Water Leak!

Yesterday, I was sitting at my desk having just emailed BG a belated Christmas gift when the phone rang. I fully expected that it was here telling me thanks, how great it was and all that stuff. The call was from BG, but she was not telling me thanks. Instead, she was very upset at our $455 water bill!

Immediately, my thoughts raced to the toilet in the master bathroom. The fill valve has been slowly failing. I thought perhaps it had failed and was running water through the overflow pipe and down the drain. I had her run back there to check it. NOT! I really didn't think so either. We would have heard the water running or dripping into the drain. We decided to call the City to see if there was some kind of error. BG made the call.

The City was responsive, sending a water guy out rather quickly to check the meter. He showed up, opening the box and watched the meter spin. "do you have any water running in the house?" he asked. "No, nothing," was the answer. "Well, you've got a leak, and a bad one," came the reply. He immediately opened the sprinkler system valve box adjacent to the water meter box. It was full of water. So, he shut off the sprinkler line. No change. He siphoned out the valve box and watched it fill again. He shut off the water.

"Well, your leak is very near here. I think its right here between the two valve boxes." He shut off the water at the meter and things settled down. BG called me to let me know what they had found. I knew we couldn't go very long without water and I wasn't about to call a plumber, so I headed home. I only had about three hours of daylight left.

When I got here, I changed and headed out to the boxes with a couple of shovels, one with a spade point and one without. I cut off the grass and set it aside and continued to dig. The clayey soil was wet, heavy and sticky. It took the better part of an hour to get the hole of a sufficient size to allow repair work. I had BG take some pictures to document the process. Then it was off to Home Depot.

Like all things DIY, it was not as simple as running to the store, finding exactly what you need and hooking it up. No, they never have exactly what you need, so improvisation is required. I found the required parts and pieces, checked out and raced home, daylight was fading fast.

Once I got back to the house, things proceeded with speed. I measured and cut the existing pipe to allow the new couplings to be installed. I cleaned the pipes where new fittings were to be installed and planned the sequence of the installation.

First, I installed a coupler from the downstream side to the location of the new tee. The pipe was too short on that side to install the repair coupling and I did not want to male the hole any larger. Next, I measured the pipe to be removed on the meter side so that the repair coupling cound be installed. That would be the last piece to put in place. I glued all the adapters together and installed the tee to the sprinkler system and connected to the downstream side. All that remained was the repair coupling. It went in just fine. It was almost dark.

The glue required a two hour curing time at 60 degrees. Since it was not that warm, I retrieved a halogen work light from the shop and put it in the hole. It warmed up the pipes well. It was time to cook dinner.

After dinner and some talking, it was time to check the installation. We all needed to use the bathroom by now, and I was really hoping for no leaks. And that's just what I found! I'll close up the hole tomorrow.

We documented the process and the repair well. The City has promised us a Leak Discount on the bill. We'll see how much that amounts to, but anything will help. They anticipate another large bill next month too. We lost over 10,000 gal. of water.

Maybe the guard toad we found in the valve box will do his job and alert us next time!

Longview Deja Vu

I'm not quite sure how many times I'll find myself up at the office at 0645 waiting around for others to arrive so we can hit the road by 0700. Its only been twice for this Longview job and its already a little stale. Having had the benefit of the previous trip to pick out the more interesting sights, I have assembled some of them here for your pleasure.

First, let me say that traveling in the back seat of a Volvo, no matter how nice, is not so comfortable when you've got a hurting back. Its not so much the comfort of the seat, or the smoothness of the ride as much as the lack of leg room and the two hour trip. Its sorta like being on an airplane, except you cant get up and go to the bathroom for a stretch.

Obviously, there wasn't enough happening out the windshield to keep my boss from wondering what the heck I was doing in the back seat. Click on the picture for a larger view and check out the rear view mirror.

We made good time to Longview. I think there had been some concern about the condition of the roads. The Great Ice Storm of '07 was still lingering in our thoughts. Plus, it had been raining lightly. The roads were fine and we flew pretty good. Which was very good for me because the bowl of Raisin Bran I ate at 0500 wasn't sticking around.

When we arrived in town, it was decided that we had time to stop and sample some of the local fare. I'm always keen on places to eat with names like, "Restaurant." These types of places are the places we frequent when out on hunting trips. There's nothing better than a greasy spoon after sleeping in the woods for three days. I had the "New Country Breakfast," two scrambled eggs with cheese, two pancakes, two sausage patties and hot coffee...MMMMM! Delish!

On the way out of that fine establishment, I spied an advertisement for a car dealer I think I might be able to do business with. Check out this ad!
I'm LOL and rolling! I had to go back to the car for the camera for that one. I didn't think anyone would believe me!

