I have found a complimentary magic. For awhile, I wasn't sure I could manage the hardware, let alone the spells; Tam remarked, as we loaded up The Hottest Needle Of Inquiry, my '06 Hyundai Accent, "This can only end in tears." It certainly wasn't anything I'd done from scratch before:
Guttering.Alas, among the many charming features of Roseholme Cottage, up there with genuine barn-red alligator paint and skewed doorframes, was a stretch of roof outside the back door that lacked a gutter, right where the runoff dripped on your head and splashed up on the foundation (now charmingly mossy; I am pretty sure a dab of charming bleach and some charming scrub-brush work will fix it up). It'd been bugging me and the neighborhood Home Improvement Emporium does have all the parts....
So today I got ambitious. It looked for awhile as if it wasn't going to work.
You'll notice there's rather a lot of slope. I'm pretty sure I can adjust it if there are problems. It's not as if the tools are especially exotic!
I did forget one teensy thing: I kind of overlooked downspout supports.
There's a fix for that. (2x2 is tacked to the trim with drywall screws, the bodger's helper. It'll hold 'til I pick up the proper brackets tomorrow). At least I did remember to install a nifty extension tube-thing (not shown), to carry the runoff across the sidewalk and away from the foundation!...And the magic? All day, it threatened rain. Rain was forecast for this evening -- and we'd already had a lot the last few days, which was one reason I was in a rush to hang the gutter. Since it's been up? Not a hint of precipitation!
H'mmm, I may have to keep a little guttering handy. Just in case.
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* Motorscooters count for this, possibly double points.
Nicely done!
ReplyDeleteSomething about successful home improvement/repair projects is immensely satisfying. Now if I could just get that damn lawnmower running again...
(Side note: your ladder is backwards. The fly section (skinnier section) should always be on the top/outside.)
Tell that to the guy who put the flat side of the rungs and the feet in the orientation they are. It was kind of a cheap ladder -- I need a better/taller one.
ReplyDeleteY'all got barn red alligators up there! I gotta see that. But a woman who goes and lays out her power tools like thta, I mean, sweet jeebuus I don't know what to say! This is just so right in so many ways..
ReplyDeleteMarry me now, Roberta!
Stop teasing me with these photo ops!
Lol... Indy should get ready for a drought now. (g).
ReplyDeleteI once had a friend proudly show me his brand new, HUGE, John Deere 4x4 tractor with his brand new custom made articulated snow plow and brand new custom made tire chains on all six wheels. I turned to him and said "You know... it will never snow again... right?"
We had almost no snow that year.
This is the kind of repair I used to do and now pay someone else to do...at least partly because I don't have time to do it myself but mostly because 20 years of doing that kind of thing for other people pretty much soured me on the concept :)
ReplyDeleteNicely done. It should get a nice workout in another hour or so, at least from what the radar is showing.
Pushing back the borders of home improvement! Now, let's think about a micro-hydro plant.
ReplyDeleteRain barrel. :-)
ReplyDeleteSpeaking from (damp basement) experience, the downside to a downspout is that it concentrates all that rain in one tiny spot on the ground right beside the wall.
ReplyDeleteAn extension piece is the obvious cure.
I tried to save a buck by omitting one. Guess what???
Light rain = green grass.
Heavy rain = mouldy basement.
The bleach gig sorta works inside too, especially if you like Javex in your air.
Hottest Needle of Inquiry
ReplyDelete<3 :D
See, my first '06 Accent (blue) was named The Hot Needle Of Inquiry after a series of annoying teething troubles; the next one (red, and the top-of-the-line ne plus ultra version; I miss it) was The Even Hotter Needle Of Inquiry; so the present one (bottom-of-the line basic, manual transmission and all), welll...only one name was possible.
ReplyDeleteIt is not so much that I like the Hyundai Accent, they just show up when I need a new one and go hunting the lest-expensive, running-okay car. It's not a great car but they do seem to hold up.
Want to have some fun? Buy a snowblower.
ReplyDeleteConversely, the only raindance that actually works is making plans predicated on good weather!
ReplyDeleteJim
I already own a snowblower -- electric, of course. (Sure sign of a citydweller).
ReplyDeleteThat's nothing.
ReplyDeleteI had a new roof put on the house one May- followed by a worst drought in sixty years summer.
That IS a great car nickname. I've never done that, I should consult with you.
Hey- an extra income stream, just laying there!
What, no Red Hot Needle of Inquiry (painted, um, silver if memory serves)?
ReplyDeleteTsk. The RHNoI is my car and it's, um, red.
ReplyDeleteThe scooter has been known as The Flying Percolator, but the fun went out of that name after I made it fly by accident.
Apologies - I had mis-read the name of the cars at some point. The second half was me trying to remember what the color of the (literary) original was, and only coming up with the stasis field.
ReplyDeleteLike they say, bringing out the umbrella prevents rain.
ReplyDeleteThe 2x2 wood is a clever idea that will temporarily support the downspout. Do your gutters have leaf covers? It will be a good idea to have one, like Easy Flow. It prevents leaves and debris from blocking the gutter.