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Post by phillydude on Apr 3, 2020 4:43:44 GMT
Hello Friends of JSF... all is well here in MD, although we are now under full-on shelter-in-place orders.
Actually, the quarantine hasn't affected me much at all... mainly because I have a lot going on right now anyway.
About two weeks ago, I got a call from my general contractor that he was available to resume work on my house.
So we dove into the biggest remaining project... the kitchen. The floors were uneven, as was the ceiling.
Turned out that the sill plates on both outside walls of the house were rotted, which was the cause of the floor issues.
So we ended up tearing out four layers of flooring and all of the floor joists, then jacked up the walls to replace everything damaged.
And while we had all that out, we addressed the root cause (water pooling under the house) and dug out about a foot of soil as well.
We're also finishing up the plumbing, including replacing the sewer and water lines throughout the house, The ceiling and windows are next.
When I say "we," I actually mean he and I... I've been doing a lot of the work right alongside him, which is hard but rewarding.
I took off last week and this week from work since we have no guests at the Inn anyway, but I am returning on Monday to help with maintenance.
On the fitness front, I haven't done anything but the physical labor, and of course my nutrition has been horrible as well.
Quick question... when this is all over, will the people from My 600lb Life find me, or do I have to contact A&E?
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Post by M@ on Apr 3, 2020 12:24:53 GMT
Quick question... when this is all over, will the people from My 600lb Life find me, or do I have to contact A&E? Last time I saw you with a daily physical labor job (Amazon) you were the leanest I've ever seen you. You may come out of this fitter than ever. I think the worst case scenario is you get a big gut and can somehow still manage to run a sub-25:00 5K. I was literally just about to text you to check up on you. Still will, but I figured I'd leave a snarky comment or two here.
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Post by seltzer on Apr 3, 2020 15:25:18 GMT
All that physical labor will certainly replace more traditional modes of exercise.
Adding to M@'s comment, not only will you be able to accomplish the run he mentioned, but knowing you you'll be able to do it without any training. :-)
How are your wife and kids faring?
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Post by macdiver on Apr 3, 2020 16:02:04 GMT
That is a significant "quarantine project". Was it water rot or termite rot that got destroyed the sill beams?
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Post by phillydude on Apr 3, 2020 20:37:30 GMT
M@, despite having more free time than prior to the quarantine, I haven't done any walking, let alone running. I also need a new pair of running shoes (one of the reasons I stopped walking). But I will admit the last few times I did go out for a walk, I was tempted to run a little bit. Maybe... hmmm...
Paul, the wife and kids are in PA. Both the boys have resumed their collegiate studies remotely, and she is tele-working from home. We are hopeful that when this is all over it will advance our timetable for her to spend more time here in the next few years... proof of concept that she doesn't really need to be there at the office in Philly every day.
Mark, it was water rot... a combination of lack of gutters on the original 1920's part of the house, older windows that most likely leaked over time, and ground water pooling underneath in the crawl space (which was in some points less than a foot from ground to joists). We found very minimal termite damage (mainly in the original tongue and groove siding that comprised the original exterior walls, which became interior walls as the house was expanded) and no signs of anything active.
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Post by seltzer on Apr 3, 2020 21:14:51 GMT
Phil, glad the family is okay and I agree with you that many organizations will realize that they can function more remotely than in the past.
FYI, bought a pair of running shoes that were delivered today.
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Post by phillydude on Apr 4, 2020 14:46:57 GMT
FYI, bought a pair of running shoes that were delivered today. Yeah... I actually was shopping for some online a few days ago... and was just thinking about buying them again just now as I walked up to town for coffee.
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Post by shamie on Apr 4, 2020 21:34:20 GMT
I think the worst case scenario is you get a big gut and can somehow still manage to run a sub-25:00 5K.I couldn't have said that better myself, based on my experience running the Philadelphia marathon with you. I recall you said you barely trained, but ran it about at least 30 minutes faster than me.
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Post by M@ on Apr 4, 2020 22:55:27 GMT
FYI: A spontaneous FOJSF meet-up/run is taking shape in Mac’s journal for this coming September (if we’re all allowed out of the house).
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Post by phillydude on Apr 5, 2020 13:01:16 GMT
Thanks for the heads up.
I did a "M@" this morning... got up and dressed to go for a five mile walk... then bought a box of donuts and a coffee and returned home instead.
Ordered running shoes yesterday. The last time I was at Walmart, I found a Visa gift card in the parking lot. When I checked it, there was $50 remaining.
I had completely forgotten about it until I pulled out my wallet to pay for the online order... so free shoes for me, which is nice.