After the meetings and a Cajun food lunch, we headed back to Dallas. It was raining lightly again and threatening to freeze. It was still 35 degrees or so, and we figured we'd make it fine. Leave it the state to make the drive more enjoyable, or at least give the tourista a photo op. Only in East Texas, the historical oil boom area that made several of the most recognizable millionaires of yesteryear, can you eat a picnic lunch beneath a genuine replica oil derrick.

Back on the road again, the drive just would not have been bearable with out a beverage and Diet Coke had to suffice. Its good stuff, really and I like it just fine. Unfortunately, it shrinks the size of my bladder. I'm not sure why it has this magical effect, but it does. Maybe its so I'll be forced to stop and see things I might otherwise have missed, or missed out on. Such may be the case with my forced stop on the return trip.

I finally had to acknowledge that ever so familiar pressure in my lower abdominal cavity that could only be relieved in one of two ways. Due to the mixed company, the 32oz. cup I was holding ceased to be an option. So, I politely requested a pit stop.

After exiting the highway and crossing over to the other side, we saw a dark little place with several trucks parked outside. I really didn't care that there were no other Volvos there, or that all the people moving about seemed to be my kind of working class guys, rough unshaven, looking like they just spent three days in a tent, or maybe like Benton after a weekend at Groesbeck! My three button suit and black sweater was a clean giveaway that I wasn't from around there...I did my business and scooted back out to the waiting car. On the way, however, I noticed the name on the place...and now I can say with pride that I pissed at Peckerwoods!

Sneet!

Sneet! sounded better to me than Slow! to describe the sleet snow mixture we have had today. The weather prognosticators all said that the precipitation would stay to the south of us...but they were wrong! We had about a half and inch of accumulation; enough to make things really messy.

My back was still really painful this morning. Yesterday's foray into the office was sort of a setback. However during the day today, the Aleve I've been eating seemed to make some progress in reducing the inflammation. I can only surmise that by the reduction in pain. I have to go into the office tomorrow in order to print the drawings we will be using at a client meeting on Friday. So, I am hoping that...there will be no more ice or sneet...and that the Aleve will kick into high gear!

In other news, I attempted to record a time lapse film of and icicle melting. I set up the camera on a tripod and focused on the icicle. The rate of exposure was set to one every five minutes. Unfortunately, the icicle didn't really melt. It melted a little and grew a little. I think I will try again tomorrow. If things go well, I'll try and figure out how to post the movie.

Well, the Ice Storm of '07 finally made its debut in Ovilla. The streets are still too warm to freeze, but the trees have started to collect ice. BG decided that we needed to stop by the store for bread and milk, so I snapped this pic while she was buying the goodies.

I usually don't mind the cold, but this morning I managed to aggravate and old back injury. I have two ruptured disks. The first ruptured while working on a remodel project in '96. The second, lifting a lawn mower into the back of my truck in '05. However you slice it, pain is pain and I simply have to deal with it. Hopefully, it won't last too long.

The first time I hurt it, the pain lasted about 3 weeks. The second time, the pain lasted six weeks before I went to the doctor. I won't let it go that long ever again. Each year I seem to manage to irritate things at lease once. Most of the time its not a very long recovery. This time, however, the cold is not helping.

Oh well. If it is icy in the morning, I won't be going into the office. I can work from home and be just as productive. Plus, I don't think I can take the long drive into the office on the ice. There is simply too much pain to warrant the effort.

The only thing that sucks worse than the injury this time is the very unglamorous way I managed to do it...Really, I never knew I could screw myself up so bad with just a sneeze!

A Little Update

BG worked all week. She enjoys substitute teaching. It is an encouraging time for her and she evaluates each each teacher by the class. It is a unique opportunity to be involved. However, at home, I realize how difficult it would be if she were to go back to work full time. She is a integral part of the functioning of our house and I deeply appreciate her work as a wife and mom!

My week, on the other hand, was typical; just doing what was asked of me. I had a mild setback Friday when I discovered that the work assigned to me was irrelevant. I had wasted several hours working on the wrong drawings. It wasn't my fault, but it still stung. The feelings I experienced also caused me to think about my behavior this week. I had been having a hard time focusing and controlling my mind. This is the second time I have become aware of this little change prior to falling ill. I really don't like it.

The pattern seems to go something like this. I am doing fine, able to concentrate on the task at hand, energized and working well. Then I start to become easily distracted. The work is more difficult to concentrate on and other mindless alternatives seem very desirable. I start to drift. Within a couple of days, I will come down with a cold or something. The whole thing sneaks up on me and it is very hard to control. In fact, I don't know if it can be controlled. Anyway, I woke up with a headache. That's a sure sign that things are not 100% right. Oh well, it it is the season.

