Wednesday, January 23, 2008

We got heat

1/23/08 Wednesday
Things got a lot better after that last entry. Ed, our friend from the Bible Life group at church, called to let me know he had called a friend who is an electrician and works in this area. The friend said he would stop by and look at the repair work that needs to be done to offer some advice. Forgive me for not remembering his name but when he learned we didn’t have heat he called two of his employees (At least I think they are) and had them come straight over. I heard the statement “we’re not carpenters” several times but they managed to get the chimney hooked up in an hour or two.







I wish I wasn’t slow but wasn't in good shape so wasn’t a lot of help. The siding still isn’t done yet but we have heat now. Now I can see what I needed to do to get the chimney installed right and will order two fifteen degree angle fixtures to get it finished. In the meantime they did a great job with what we had on hand and we spent a nice warm night. It was a fantastic “let’s get heat quick” job that we can make pretty later. It’s nice to not have to put a coat on to get out of bed.







The electrician only lives a couple of miles away and said he would come by later to help get the siding on. Thanks a lot Ed. What a blessing this is. Today I will try to get to the drywall repair job and caulking on the new window that’s been needing to be done for several months now. The pull start on the tiller broke this morning so I’ll need to replace that. Hope this old tiller won’t nickel and dime me to death. Right now I’m going online to get the part numbers for the fifteen degree Dura-Vent joints to see if Tractor Supply can order them. It doesn’t look like you can order direct through Dura-Vent and will have to go through a dealer. Our funds are down as is usual towards the end of the month but not bad at all thanks to the help we’ve received for this new chimney system.

Eric and Debbie gave us several cases of Mason jars they had found in storage when they moved. They have no plans for them but they will be a great asset for us as we plan on doing some serious canning out of the garden this year. Somewhere there are some of my grandmother’s old recipes, including one for chow-chow that is the best I’ve ever had. My brother makes it and gave us a jar during one of the periods he was trying to be nice. He may lie, steal, and cheat, but he’s a great cook. If he would just be honest with me one time I’ll forgive, but not until he acknowledges his actions.

Got to get moving again. Can’t believe it’s already 11:30.

3 comments:

Eric Siegmund said...

Looks like they did a great job, and I know you're pleased to now be able to take your time in finishing it up.

I'm a little envious of folks like that who can solve mechanical and construction problems almost intuitively. It's certainly not a gift I have!

Anonymous said...

So thankful you and Cherie are warm again and just in time for the snow tomorrow. God is good!

Jen P

Amy E said...

Bob, a question about your chimney. In our new house, we will have to have the chimney vent through the wall just like yours. In your new chimney is it double walled pipe all the way up?

I'd like to prevent the wall from catching on fire like yours did, but can't find any guidelines anywhere on what the necessary clearance is between the chimney and the outside wall.

Our walls will be made of cement fiber Hardi Plank that is supposed to be fire resistant, but I'd still like to be as safe as possible.

This is the first time we haven't vented a wood stove out the roof, so I am kind of nervous.

Any advice or tips on what you have learned would be greatly appreciated. Just send me an email when you can...thanks sir!

Love,

Amy