It’s Was a Hot One

Ice melts in a failing fridge

The past week was marked by record high temperatures in the PNW. As Oregon melts, we are in the middle of an appliance install project. A new laundry pair is in place. Kitchen appliances are ‘staged’ which means they exist somewhere in a wonky supply chain.

Mask wearing is only part of pandemic pain. Try buying a major appliance. We had to make choices around availability when it came to the pieces that really needed to be replaced. Even so, we are over a month on the first delivery and another 4 weeks (maybe) on the last.

Even just a LED makes laundry day a bit better.

The laundry (which is complete) was a big job as we had to repair some water-damaged dry wall. A process that evolved into pulling cabinets and a small counter off the wall which added to the repair work.

Sheetrock, mud and tape is not my strong suit but the job was small enough that we managed to end with a decent looking wall. New paint and shelves help camouflage imperfections in the patch work.

Paint was a big part but we also pulled up the vinyl flooring and put down tile. Setting floor tile is a bit more in my comfort zone. The room isn’t exactly square which made for some interesting ‘fitting’ moments, but we managed to lay down a nice new floor covering.

Now we wait on the delivery pipeline. The freezer side is more ‘just colder’ these days.

However, we did find a suitable fridge that will be here end of week. Hopefully there will be minimal melting.

The other good news is we have AC so the heat wave didn’t really hamper our efforts. With a bit more luck our home will be updated by end of summer.

 

Home Fix-it

What started as a project to replace a washer and dryer … became so much more.

This week’s adventure is a bit closer to home …  like at home. Just a few weeks ago our dryer started to take longer to dry and the start knob needed some creative fixing. So we decided it was time.

Old laundry room and appliances

Appliance shopping post pandemic qualifies as an adventure, but to add to the complexity, we discovered a small leak where water feeds the washing machine.

Now we have the task of getting delivery on a laundry pair and repairing ruined drywall. The problem is complicated by a laundry area just wide enough to fit machine and walk-way.

The subsequent juggling of appliance delivery, plumber to cap the natural gas line and wall fix turned into a re-do on the whole room. New flooring, baseboard, paint and shelving.

New drywall in, walls prepped for priming.

The smallest detail will stall out a home improvement project. Thanks to having built a house, we have skills and no shortage of tools. However. it will take multiple trips to the hardware store before we have collected all the bits and bobs required.

Appliances get delivered the week this is posted. Presently we’re in the thick of the “mess” with any luck there be a load of laundry tumbling in a re-furbished space by weeks end.