Dad's coming over in a few hours. We are supposed to go to the Dallas Safari Club's annual convention. It should be an interesting diversion. I said "supposed" because it is raining hard and the temperature is falling. We are under an Ice Storm Watch. We've had 1.4 inches of rain since yesterday. The current temperature is 35.8. We'll see if it keeps falling. In the meantime, I need a coffee warmup.

Oh-oh, How I've Gone and Done It!

Over the years, I have had many invitations to bow hunt. Over the years, I have turned down many invitations. Its not that I didn't want to go, but more that I didn't have the equipment. And, if you haven't priced bows in awhile, they're expensive! Add to the purchase all the add-ons to make the bow functional, arrows, release aids, scent reducing clothing, climbing stands, etc., etc, etc. Its really expensive. Oh well.

Last season, I had a brief change of heart. I accepted an invitation and borrowed a bow. I've been around bows in the past, but I was a youth and they were all recurves. I had not really had any opportunities to experiment with modern compound bows. Sure, I had shot a few in the archery shop, but that's not really like having one for the weekend to play with. So, I went and I played. As is typical on my weekend hunting efforts, no game showed; none. Which freed up a considerable amount of time back at the house to play with the bows. Play, I did.

I played with the bow I borrowed. I played with the bow of the friend I was hunting with. Enjoy, I did. Enjoy maybe a little too much. After I returned home. I showed my boys the borrowed toy. They were hooked. From then on, all I heard was "I want a compound bow for Christmas, can I have one?" What kind of hunting, fishing, general outdoors dad would I be if I didn't grant that wish? So, I did.

You can see where this is going. How could my boys have bows and dad not have anything to play with? That just wouldn't be right, now would it? So, in the depth of the after Christmas sales and end-of-year clearances, I fell upon a deal I couldn't refuse.

It came about on a trip to Bass Pro. Really, I should not go into that store. They seem to have a personal wallet vacuum that they affix to my back pocket every time I go through the front door. I can hear the suck the whole time I'm in the place. To you, it might sound like crowd noise, but its not, its the suck...

Anyway, I digress. The friendly sales person was all ears as I asked the simple, yet filled with the sound of wallet suck, question, "What would you suggest for an entry level bow?" With the follow-up, "What accessories would you suggest to compliment that rig?" The suck was in high gear. Now it wasn't as bad as it could have been, but it was bad enough. I walked out with a highly discounted PSE Typhoon, accessorized and with a case. I was in!

After I got it home, I had to just let it sit. It was too dark to even try it out in the yard. Then I had to wait until after chruch today before I got a chance to play. All the while the older boy was pestering me, "When are we gonna shoot, Dad. Huh? Why do we have to wait? I thought you said right now!" I played it cool, but I was just as anxious as he was.

We took it out in the back yard and set up the target. I paced off 20 yards. I nocked and arrow and drew with the new release. It was smooth. Look through the peep, line up the pin, squeeze the trigger...ZIP! Damn, that was fast! And quiet! way too cool. The boy was impressed too.

We played for about 20 minutes; trading off sighting in. We got pretty close. However, we still need a little tweaking; the wind was just too strong today. The picture to the left was a group from the middle of our session.

We will be playing more. I am excited about the opportunity to improve my archery skills together with my boys. It is something we can do anytime in the yard and I really like that.

God Is... A Poet

Have you ever stopped to think about that? God is the ultimate designer, composer...poet. As a member of the design community, it thrills me to observe all that God has designed and revealed to us in creation. I constantly marvel at everyday things like trees and weather, skies and sunsets, mountains and plains...biodiversity. Wow! Think about our own bodies...we are truly "fearfully and wonderfully made."

Wonder is something we could use a little bit more of today. So many are so jaded and lack any sense of wonder, seeking only to fulfill their own desire for physical satisfaction and the expense of mental stimulation. What a waste and a shame. I pray often for a sense of wonder.

You know, I have a friend who constantly says to me that I "give him hope, I am the only non-homosexual architect he knows." That is a sad commentary. By the way, that guy works for a very large company and deals with architects all the time. On the other hand, I constantly hear conservatives and especially conservative Christians labeled as "closed minded." This statement, when used in the context of the art world, implies that they are not good designers, that they cannot be artists, that they cannot appreciate the arts, etc. What foolishness! Maybe we just don't want to celebrate mankind's depravity as if it were virtue...chew on that for awhile before you run to the next paragraph...

