Two Big Projects

August 14, 2018: A gorgeous sky over Jacob's house in Mesa.

Despite my determination to stay out of the Valley for six weeks or more, circumstances called me back to Mesa last week. The long-awaited front living room window we'd ordered two months earlier (the one that cost a whopping $1,041.54) was finally ready to be installed, and I needed to be there for the big event.

August 15, 2018: Brand-new window and screen at front of the Mesa house.

Not because I merely wanted to be there (although I was interested to see what I'd paid for), but because Jacob no longer had a day off during the work week. Instead of Friday and Saturday, his days off had been switched to Saturdays and Sundays, and since he was usually gone from about 8:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m., that left no time for him to tend to house-business for companies that closed on the weekends.

A reminder of how the front window looked before it was replaced.

When it broke, the squatters fixed it with a board and wrong-sized glass.

During the heavy summer monsoons, rainwater leaked into the living room.

Under ordinary circumstances, we could have asked my nephew Julien, Jacob's roommate, to handle the situation. However, while the installers were there, I needed to discuss the fates of three other windows in the house. Being a person of many questions and a stickler for details, I felt it would be kinder to not task Julien with the extra hassle and the stress of reporting it all back to me.

First, the installers removed the glass panes.

So, since the install was scheduled for Wednesday morning, and since Mark's days off are Wednesday and Thursday, we left home after Mark got off work on Tuesday and drove back down to Mesa. We stayed until Thursday evening.

Then they wrestled with the outer frame, which needed to come out.

The installers arrived around 8:15 and everything went smoothly, other than the difficulty of ripping a 39-year-old metal frame out of the window opening. What a difference. The large, sparkling-clean glass allows so much more light into the room. It slides open so easily. Plus, they brought us a brand-new screen. 

Finally, success!

During our time in Mesa, we also purchased a new window covering to cut the heat from the afternoon sun that burns right into that window, making the living room the hottest room in the house. At the opposite end of the house, the morning sun lights up the master bedroom, as well, so we bought a less-expensive window covering for that one, too.

Such a mess. But they cleaned it all up nicely.

After the new window was in place, I had the installers look at the two bathroom windows and the window in the master bedroom (Jacob's room). In the bathrooms, the former residents (squatters) had busted the panes and simply replaced them with pieces of wood. Those would be an easy fix, said the installers, and they ordered new glass for both windows.

And now, a beautiful new living room window and a new screen.

The back bedroom window, on the other hand, would require full replacement, just like the front window. Although there's no broken glass, the frames no longer lock shut correctly, but slide freely on both sides. Jacob had to screw the frames into place to keep the window secure. The squatters had wired them closed through holes they punched in the frames. After we returned home, I received the estimate to repair all three windows: $1,133.21. At least this time I was somewhat prepared to see such a large bill, but it still stings a little... And the wait won't be as long this time. They say all three windows will be replaced in the next week or so.

The installers check out the back window and make a recommendation.

All three bedroom windows have these goofy stickers all over them,

but at least the windows in the two smaller bedrooms are operational.

After the installation, while Jacob was still at work, Mark and I went to Walmart and Home Depot to pursue some smaller projects. We found some wingnuts of the correct size to secure the vent over the air conditioner filter, making it easier to open and close when replacing the filter. We worked out a temporary system to hang vertical blinds in the front bedroom. When we'd cleared out the house in June, we'd found an unopened box holding unused vertical blinds that were the right size for the bedroom window, but the hardware with it was the wrong size. Our imperfect replacement hardware won't allow the blinds to be opened, but it will cut some heat until we can do better.

Our temporary fix for the blinds in the front bedroom.

We also looked into special-ordering a door for the odd-sized side-door into the garage. When we were done, the cost for the special-order door came to almost $500! For a plain old door with holes for a knob and a deadbolt--no, I don't think so. Instead, we worked out a way to make the next-size-smaller standard door work and bought the narrower 34-inch-wide door instead. Jacob and Julien successfully installed that door just this morning, so the garage is now fully secure.

A missing kitchen drawer, right next to the stove.

Our final errand of the day was a search for drawers to temporarily fill in for some missing drawers, one each in the kitchen and master bathroom. There was also one panel-front missing at the kitchen sink. We asked about replacement drawers at Home Depot, but they warned us it would be an expensive and lengthy process. Instead, they told me about two other places to try: Drawer Connection, which builds custom drawers for economical prices; and Stardust Building Supplies, a warehouse filled with reclaimed building supplies, donated by people who are moving out the old to bring in the new as they remodel their homes. Almost a "Goodwill" for home improvement.

The missing wood panel hole that's supposed to hide the sink's underside.

Eventually, Jacob will refinish or replace the old cabinetry in the house. Until then, it would be nice to have all the drawer-holes filled with drawers. Drawers are so handy. We decided to try out Stardust, since it was only a mile from the house. I didn't think there would be that much to choose from, but boy, was I wrong! The whole southeast end of the warehouse was overflowing with old drawers. 

I couldn't even get all the drawers into this pic at Stardust Building Supplies.

It took a lot of searching and measuring (bringing along a measuring tape is vital), but we found a panel for the sink that fits perfectly, is only slightly lighter in color, and won't be terribly noticeable. They gave us that one for free. We also found two drawers, four dollars each. The one for the bathroom was just a hairsbreadth too tall to fit in its hole, but the one for the kitchen works. It doesn't match in color or style, and it's a little too long so it sticks out a bit, but otherwise it fits the hole perfectly. It will be a handy spot for Jacob's hot pads and potholders. 

