Trim Repair

Within a few months of moving in we started noticing a gap developing between the baseboard trim and the wall going up the stairway to the second floor. Several of our neighbors that had been in their houses longer told us they had experienced the same problem so I was expecting it to happen in ours too. Once we turned the heat on in late October it only accelerated the rate of separation to the point where it was two-thirds of the way up the stairs and relatively wide in spots. When I spoke with the service manager about it he said he sees it in 99% of the homes they build and can't be prevented. It's caused by the water based latex caulking drying out and is just one of those things that happens. (Silicone caulk can't be used because it can't be painted over.)

For whatever reason the only spot we've had this happen is the staircase and on the side against the exterior wall at that. Our original plan had been to get it fixed at the ten month review (which for us is only two months away) but it reached the point where it looked awful and with having family over at Christmas we didn't want to have such an eyesore sticking out.

Fixing it was easy enough. The contractor that showed up to do the repair used a nail gun to pop a few nails in the trim at the widest spots and followed it up with a bead of caulk. It looks good now with barely any hint that something has been done to it.  Now that I've seen how it's done it should be fairly simple to do it myself should the need arise again after we're out of the one year warranty.

Christmas Lights

When I was a kid I always wanted to put lights on our house at Christmas but my parents would never do it. They put a tree up and such but it was pretty much only inside. I always swore when I owned a house I would put up lights. When Jenny and I bought our first house in 2006 I started out small, with a few strings of lights along the front edge of the roof and around the front porch.

Our old house in 2006.

Every year I added to it and by our last Christmas there I had a more elaborate display with far more lights and a few inflatables and a lighted deer in the yard as well. It was never enough to qualify for the local Tacky Lights Tour but it was more than anyone else in our neighborhood put up.

Even while our new house was under construction I could already envision it's potential. From the time we moved in I looked forward to putting lights for Christmas. I started a few weeks ago and made more than a few "one more trip" visits to Walmart, Target, etc to pick up additional lights. Part of the problem was everything I had for both lights and extension cords was based around the measurements of our old house and I had to adapt everything to much different dimensions of the new one. Below is what I've come up with. It's no where near full on Clark Griswold but it's the biggest display in the neighborhood. And I'm already thinking about next year including buying a new extension ladder so I can reach the top of the house.

It really needs to be seen in person as the photo doesn't really do it justice. But I'm really happy with how it turned out. I may be adding a few more in the coming weeks as well especially if I can catch a decent sale. 

Winterization

With the weather getting colder it's time to do a bit of winterization around the house to prevent problems later.

A few weeks ago I had the company that installed our irrigation system out to shut it down until spring. There wasn't much to it. The technician that came out ran an air hose from a tow-behind air compressor to a valve under the house and blew air through the lines to clear them out. Had we received a frost while water was present in the lines it could have caused them to crack. I'll have to get the company back out in the spring to open it back up and adjust the sprinkler heads.

With a frost warning scheduled for tomorrow morning I also took a few precautions to keep the pipes underneath the house from freezing. The main thing is closing the crawl space vents. I also ran out to Lowe's this afternoon and picked up two styrofoam covers for the outside spigots. They're on a drawstring that fits over the handle and then tightens to form a seal against the side of the house. At $3/each it's cheap insurance against having to repair a frozen pipe.

Crawlspace vent closed and spigot covered.

The last thing I did this weekend was to adjust the dampers in the attic to change the airflow. Like I referenced in this post from over the summer, in the winter time the downstairs damper needs to be wide open while the two for upstairs upstairs need to be half closed. Since heat rises this directs more airflow downstairs.

Fence

I'm happy to say we've finally got a fence up around our back yard. One of the few things I've missed about our old house is the fenced in yard and the convenience in letting our two dogs out to run around instead of taking them out on a leash multiple times a day. Based on a recommendation from a coworker, their stellar Better Business Bureau record, and a competitive price quote I hired Russell Fence Company Inc. in Petersburg, Virginia to do the job.

About a week and a half ago they showed up one afternoon to sink the posts and then came back the following week to put up the rest. We chose a simple six foot dog eared wood fence with a four foot wide gate. It was cheaper than vinyl and Jenny and I both feel like it looks better. The only downside is it will need to be stained/sealed it in the spring (Barring a few days of warm weather this winter which isn't unheard of in Central Virginia) and then every few years after that.

The only small complaint I've got is with our neighborhood HoA. Our lot isn't very big and I would have preferred to have run the fence up to the front corners of our house so the sides would have been enclosed as well. Due to the HoA rules however it could only come up to the rear corners. Other than that we're really pleased with how it turned out and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend Russell Fence to anyone else looking to get similar work done. (Edit - Read this post to see what ended up happening with Russell Fence Company. The only recommendation I can offer is stay away.) Our happy idiot cocker spaniel was ecstatic to finally be able to run free outside for the first time in six months.