is that much like ‘green’ choices, individual actions mean little – but those decisions/acts add up to a lot when combined with all the efforts of countless others. If everyone changing one light bulb from an incandescent to a CFL can add up to millions of dollars in savings nation-wide, how could we change the face of poverty if we all gave one tin of food, one dollar to charity or volunteered a few hours of our time.

We live in a time where it’s almost a nescessity to obsess on ourselves and maintain our best interests – on October 15th, let’s try to steal one moment away from ourselves and think of others…

A long time ago my father taught me that one of the best ‘toolboxes’ is an old drywall compound bucket. My father had a bucket for plumbing, an electrical bucket, a drywalling bucket, and the general use bucket. Simple, sturdy, and free. (more agony and joy…)

I can’t believe it’s been two months since my last post! Where has the time gone?

I’m happy to report that nothing extraordinary has happened since my last writing – and I’m grateful for that! It would seem that our little experiment with the housing market did us a world of good – allowing us to prioritize our needs, be thankful for what we have, and avoid possible economic disaster. (more agony and joy…)