Studio repairs

2010 is definitely not the year for me. First the ceiling coming down and the resultant rebuild and decoration. Now if find that a leak through the glass roof of my studio is not, as I thought, the seal between the glass and the brick but, no, much worse. It's difficult to access the rear of the studio outside. So, having cleared away undergrowth I got up on the ladder and found, tantarara, ivy not just on the outside but actually growing through bricks and dislodging them. Gotta get out my DIY book to find out how to bricklay. I'm trying to be artistic not an artisan.

Jack

All that rain has done me in, too, just as I'm trying to get ready to leave for the winter. The north window frame started leaking like a sieve last night right down the cloth blinds, window sill and log wall into the basement. I found a way to divert it between the two sashes, but now I have to wait for it to stop raining in three days to re-chalk every thing. A friend of mine is going to get up on the ladder to fix it. I'll stay at the bottom to hold the ladder since it is on the side of a hill.



Hope you have someone to help you, too. Good Luck. Hey, at least my toaster popped this morning.

Judy

Thanks Judy for making me feel I'm not alone. Next time Jackie and I are in NY we might meet up.
Jack

Hey Judy
I just looked at your profile. After you retired you started teaching painting. How? I tried that and all the students, adults, complained and I handed over the class to someone else. I wanted them to share their experiences. They reminded me of kids at school working with their arm protecting their work so no one else could see it. I tried to get them to disiplay their work and then discuss it with everyone else. My thoughts were 'if everyone was sharing it would work'. It obviously didn't.
The person who took over didn'tlast long. The group now continues with everyone doing their own thing and as far as I can see they are static, no improvement.
My belief is that everyone has to have an aim or aims in life.
Getting off my soapbox now.
Hey I feel good!

Jack

I'm glad you feel better.

I keep my classes to 3 or 4 at the most so I can work with each of them more easily. I have them all do the same basic painting and demonstrate first and then I let them go from there and pick up their strengths and weakness.

One man chose to use different colors in the mountain and it turned out to be the best in the class. Another suggested adding a path so I worked on that in front of them showing hit and miss techniques, and then they followed and we all came out pretty good. I think they were glad to see that I had to experiment as I went along just like they did. I try to keep it open enough so they can contribute ideas and suggestions that we all learn from rather then just me being the teacher. I enjoy it and look forward to more classes once I get back out west.

Judy

Dear Jack and Judy,

I am so sorry to hear about the challenge you both have, Life is sooooo full of challenges.

Just to let you know you are not alone with some kind of life challenge, we are on septic tanks and the guy who comes and cleans ours told my husband not to use the draino for septic tanks to clear clogged sinks/drains, because it kills the bacteria in the tank. This bacteria is suppose to help break down what goes into the septic tanks.

He told my husband to just put hot boiling water into the sink which will unclog the drain and not kill the bacteria in the septic tank.....well, my husband tried this recommendation from the plumber and it cracked our porcelain sink and now the sink leaks, along with a big visual crack in it.....

A lot of us are having leaks, I hope both of yours gets fixed soon.....sending to let you know my heart goes out to you both -- one whom can also sympathize along with you. Hope you are able to fix it quickly and easily--the best to you and the job at hand.

Let us know how it goes for you and if you figure out how to lay brick Jack and Judy that the chalking gets the job done and fixes it all for you.

Wow. My sympathies. So I won't complain about my car windows that won't go down.

Dale, you are good....keeping me laughing -- we need that with the challenges, but you better get your car windows fixed or don't roll them down in the raining season, they might not go up and then you'll have some leaking or a pool in your car.

Thank you for the good laugh - wish you well - all of you!

Actually last year my drivers window went down and wouldn't go up again. This is in a snow storm and we had to be at the staff party. So i had a lovely blue tarp on my window until we figured out how to fix it.

But i would still opt for that over leaks in a house.

You both keep me laughing. I'll find out next year if the caulking worked because I leave in two days ad no reain is predicted before then. We've had enough rain.

Hey, did the email problem get figured out?

Judy

Let's keep on smiling -- best to you all, I am looking forward to this weekend, working long hours....people are taking vacation, so more hours and long days.

I am looking forward to taking a lazy day and getting in some painting....hopefully soon.

Well, I have a leaky hip from surgery--Do I get to join the LEAKY GROUP?

Dayle

Hey Dayle. A leaky hip? That doesn't sound like fun at all. You can definitely join the leaky group

Dayle,

Join the leaky group, but I am sorry about your leaky hip. Hoping it heals and stops leaking soon.

Our east window developed a leak about 2 years ago. Our house was built in 2005. One corner of the inside sill was getting wet and swelling up. Then the inside wall next to it was damp. We had the window installer, and then a tradesman come over, and they each took off the siding and checked the window construction. No luck.

This continued, getting worse and worse over the next year, and we kept looking for solutions, each guy swearing that it was not their 'turf'. By this time, they had torn part of the drywall off, and I could see the entry point of the water. Still no luck, and hundreds more dollars in visits.

Finally, I had both trades come to the house at the same time with the instructions to find the leak. It turned out to be a faulty piece of the window in the mullion, the divider between the panes. That part was replaced, but we needed a new sill and the wall needed drywall and painting. Total cost: $965.

Hmm, how many 24" x 36" paintings is that...

What a lot of unlucky leakys we are. Hopefully, the leak in my studio has been taken care of by a local builder who has a reputation to uphold. he said that the last 'builder' I had in to repair had simply squeezed plastic filler into the gap, ignoring the fact that a root was growing through the bricks. He removed all the affected bricks and re-laid them.
I've now found though that the leak in our 'long room' which brought down the ceiling is still not satisfactory. Contacted builder about a week ago. Very silent since then.
Anyway I might had solved the problem permanently. We've had an offer for the house which we've accepted. Fingers very crossed it all goes through.
But, and this proves how courageous or foolish we are. We're going to look at some houses next week. Built in the 15th and 16th centuries. Fingers even more crossed.
Jack (There is no emoticon which illustrates my mood).

Jack, you have probably considered hiring a house inspector before you buy. I would recommend it. Your buyer might also be using one to ensure there are no hidden problems... Best of luck with the transition.

Thinking of hiring a ghost buster
Woooooo!

Jack