Monthly Archives for March 2016

Mother Nature Obliges!

I made up my mind yesterday that today would be “flashing day”, no matter what.  I hoped for only a little rain, but wasn’t holding my breath, given the weather report of rain for the next ten days.  Imagine my happy surprise when I woke up to sun!

It did rain (of course) last night, so even waiting until 10:30 left me with some wet areas to work with.  Still, most were dry.  I used this adhesive which seemed to be perfect for working in such damp conditions, and only needs a minimal amount of time to start setting up…plus has great reviews.  I gooped it on to the back of the well-cleaned old flashing, and also in the corners where the siding comes together, then nailed it up…easy-peasy.  After it was all up, the dry weather continued for 3 1/2 more hours.  According to reviews I’d read, other users had luck with as little as 2 hours of drying time.

The nails don’t look great, but I plan on painting the flashing so they shouldn’t show up after that.  I think that it looks pretty good, better in reality than it looks in these pictures, oddly enough!  Yay!

I decided yesterday to put up the flashing no matter what, and the sun obliged
old barn flashing reused on Oliver’s Nest
reused flashing up on rear vertical edges, nailed and glued
reusing old barn flashing, here behind the cab
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Focusing On The Door

I’ve gotten so used to being busy that now that the rain has forced me inside I’m feeling a little cabin fever.  Luckily, there are tasks still available.  I pulled the door today out of the designated “warm” room where it’s been curing, to see if it needs more putty.  I took sandpaper and steel wool to it and found a few small places that need more putty (around one of the wood plugs and in a couple small dents).  The layers of putty are thin enough so that even outside of the warm room it was dry within a couple hours.  It’s looking good!

this face of the door is nearly ready for painting
it looks rough but is almost completely smooth to the touch
the upper plug needs one more smoothing with putty

While waiting for the putty to dry, I pried off the old pet door surround at the bottom of the door.  It was de-laminated and starting to rot so had to go.  Now, I actually want an opening in the door, for running a water hose through to fill the tank just inside.  Once again, poking through my store of materials for the original Oliver’s Nest turned up a solution in the form of a brand-new (found at a local thrift store) pet door I forgot I’d purchased.  All that I have to do is enlarge the hold a little, and screw the new pet door on!

It’s just bleh plastic, but still nicer than what was there originally.

I called my mechanic and bad news.  The tank will need to be dropped, drained, cleaned and (oh no!) possibly even replaced!  Depending on if it’s rusted out.  Apparently the fact that the “water in fuel line” indicator light comes on means there is a LOT of water in the tank, way too much for an additive to take care of.  He also recommended I take the Beast to a dedicated diesel shop for this.  Luckily there is one only a mile up the road from me so that’s handled.  I can easily walk home and then back when the truck’s ready to pick up.  Yay!  Now if only I find $400 laying on the side of the road to pay for this. But, that’s what credit cards are for, right?

I think I’m going to take the evening off from fretting about this and play a video game instead.