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Post by phillydude on Apr 5, 2020 14:16:06 GMT
OK gonna see if I can post pics here while I am waiting for the contractor to arrive (yes, we work seven days a week). This photo shows what we are working with... taken on day one of the demolition. At this point, we had pulled up the five layers of flooring (vinyl tile, thin subfloor, vinyl tile, thicker subfloor, and then original wood planking). For reference, the house was built in the 1920's, with additions added in the 1950's. The left side is the original house, the right side is where the addition starts. To the right (not pictured) are the two bedrooms. One of the best parts of the restoration process is being able to see how the house was originally constructed, where and when the expansions took place (more on that in a minute), and how the house grew and changed over the years. You can also see the large amount of water that pooled under the original house... a combination of ground water, runoff from improper exterior grading, and a leaking sewer line. The new sump pump was installed below window on the left side (which will be replaced today) and a french drain was cut in along the old foundation line that bisects the room from "old" to "new." Stepping backwards in the demo timeline... this is the original floor from the original house. Unfortunately, it did not continue into the addition (which was just skinned with plywood), so we decided not to keep it intact. The living room (which is to the far left in this shot, where the tools are sitting) still has the original floors as well, and those are in excellent shape, with just a thin coat of paint (which has preserved the wood)... we plan to sand those down and reseal them at some point in the future). We did retain all of these wood planks that were salvagable (almost all of the floor) from the kitchen, however, and will use the tongue and groove to create flooring in the attic when we get to working on the ceiling area. We have really tried to re-use as much of the original house as possible... doors and knobs, lumber, etc. In fact, we kept the original kitchen cabinets (which were hand made with dowel-pin construction) and intend to refinish them and reinstall in a new configuration as we move along with the project. These are some of the old newspapers which were tucked into various places in the ceiling. Dated from July-Sept 1957, this gives me a pretty good idea of when the addition was built (by cutting out the back wall of the house... at the time, they put in a paperboard tile ceiling to give the whole room a somewhat continuous finish to "tie-in" both the old and the new parts of the room, and put these then-current daily papers underneath as a "time-capsule" for someone like me to find down the road). Hard to believe these are over 50 years old now... This gives you an idea of the biggest problem we have encountered... the rotting of the sill plates and siding that attach the walls to the foundation. This area is right under the side door to the house... over the years, the moisture under the house (as well as a lack of gutters allowing rain to run down the siding) just destroyed everything. Additionally, we found that the entire house (both old and new sections) were constructed without any joist hangers... basically the whole subframe was being held together with nails, some of which were now 100 years old... we obviously reinforced all of those joints with the appropriate brackets to keep it from collapsing from the inside out. One last picture... this is the original back wall of the house, which was hidden behind some 50 year old paneling and uncovered when we demo'd out this area of the kitchen (which we are going to use as a mud room). I was absolutely delighted to discover this shiplap style siding, and since it has never been painted, we are going to keep it as an architectural detail, probably with a coat of whitewash. Sounds like the contractor just pulled up, so I've got to get to work... I will snap a few more pics today.
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Post by M@ on Apr 7, 2020 20:44:42 GMT
I did a "M@" this morning... got up and dressed to go for a five mile walk... Philly is, of course, referring to the time I came down with Sara to run the...Chestertown Half Marathon (11/02/2012)...and stayed with him in Rock Hall. It was insanely cold and there were huge wind gusts. We drove into town (a spider almost fell on me from Philly's Jeep) to see if they were still going to hold the event in light of the conditions. When it turned out they were, I decided I'd rather get a dozen donuts from Dunkin and head back to his house to eat donuts, drink coffee, and watch TV! Actual photo of the event in question attached. Edit: In no way do I regret my decision. Running that race on that day in those conditions would have been one of the most miserable experiences in my life. I do fitness stuff to feel good, not to abuse myself.
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Post by seltzer on Apr 7, 2020 23:24:50 GMT
M@, great story.
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Post by phillydude on Apr 7, 2020 23:50:47 GMT
Man... I am exhausted. I started back at work on Monday, and they asked if I would do some landscaping and other outdoor work since we have no guests (and therefore, none of my usual job responsibilities - cooking breakfast, folding towels, baking cookies, etc). So instead of my nice cushy indoor job, I have been tasked with cleaning up our lavender gardens this week. Three rows of 100 plants per row, which works out to about 150 yards x three feet width that needed weeding... by hand. Six hours yesterday got me 2/3 of the way done... and then I came home at 3pm and worked with the contractor until 9pm last night. Despite doing my foam rolling to try and get my back right before bed, I woke up at 4am with a painful right hip. Took about fifteen minutes on the roller to work that out, and then never fell back to sleep. Another three hours to finish the weeding today, and then I started edging the beds. Even though it's a power edger, it still takes significant effort to push the sucker along... I only finished about a quarter of that job today and my arms (especially my elbows and wrists) are stiff and sore. Came home and worked another four hours on the house. Oh yeah... I also got a sunburn on my face, neck, and arms, so I feel toasty inside too. Anyway, have to make another dump run in the morning (I am averaging a pick-up load of debris every three days from the house), then back to the edging, and then more house... so I'm off to bed.
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Post by seltzer on Apr 8, 2020 15:23:57 GMT
I'm tired just reading your post.
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