Yeh, I hate getting things with gas engines. I was looking for a used chain saw and tried to find one that would hook up to the PTO of my diesel tractor. I found an old picture of a beast with a 6 foot bar on it that hooked up to a 3 point hitch, so I know they used to make them. It looked like it could do some serious harm...and probably did.
I bought a little electric chain saw from an endorsement from @Faye Fox. I tried to buy a Stihl, but all they have here are the big saws. I don't need that, as already have 3 gas-powered saws for the big stuff. I just wanted a small, light one to do one tree or clear stuff or cut from a ladder. I also wanted one my wife could use as she doesn't do well with pull-starts of any kind. She went over this winter and cleared a fallen tree from the orchard fence with no problem at all. I got a Dewalt, as it was the most available and I already have several Dewalt batteries that fit it.
The pitcher and water basin were gone from the Thrift Store today. People who go to yard sales regularly, looking for bargains to resell, probably stop by thrift stores every day. Didn't think of that. If I had time I'd check for it on eBay, but wouldn't buy it if I found it. Just as well. There was no need for it. But it bothers me, for some reason.
The door salesman finally replied Sunday (Mar 5th), with a set of measurements different from the ones I sent him. A unit with his numbers would be one inch too wide to even fit in the rough opening in the wall. His last words:. "Let me know if this looks correct and then we can move on from there." This is hard to explain. Only one measurement, namely one concerning the outside casings, was the same (call it D). For the setup here, D does not factor in at all as long as the door fits. Whatever D will be, it will be. And it's the only measurement I didn't have enough information about to provide accurately. Almost surely, he's using a computer program to generate his numbers. D must have been first on the input list, and the program took off from there. I figure there is no need to send him any more measurements unless they match perfectly with what his program spits out. I sent him an email yesterday saying his numbers wouldn't work and I'd send updated ones today. His reply?: . "I thought I matched up the measurements perfectly?" Is he gaslighting me? It was possible to figure out what the program was doing by comparing the 3 sets of measurements I now have from him. Specifically, the program is forcing the gap for adjustments, between the door unit and the frame, to be the same for every situation. That just seems stupid to me. Every situation is a little different, especially with old houses. Maybe this was a blessing. It gave me a chance to change my mind about the whole thing and give up on making the door as large as possible. I'm now going to make it as close to the (old) standard 36"x 84" as possible. Less chance of running into trouble. I now have to figure out a way to trick his computer program into allowing a larger gap for adjustments than 7/32" (not enough, imo) .
That's very odd, and a massive waste of your time, except for the depth of knowledge you've gained in order to defend the process against marginal contractors. If nothing else, they were free consultants to get you to look at it from different viewpoints. So if you go with a smaller door, how will you deal with the gaps...inside and outside? Obviously, drywall (and paint) might cover the inside, but isn't there siding on the outside (I can't find your pics right now)? I mentioned doing quirky exterior doors when I was with that non-profit. It took us a while, but we found a place that sells salvaged doors/windows/etc from old houses. I wonder if you might not be able to find something you can cut down to fit, and do away with all this madness. Our situations were a little different where we had openings in owner-built houses that were smaller than standard and we needed standard-sized solid exterior doors so we could cut them down, but you might luck in to something. Man, what a goat rodeo.
