I will now catch up on some photos and stories from the last two weeks.
First, my dad and I decided to fix some squeaky floorboards and find out what was blocking the vent into the living room. We discovered that the vent wasn't blocked, it just wasn't attached.
That pipe in the top-center is where it comes from the heater, and the one in the far center is where it goes to the living room. The only way we were getting anything out of it was by pressurizing the entire basement first. Here's my dad with the fixed duct.
The squeaky floorboards turned out to be harder to fix. The floor beam (you can just see it next to the duct above in the top-right corner) had rotted away. So the floor squeaked and the entertainment center shook anytime someone walked by because the floorboards span nearly 7 feet unsupported.
The temporary fix was to cut out (really pull out by hand) the deteriorated beam and jam a new beam through the gap in the stone foundation (from 1895ish). I'd show you a picture, but it's just a piece of wood in the dark. Later we will add bolts to more firmly attach it to the remnants of the existing beams, but that process will involve a hydraulic jack.
Second story: fire.
We got a burn permit and burned all the remaining dead wood we had in the yard. Here's the first of the three piles.
In the end we were left with a 2-foot-across pile of ash in place of our three piles.
Third: These happened while playing apples-to-apples with the family (which goes to show their sense of humor). If you've never played before, the green card is randomly selected, then everyone plays a red card from their hand to try to match that adjective.
