More Rot...ten Work

01 Nov 2011

More work to do as I found rot in the main door's frame while putting in new weather stripping and getting ready to re-caulk. My 5-way tool went right through the wood when scraping the old caulk away. I then practiced the new found "tapping" skill that I learned recently from having the new windows and sliding doors put in (see previous entry on that). I even found a shim through the rot! Oi! My first thought was, Maybe we can just put in new pieces here at the bottom so the rot won't spread, then I thought, Oh shit! We're gonna need a whole new door. Then I came to the valid conclusion, This is beyond my skill level. I can install washers, dryers, dishwashers, toilets, kitchen sinks (and soon a bathroom sink), and a variety of other practical skills, but this dealing with wood and rot is not in my skill repertoire. So, naturally, I called the contractor who did the windows and slider install (Help me, please!) and left a message. After about an hour (with the knowledge his family had been sick with the flu earlier and quite possibly he caught it this time) and feeling panicky because today was clear but cold and we still need to seal the siding, I called the contractor's worker to ask a few questions (had to leave a message for him, too). You see, the worker is the one who explained about the rot under the slider and had done the work on it, so I knew that he had working knowledge of the problem and of this house-- valuable resource.

This evening the contractor returned my call and said he'd swing by tomorrow to take a look and (low and behold), see if a certain tool can just removed the rotted part and replace that area with new wood instead of buying a new door. This confirmed two things for me: 1) I had a good idea, and 2) no matter what the solution to this problem is, it's beyond my skill level. I had already finished putting in the new weather stripping, but decided to wait on the caulking-- no sense in caulking if I have to get a new door, and I don't want anything hidden. I am hoping that the rot hasn't gone under the metal threshold and started rotting the sub-floor (the mudroom, where this door is, is ceramic tile) or gotten into the framing studs. Perhaps I've caught it early enough.

There definitely exists large differences between buying a newly built house (our first home) and buying an older house (this one is about 30-years-old). I have to wonder what other surprises might be in store for us with this place. More learning experiences, no matter what.

Tomorrow is going to be a long day. . . work at the "to rent out" house and muster enough energy to do the dailies here at home and deal with the contractor. At least the contractor is nice, and honest.

Now, back to some more of those "daily chores," even though it's nearly 10pm. Such is life.

~Cedeham~
p.s.
In case anyone has forgotten, Cedeham comes from Chief Executive Domestic Engineer of Household Affairs and Management-- heheheh, I almost forgot what it was.