Winter headache for my old age.
So much for fading peacefully into hibernation. I get to work hours trying to seal my vacant house to make it through winter since my tenant died suddenly. Lucky I am still able bodied.His daughter, son and their family spent November sorting, clearing, hauling and settling his estate. A lawyer, he had no will. Said had little so intestate and kids get it anyway. Yeah..a mess to sort out! I sorted in carport and found out that he saw, he bought and never opened and ended up in the dirt. Left kids to wonder how to bury him with no money. Family helped to cremate him, cheapest way..and that was $5000!
They left stuff they didn't want, I can use in barn or in the house. I salvaged back out of the $1000 dumpster their gramps rented. Beds and sofas went cause no one will take a smokers stuff. Sad. What a waste.
Except for the piano that goes next weekend, they are cleared out. So now I shut the house down and seal for winter. Can do whatever with no one living in it. Furnace goes to 60 only. May put on old style that goes to 50. Try to heat all winter cause can work on it and need water to barn. If ends up using a few hundred gas a month, no choice but drain water and use heat lamps in cellar for barn pipe.
I started by using heavy plastic taped over LR and 2 kitchen windows, plus pink styrofoam insulation nailed and curtain taped. Got an idea, checked sofas in dumpster. HA!
Cushions and bolster solid foam rubber. So stripped and stuffed in bathroom window and one kitchen and plastic taped over. Let cold try to get through that! I salvaged the interlocking foam floor mats, laid along outer floor bottoms, laid his rugs across LR wood floor to block cold coming up between logs. Shut down upstairs door and blanket over it.Hauled spare bricks and laid secondary wall along sill plate to cellar, added 3 concrete blocks sitting on top of windshield reflective cover, then filled in and over with barnyard. It is broken, degraded hay and manure. Should insult cellar more.
Now I want to take aluminum foil and tape to porch doors to reflect heat back into rooms.
With luck can keep gas usage low. Not much other ideas to do except bury the whole house.
And now although I have a dog trot from main house to barn, I get to slog through cold and snow to other house.
Can I run away from home?
Comments (4)
The daughter and her man came last night and hauled out the piano left. Turned in her key so the house is now back to totally mine. I have sealed it the best I can. Covered doors with cardboard covered with aluminum foil. Plastic and styro insul on windows.
I am glad temps are staying above freezing. Gotta love El Nino.
Now the push is done, maybe I can take some breaks. Just keep an eye on the house and go down to clean.
Started washing oak floor and not as bad as thought. More dirt from his blasted dogs. So I think a light sand and re-urathane and be back to good.
Tenants for the most part never are prizes. The worst trash a place, the best just bring it down. I try to make the house nice and find broken windows, chipped paint and dirty.