In scripture, the largest book of the Bible is Psalms. It contains both song and poetry from various authors. The breadth of the content is inclusive of all life's emotional situations presenting God as our all-in-all. Why would God inspire such a large portion of the scripture to this subject in this format? I believe it is because He is the ultimate designer and He wants us to acknowledge Him as such. Song and poetry are the language that speaks to our hearts. That language communicates on a subconscious as well as conscious level. The next time you are in a Worship Service, think about the way you are praising God. Open your heart and mind to the the same methodology He used to reveal Himself as our all-in-all. They aren't just songs before the sermon...

The next time you look out at creation, think about the awesome perfection of the design...enough said.

If you are in the design profession, look to the examples given to us by the ultimate designer. Take clues from Him. Don't fall into the trap of Humanism as the only precedent for good design. You see, when we design for humanity, we partake in the process of creation. We are not creating from nothing as He did, but ours is creation as compliment. You don't have to be gay to be a good designer.

God is a poet. Maybe we should start appreciating Him as one.

Having a Picture Ball

I have been having a picture ball! My dad gave me a new digital camera for Christmas. I'll let you know about that later, but tonight I wanted to talk about Google Picasa2. What a program! What can I say? If you have not tried it yet, what are you waiting for? Its free!

The application is SO easy to use, and so versatile. In fact, BG is a little jealous. She's using Adobe Photoshop Elements. It is a very powerful program, but it takes a little learning to use it well. She has the more expensive editing software because she has the more expensive camera. I have the freeware, because I have a point-and-shoot.

Picasa's user friendliness starts on the install. You just download and click the program. Picasa installs in one step and then searches your computer (you can customize the search parameters is you desire) for pictures, organizes the catalog and presents it to you. Simple, easy. No picture names are changed, or locations edited. All of the original content and file types are preserved. So, you can see pictures in other program catalogs as well with out loosing functionality. All of the usual editing features are available. They are located in easy to see, easy to use palettes. Each edit is easily undone, and the final results can be saved as copies. This great feature allows preservation of the original for future edits.

I will probably compose a more in-depth review in the future. But for now, download this program and try it out. It will become a favorite!

Tool Time: Part 2

The new door is in, and the porch floor is repaired. It took a little longer than I anticipated, but the job went smoothly. I mentioned to Mamaw that things would go well if I didn't make any mistakes. I made three, but they were small ones! All in all, I am pleased with the results.

It is always hard for me, being a closet perfectionist, to know where to stop. However, when working on a repair or renovation, one has to stick to the task at hand without allowing the scope to creep. I think I did that pretty well with the help of BG.

The door project consisted of removing the existing door frame and installing the new door. This is always tenuous on a wood framed structure because of settlement and decay. Openings that once were plumb and true are no longer so. New doors by nature, are. So, a little creative adjustment and cajoling of the rough opening is in order. The door went in well and we were relatively unhindered by the rain.

I was irritated, though, because I only found white painted screws for the frame in the box. The new door is dark bronze. I went ahead and installed them. Later on, two days later, I discovered there were screws painted the the correct color. I had inadvertently placed them in my cordless drill case. They weren't marked, but that is no excuse. I felt stupid...

The wall framing was a little bit more involved. The porch started out as a deck. Later, the wall was constructed on top of the deck, enclosing the area. Over time, the deck below the wall rotted. In order to repair it, the rotten portions of the deck and wall had to be removed and new deck and wall framing installed.

I cut the floor back about 12 inches to get all of the damaged wood out. Also, about 18 inches of wall studs had to be removed along with the entire sill plate. I added a new floor joist at the transition of the cut to carry the end of the existing deck and the end of the new. I also added a double perimeter joist to carry the wall. The deck was originally constructed of 2x material. I matched the existing. When the porch was enclosed, a particle board subfloor was added above the 2x's. We were unable to match the particle board, so we chose to use plywood of the same thickness.

After the wall and floor were framed, I replaced the exterior sheathing. The existing sheathing was heavily damaged. It was Masonite. That product is no longer considered a viable product and was subject to a very large class action law suite several years ago. We chose to use an OSB sheathing in the same pattern. I installed the sheathing, set the window and sealed it. All that was left was the trim work.

The trim was not a stock width. So, in order to match the remaining undamaged pieces, I had to rip some stock to width. The window and wall transitions were successfully trimmed. A few tubes of caulk sealant later, the basic work was complete. We didn't work on the interior wall board. that will be the content of another trip as will the exterior painting.

Tomorrow it is back to work. I think I am ready. But right now, my desk job body is tired and sore.

Happy New Year!