Julien and Jacob tightened security on this kennel Jacob bought from Sarah, to

prevent the wanderings of Julien's escape-artist pit bull, Porsche, while at work.

Yet she still manages to get out, breaking through the chicken-wire-and-tarp roof.

Once all the running-around errands were complete, Mark and I tackled Jacob's bedroom, where all the moving boxes had been stacked when he'd moved in on May 31st. When he got home from work on Wednesday, he was thrilled to see all the extra floor space we'd created. We'd sorted out the boxes he wouldn't need anytime soon--like games, holiday decorations, and camera equipment--and arranged them neatly in his roomy walk-in closet. Now his bedroom looks much larger and he can focus on emptying the boxes filled with things he needs sooner rather than later.

One of the ongoing expenses of these trips is the cost of eating out. We would love to have most meals at Jacob's house, except he still doesn't have a working sink, which makes it difficult to cook and clean up effectively. So, on Wednesday, it was breakfast from Taco Bell, lunch at El Pollo Loco, and dinner at Applebees. On Thursday, we did breakfast sandwiches from Subway and lunch from Pita Jungle. Mark and I stopped for dinner at Dairy Queen in Globe on the way back home that evening.

The old broken garage hardware is still in place as the installer gets set up.

Mark and I had actually planned to leave on Thursday morning, but on Wednesday Jacob received a serendipitous phone call letting him know that the new garage door was ready to be installed the next morning. So we stayed until late afternoon. This was another of the major, costlier projects, to the tune of $1,936.00, so it was nice we were able to be there and see the work completed.

The installer has put in new framework and is ready to hang the opener.

The garage door installation was an all-day job, literally. The installer arrived around 9:45 and didn't finish until 4:00. He was happy to see that we'd already removed the old, busted garage door, which saved him some time and effort, but he still needed to rebuild the wooden framework around the opening to ensure a better seal before he began the actual installation.

The new door was assembled one slat at a time, starting at the bottom.

I popped out to take pictures once in a while, but it was hot outside and the work proceeded slowly, so we mostly worked inside while we waited. Everything appeared to be moving along smoothly, and when we returned at 4:00 from a credit union meeting, the installer met us with a tired smile, maintenance instructions, and papers to sign. It was finished and the door opened and closed properly. Hooray!

August 16, 2018: We have a new garage door!

It all seemed to be a success, until after Mark and I left at 4:45. About half an hour later, Jacob called to report that he'd parked his car in the garage but the new garage door wouldn't close. I told him it sounded like a problem with the sensors. So he tried pulling the car back out to the driveway, and he tried to operate the door using both the remote unit and the button inside the garage. Nothing worked. Mark pointed out that it was a good thing that the door didn't quit operating after Jacob parked in the garage, leaving his car trapped inside. True that! 

It opens and closes as it should. Finally.

The garage-door people came back on Friday morning and got everything operational again. Turns out it was, indeed, a sensor problem. And then, later that day, Jacob drove up to Lakeside for his recent four-day visit with us on the mountain.

It looks nice even when it's at rest. (Jacob at right, exiting the side door.)

Meanwhile, back on Thursday, Mark and I were having issues of our own. While we'd been driving around Mesa, Mark had noticed that my left headlight was burnt out. We decided we'd be okay as long as we got on the road by 4:00 so we'd be safely home before 7:30, before it gets full-dark. However, nothing ever seems to go as planned.

Mark tries to explain the peculiarities of my car to an inexperienced tech.

Earlier that day, Jacob had spoken to the loan officer at my credit union, with whom he'd been working to get pre-approved for purchasing the house. She'd suggested that we both come in to start the process. I figured it would be okay as long as we started by 2:00 so we could leave for home by 4:00. However, it went much longer than expected (we waited twenty minutes while she was in a meeting) and provided some unwelcome surprises (more on that at some future time in some future blog post), so we barely got back to Jacob's place at 4:00. Then we had to take care of garage-door business before we could gobble down the pita sandwiches we'd picked up at Pita Jungle, and then we still had to load our stuff into the car. It was nearing 5:00 by then.

How many cars require the use of a lift to replace a headlight?

By the time we were approaching the freeway on-ramp, it was clear that we wouldn't get home until after 8:00, thirty or more minutes after full darkness. I worry about elk on the highway after dark, so I made a last-minute decision to stop at Pep Boys and plead for a miracle. I explained to the guy in charge that we were headed home to the White Mountains, but I was too nervous to drive through elk country at dusk and after dark, when the elk are most likely to be grazing near the highway, without two working headlights. I'm so grateful that Pep Boys had an empty bay and he directed us to pull in immediately.

We were there quite a long time, due to the eccentricities of my car. Even the normally-simple task of replacing a headlight becomes a huge issue on a Chevy Traverse. The young tech assigned to help us was completely mystified. Mark tried to help (we'd faced this issue with the other headlight last year) and two other techs pitched in their advice. The job was finally accomplished after they put my car on a lift so the young man could reach the headlight from beneath and within.

The guy at the desk only charged me $18 for the headlamp, with no labor costs, so we gave the young technician a $10 tip. It was after 6:00 when we were finally on our way. With a brief dinner stop in Globe, it was exactly 9:30 when we safely pulled into the driveway of home, having navigated almost two hours of dark highways without incident. Always such a blessing to be back at home!