When I said smaller door, I meant smaller than the door for which I originally sent in measurements. The original door frame is way too big. A door to fit it would require redoing the adjacent walls/plaster/siding inside and out. What I planned to do was just nail another 2x6 flat against the ones on the original frame. Like what I think they call a jack stud. Cut down the original opening by 1-1/2 inches all around. Still an oversize door. After sending in the measurements, I got worried about all 2" lumber not uniformly 1-1/2" thick, or the original frame maybe bows inward in the middle, or something. It was cutting it awfully close to leave a 1/4" gap for shimming (their computer program only leaves a 7/32" gap). If I go more toward a standard ~36"x84" door instead, all I have to do is add a little chunk of something (spacers) behind the new 2x6s according to how much more the opening needs to be reduced. The last thing holding me up has to do with the leaning wall. As I mentioned before the wall leans in by 5/8" top to bottom of door. The new small ~2" casings are going on top of the old large (1x6) casings. To mount the door straight up and down, there would be a 5/8" gap behind the new casings---at the top on the outside, bottom on the inside. A 5/8" gap would be obvious at the top. No one would notice at the bottom inside the house. I just noticed yesterday the old casings bow outward a little near the floor outside. If I could sand off a little of them at the floor and taper upward, it would make the wall appear to be more straight up and down for all practical purposes. Any little bit shaved off would reduce the gap behind the new casings by that much. But the new wall thickness measurement I send in would have to be reduced the same amount, or there would still be 5/8" gaps. Still thinking if I want to take a chance. If you report the thickness too small it's a disaster to make work. OTOH a leaning door is not the end of the world. Just a nuisance. I've lived with this one always swinging open for 40 years. I think I'll split the difference. I'm sure no one wants to read all of this, but it helps me to try and explain it.
That cracked me up, because I could sense you working through it as I read your thinking-out-loud. You'll forget about it in short order. Buy yourself an electric chain saw as a well-deserved distraction. Either way, you and I are a lot alike. In the final analysis, I would rather tackle this myself and know I would do at least as good a job as a contractor, and I wouldn't have paid for less-than-perfect (or worse.) It reminds me of going inside a neighbor's new house and into the tiny half-bath on the ground floor. The thing could not have been any wider than 3 feet, and neither the sink nor the mirror nor the wall fixture were centered, and they were not lined up with each other...in brand new construction.
Ha! Ha! You must have a bit of perfectionist in you. It causes making decisions hard. I wallpapered one room here with plaid designed wallpaper. Had never hung wallpaper before. If you think that wasn't hard... lining up all the horizontal lines at the ceiling, baseboards, corners, and sideways, in an old house. But I got it. It looked good. That was 35 years ago. It's starting to come loose now. Another job I could do. Not on the front burner.
Colonial Penn Life Insurance ain't the only one with The 3 Ps. We got 'em, too: -Perfection -Procrastination -Paralysis
There is a 4th P for some of us -Pennies Being raised by two parents who grew up during the Depression, I was always reminded that every mistake usually costs money.
Same here. Maybe that's why I have a baggie full of rubber bands I've collected from fresh produce I take the off the veggies (broccoli, asparagus, etc.), wash & dry them, and put them in the baggie. I got more than I could ever use, but I refuse to throw them in the trash. This is where I remind myself why it's not fair to judge ravens that pick up valueless objects just because they are shiny.
(3/11/23) Saturday A pair of bluebirds going in and out of the house in the morning, but not taking stuff with them. Except the male carrys one large dead pine needle around with him. That usually means the female hasn't decided on staying yet. He thinks she is fooled, by the pine needle, into believing he is ready to help build the nest (not). Later two male bluebirds fighting. The female following them. Not appearing to take sides. The nuthatches have definitely moved into the crack in the post just above the bluebird house. Meanwhile no activity lately in the chickadee house. A bluebird and a nuthatch peeked into it once. There may be too much traffic for the chickadees to tolerate. They claim cavity nesting birds are having increased difficulty finding nest spots. I hope they all adapt and learn to coexist. Otherwise it may just be the nuthatches this year. I haven't had time to keep close tabs on them this year, like last year. It could be everything is just hunky-dory.
I have a beautiful shrub in my garden (Physocarpus - Lady in Red), which I've taken dozens of cuttings over several years without any success, however, last autumn I just poked lots of cuttings into a big tub without all the rooting powder etc, and today I noticed that all of them are sprouting leaves and are making good growth, so I'm a happy man. This is how they will look in a few years.
@Bert Davies: Those are beautiful, Bert. I've never heard of them. The leaves look a little like 1st year wild blackberries. Do they also have blossoms, like these? It is fun to start things from cuttings. I put them in old glass peanut butter jars. Then you can tell if they sprout roots without disturbing them. It seems like when you don't fuss over something too much, that's when it decides to cooperate.