A New Metal Roof On The Peafowl Pen

For a long time I wished for a better roof over the peafowl pen.  Every time it rained, the water poured through the boards and turned the pen into a muddy morass.  The peafowl’s food got wet, and then they wouldn’t eat it so it had to be thrown out.

Saturday The Farmer fixed the roof.  (Or at least we hope he did!)

He had some sheet metal panels to put over the old boards.  Unfortunately, he couldn’t find the washered roofing nails he usually uses for these kinds of projects, so had to use a different sort of nail.  Hopefully, there won’t be any leaks around the nails.

He’s really doing great with those new knees to be able to go up and down ladders and crawl around over roof tops!

At any rate, the new roof should be a vast improvement.  Even if it still has a few leaks, it won’t be anything like what was pouring through the warped boards now underneath the sheet metal!

The metal wasn’t long enough to cover the entire roof, but it’s over their two perching sites and the food bowl, so that’s the main thing.

I guess the next time it rains, we’ll find out just how big an improvement it is!

Look what FedEx delivered!

While I was out doing chores this morning, I saw a BIG FedEx truck maneuvering to get into our driveway. I was trying to think what in the world I had ordered until I saw the HUGE package the guy was taking out of the truck. Aha!
Hooray, hooray! Our new counter and sink arrived in ONE piece this time!!! Guess I know what the Farmer will be doing next weekend. Yes!

Update on the Bathroom Project

The bathroom is usable again, but far from finished. We tore out the particle board flooring and found there was a little black mildew even on the bottom layer of plywood. I cleaned the wood as best I could, then gave it a couple of coats of Kilz primer, and The Farmer covered it with a layer of roofing tarpaper, then put a new layer of plywood down on the old layer, another layer of tarpaper, then underlayment board, and finally the new vinyl flooring. It looks fantastic! The “Old World Fresco” faux finish on the walls and the pattern on the flooring blend beautifully together.

The new toilet is in place. It takes a little getting used to. We got one of the taller ones with an elongated bowl, so it’s a little different seating! It only uses 1.6 gallons of water per flush, and the flapper closes back almost instantly leaving half the water still in the tank, so that’s different too. But it does the job, and that’s what counts!

The guys got the vanity lifted in place and it looks lovely. We still need to buy handles and pulls for the drawers. That should make it look even classier once they’re attached.

Then after all that work, the big moment arrived to finally see the cultured marble vanity top. I was so excited to finally get to uncrate it and see what it looked like! And what did we see when we opened the box?

Yep, one corner was broken off, so there we were, finally ready to use it and no can do. Bummer. Worse, this is a special order deal, so it’ll be around 3 weeks before we get another. We had to take it back to the store, get a refund, and order a new one. In the meantime, we just put the old top back on. It wobbles a little as this vanity is a different size from the old one, but it’s usable.

There are still a lot of odds and ends to finish up. I have to stain the new door on one side, and paint it on the other. We put the old door back in place for now, so we can use the bathroom.

The Farmer needs to change the hanger placement on the corbels, then I need to stain them. They’ll go up first, then the cupboard over top of the toilet will sit on top of them. We also need to put the medicine cabinet back up, but need the new vanity top in place first so we can see where to place it between there and the light bar over top. The crown molding and baseboard and trim around the tub and surround needs cut and put in place. We need towel bars, the toilet paper holder and light switch covers put up.

Since we have to wait for a new vanity top and we can’t devote another week to working on the bathroom full-time, it will be a while before everything is done.

But it’s gonna look GREAT!

Primal Scream Therapy

This morning when I went out to do chores the peacock was strutting his stuff and screaming.

I joined in.

Hey, I’m not the only person around here that does it. Sometimes neighbors walking down the road scream back, and last week I even heard one of the garbage guys screaming at the peacock while hanging on the back of the garbage truck as it went rolling by.

I figure it’s great therapy, doesn’t cost a cent, and that peacock and I can scream at each other for a good ten minutes before we get tired. And this week I need any stress relief I can get, so Primal Scream Therapy it is.

The problem is that bathroom we’re remodeling. Getting the wallpaper off was frustrating, but that hasn’t been the only problem. (Naturally!) After that, the Farmer had to disconnect the plumbing from the sink, and he and Geek carted the vanity out. No problem there.

However, the commode refused to leave in one piece, as the bolts were rusted in place. The Farmer ended up having to bust the bottom apart to get the commode loose. We now have a dead, slightly fragmented gold commode setting on our front porch awaiting final disposal.

Worse, once the water was disconnected, even though the valve was turned completely off, it wouldn’t quit leaking. We put a bucket under it, but it filled up so fast we had to empty it every hour. The Farmer went to work that afternoon, but thankfully stopped and got a new valve on his way home, and made the repairs that evening so I didn’t have to get up once an hour all night to keep water from overflowing.

Yesterday Geek and I painted all day. We trimmed out and painted the ceiling twice, both coats of “Cool Gray” (white with the barest hint of gray). I couldn’t believe how dingy the ceiling was once you could see the difference the fresh paint made.

Next we worked on the walls. That mess required trimming out three times, a coat of primer, and two coats of our base color of gray. We finished about 5pm, and decided to wait until today to do the faux “Old World Fresco” finish.

That took most of the morning as it’s tedious work. Brushing on lime wash, then color glaze, then brushing them together… the lime wash dried quickly, so you can only do a little section at a time. When we first started I wasn’t so sure I was going to like it, but now that it’s done – Wow! I can’t wait to see how all this looks together.

Of course, we aren’t done with problems yet. We ripped the old linoleum off the floor this afternoon, only to discover there were TWO layers glued together, AND glued to the floor. Part of it came right up off the floor, but part of it stayed firmly attached. We’ve tried various methods of removal, and none have been too successful. Since it’s only a thinner layer of paper and glue left, and we’re putting finish board on top, we may leave it. I’ll have to see what The Farmer thinks of it.

Last but not least, what do you suppose was under the linoleum? Remember, this is a bathroom. You know, lots of MOISTURE!!! So let’s use particle board, right? ARGH! The floor has gotten wet from leaks on more than one occasion, and one end was particularly nasty with black mildew. There are a couple of cracks in the board, but there is a layer of solid plywood underneath, so… once again, we’ll see what the Farmer thinks needs done.

For now, I’m just taking a rest until it’s time to go out and do evening chores and get in a little more Primal Scream Therapy.