When little tasks go rogue

[Darwin]

I don't know what it is about this house I bought, but it has a knack for turning even the most minor of maintenance tasks into a major clusterflugie. As example, my fuel oil supplier is a bit late getting to the first delivery. To extend the dregs of the oil left in the tank, I put the fireplace insert back into service....including vacuuming about a gallon of creosote chips out of the top of the insert. After the first couple of days of using it again, I heard a clatter of new chips falling down the stovepipe. So, I figured running the chimney brush down the pipe was in order. After about an hour of locating and gathering up the various ladders, ect. needed, I levered my aging bones onto the roof and ran the brush down the pipe. So far, so good...then I tried pulling the brush back out. The SOB was wedged into the pipe, and since the top of the chimney is about 5 ft above the roof, I didn't have the leverage to manhandle the brush back out. So, another trip down the ladder to find where I put the folding stool to wedge between the chimney and the roof (which has about a 45 degree pitch). After gaining a couple more feet of height and some leverage, I gave the brush handle a mighty pull. It came up...and brought up some 14 feet of stovepipe (clear down to the connection with the fireplace insert) along with it. Problem was the last four feet of pipe was corregated flex pipe...the brush went down into it and hung up on the corregations. Dissassemble pipe, manage to wiggle the brush head out of the corregated section, reassemble pipe....then the real fun began. Ever tried to hang onto the chimney with one hand, and thread 14 feet of assembled stovepipe down the chimney with the other, then manage to get the flex portion to navigate the S-curve through the mickey-mouse hole the previous owner of the house put into the chimney damper to accomodate the piping. Four hours later, and more trips up and down the ladder than I want to think about, it is all back together. The killer is that the pipe will need replacement soon. Aaarrrrggghhhh. I think I'll find someone young and stupid for doing that when the time comes.

[Don Boose]

I have found that an important thing to have when doing household maintenance is a son who worked his way through college doing plumbing and construction (in addition to baking, catering, secretarial work, and balloon chasing) and a couple of clever grandsons to do the really hard stuff. Of course, you have to allow such comments as "How can you possibly be able to build that paper model and not be able to replace a door lock" roll off your back.

[Vermin_King]

The way that story was going, I was afraid it was going to end with 'And now my health insurance is balking at paying the ambulance bill.'

You are certainly doing better than where I thought the story was going.

Frankly, I think congratulations are in order for getting the task done.

[ghshinn]

Good job. I imagine, your being in Idaho and all, you're soon going to need that chimney in good working order, if you don't already.

Garland

[Jim Nunn]

You have just experienced the law of unintended consequences.

Definition: It is hard to remember that the objective was to drain the swamp when you are up to you ass in alligators.

Jim Nunn

[glounsbury]

Just think of it as the houses way of making sure you get enough physical activity.
And never forget O'Toole's conundrum -"Murphy was an optimist"

George

[Yale]

Remember Mr. Levitt, who built Levittown and other huge developments of tract houses in the late 1940s and early 1950s? That was also a time of Red scares, so Levitt claimed to be fighting communism in his own way. He argued that home owners would spend so much time on maintenance and upkeep that they'd never be able to attend rallies of radical political groups. I.e., the more houses he sold, the fewer radicals the government would have to worry about. Sounds as though you're confirming the first part of his assertion, Darwin.

You do strike a personal chord, however. During my working career, many people offered retirement advice -- but that advice all was financial. The biggest surprise of actual retirement was the amount of manual labor.

[larry2]

I fully understand the drive to do things myself. Danged if I going to pay someone to do something around the house that I can do. That being said, I think that it will be a cold day in heck before I go on the roof anymore. I've had two friends that soon after they were retired and catching up on the deferred maintenance around home both fell while transitioning from roof to ladder. One fell onto a concrete patio and is now undergoing his second hip replacement. Not trying to be a Donnie-Downer, but please be careful. None of us are as young as we once were and we do not heal as quickly.

[Vermin_King]

Originally Posted by Yale

You do strike a personal chord, however. During my working career, many people offered retirement advice -- but that advice all was financial. The biggest surprise of actual retirement was the amount of manual labor.

Maybe someone should write a book. Instead of 'IRAs for Dummies', a more useful book may be 'Homeownership for Retirees'.

I slid down a church roof once and luckily got my heels stopped on the gutter. I think about things more than once before I get on a roof any more.

[charleswlkr54]

You mother told you there would be days like this, she just didn't tell youi there would be so many of them! Lol!