The Housegleaners: A DIY Freestyle Fixerupper Remodel Blog Focused On Salvage, Reuse, and Upcycling

It pays to have the right tool. Today I did not have the right tool. My body paid. I hadn't intended to demolish the original chimney base, but it's better gone to make framing and flooring easier and better. But I sure wished I had a rotohammer. I've had "rotohammer" on my shopping list for months, but every time I looked at one I balked at the price . It's not a tool I often use, and I already have a Makita sub-compact that's good for certain applications . But it's rotary only, so it doesn't work with a chisel tip, which is what I needed here. I couldn't find one to rent close by so I went a-knocking at some neighbors. Linda and John across the road regretted they didn't have theirs with them. Al up the hill brewed me a cup of coffee, told me he'd given his away when he left Idaho decades ago. He's been here 34 years, lent me a pointy rockbar . I have similar but with a tamper end. I gave it a go but it hurts when cold steel str...

Took a break to remind myself of what lured us here in the first place. It's been trebly bleak of late: Sarah out of state, winter's shortest days, and persistent rain. Yesterday afternoon the sun broke through but I had to run an errand. Today, unexpectedly, the sun made an encore cameo and I seized the opportunity to try out the wetsuit Sarah gave me for Christmas. It was smack dab between high high tide (8:25 AM 12.6 feet) and high low tide (2:29 PM 6.8 feet), a good time to get in at the park. The wetsuit fit and kept me warm but my bare hands ached in the 46 degree F water. Floating on my back buoyed by the neoprene, I was able to keep my hands above the surface, like the otters I'm told frequent this inlet. Unlike them, I might invest in gloves. From sunbeams and sparkly water to the damp dirt of crawlspace beneath the bathroom to wrap pipes, emplace ground plastic, and insulate between floor joists. I prefer Rockwool batts because they're easy to install/de-inst...