Wednesday, January 19, 2005
The Joys of Home Ownership
by Tom Bozzo
Meanwhile, John (getting over a cold) woke up early (5:20 A.M.), and I accordingly got up to get him a drink of water and to urge him to get back to sleep. It worked! Woohoo!!
Back in bed, I heard the heat click off followed by steady dripping overhead. Hmm.
I started into the atticway and threw open the styrofoam insulation panel that helps us avoid heating the attic too much, then climbed the balance of the attic stair to see what was up. Evidently, moisture from the upstairs air — mainly from the non-vented upstairs bath, no doubt — turned to frost on the inside of the cold roof and began reverting to liquid water in the relatively warm conditions.
Oh. Joy.
Needless to say, this focuses and rearranges the list of home improvement priorities.
I figure the New No. 2 means re-roofing.
Oh. Double. Joy.
Madison weather conditions have moderated from the weekend's deep freeze and, as of this writing, the outside temperatures are actually above freezing.
Meanwhile, John (getting over a cold) woke up early (5:20 A.M.), and I accordingly got up to get him a drink of water and to urge him to get back to sleep. It worked! Woohoo!!
Back in bed, I heard the heat click off followed by steady dripping overhead. Hmm.
I started into the atticway and threw open the styrofoam insulation panel that helps us avoid heating the attic too much, then climbed the balance of the attic stair to see what was up. Evidently, moisture from the upstairs air — mainly from the non-vented upstairs bath, no doubt — turned to frost on the inside of the cold roof and began reverting to liquid water in the relatively warm conditions.
Oh. Joy.
Needless to say, this focuses and rearranges the list of home improvement priorities.
| Rank
| Before
| After
|
| 1. | Build garage someday | Install bathroom vent fan ASAP
|
| 2. | Finish basement someday | Install additional ridge vents ASAP
|
| 3. | … | …
|
I figure the New No. 2 means re-roofing.
Oh. Double. Joy.
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It's so nice to have an attic that is difficult to get to -- I never have to know about the horrors that are taking place under a very old roof. If someday I crawl out of a heap of rubble because the house collapsed around me, well then I will know I should have hurried with the $10,000 roof-replacement project. It's the Polish attitude, or the Scarlett O'Hara attitude -- it makes for saner regular days, interspersed tumultuous times when indeed the roof finally does crash.
I would like to cultivate that kind of attitude, but the dripping quickly evoked The Tell-Tale Heart.
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