The guy I called about firewood is supposed to call me back next week to arrange a time and day to drop off the first of two cords. Its going to cost me $70/face this year. Think about the same as last year. I still have a cord of wood leftover from what I bought last year. There is another cord or so stack on my driveway that is made up of wood I bought the year before, and wood that I cut from trees that have fallen on my own property. The wood I bought last year has been stacked and sitting under a tarp. So it is nicely dried and seasoned. The other stuff has been stacked, but not covered.
So last night my wife and I grabbed the wheelbarrows intending to merge the piles. The wheelbarrows hadn’t been touched since last winter. I found the tires were low. So the first thing I had to do was pump up the tires. Then we started loading the old wood on to the wheel barrows from the old stack, and moving it over to the newer stack. My wife helped with a few lods, then disappeared into the house. I continued to work, and got about half the old stack moved. I will work more on it on Sunday probably. Once I get the old stack moved over, it will be under tarp, and dry it out more. Not that the wood is wet, but I am sure that just sitting out in the elements, it absorbs moisture. When I get the two cords delivered, I may only be able to fit one cord where I stack to wood now. I need to build a shelter for the wood where I can stack it easily, have it sheltered from the elements, and where I can retrieve it easily. It will need to hold about 3 full cords.
Last year I bought 3 full cords (9 face cords) or firewood. But January was warm, so we didn’t end up burning all of the wood. We still have about a cord of firewood left. So I have been looking to buy another 2 full cords.
The guy we bought the firewood from the last two years was recommended by the guy who sold us the wood stove. And he was great. The wood was good quality hardwood, and the quantity was accurate. But this year I haven’t been able to get a hold of him. I have left him messages, but he hasn’t returned my calls. Maybe he is out of the business?
I have been looking for another source for firewood. Finding people who sell firewood is not hard. But you need to be careful as some people sell poor quality wood/unseasoned wood. Others may short you, and not deliver an accurate amount of firewood. The son of one of my wife’s co-workers aparently sells firewood. I did a search on the internet, and found places that sell firewood. I even found listings in the phonebook fore places that sell firewood.
I decided to do what I did before. I called the store that sold me the wood stove, and he gave me the name of another guy. So I called him. He does firewood only part time (his full time job is a UPS driver). He is going to call me next week to set up a time to deliver some wood. His going to deliver one cord, and then come back a couple weeks later and deliver another cord. Apparently he has been slammed with demand for wood. We are the last people that he taking orders for.
When we moved into our house, the caulking on the bathtub was in poor condition. I removed the caulk, and recaulked it with non-silicone caulk. It lasted quite a while (about 4 years), but after a while separated some letting water in. The first sign of this came yesterday when I asked my wife why there was water on the island in the kitchen. I suspected water was leaking around the tub surround. I felt the kitchen ceiling, but it didn’t seem wet. I took a shower a little later, and afterward, bee-lined for the kitchen. Sure enough, there was a little bit of water dripping from the ceiling. Aha!
So tonight, I used a putty knife to scrape out the old caulk. I found the tube of caulk that I used before out in the garage. Great, I didn’t need to go to the store. But when I tried to squeeze the caulk out, it was thick, and not caulk-like anymore. I guess I did need to go to the store.
I headed to Home Depot, and scanned the caulks. I found a tube of silicone based tub caulk. I bought it. Actually I bought a couple tubes since they were small. Turns out one tube was more than enough. I cut the tip off, and start to squirt out a bead of caulk around the perimeter of the bathtub. After I made it completely around, I used my thumb to smooth it out. Last time, I used my finger, and removed too much caulk. This time I made an effort to leave more caulk in the tub seam. I guess time will tell. I need to figure out how long to let the silicone caulk cure. It didn’t say on the tube. But there was a URL for a web page where I could get answers. It might say there.
With all my research into how to attach my ledger board to my cement block foundation, it keeps coming back to the threaded rod anchors. That being settled, the hard part is finding the things. Home Depot and Lowes don’t carry them. The carry Red Head anchors, but Red Head doesn’t make the threaded rod anchors. They do make the epoxy for them, but not the anchors themselves.
Hilti makes threaded rod anchors. They have the exact size I need. 1/2″ diameter, and 6 1/2″ long. Galvanized and everything. I filled out a form on their site for a quote, but never heard back. And I can’t find anyone else who sells them.
A guy at Home Depot referred me to their own rental shop, but they didn’t have them. He also mentioned Fastenal and Taylor Rental. I visited Fastenal lastnight after work. They don’t have the threaded rod anchors either. I did however find the Red Head epoxy. The epoxy comes in a dual tube thing that requires a special double tube caulk type gun. The also had a similar product to the Red Head epoxy that was cheaper. The Red Head expoxy required a $200 gun, while the other stuff required a $100 gun. Therer were some single tube epoxys which would save me money on a gun. But the tube contains half as mauch as the double cartridges.
I haven’t checked Taylor Rental yet. Maybe this weekend or this upcoming week.
I will continue looking around online and see if I can find somebody who sells them.
I swapped a bunch of emails with a guy from Red Head, and he suggested the wedge anchors wont work for me. He thought that they were too strongs, and that they might potentially crack the cement blocks. Apparently they are designed for solid concrete. His suggestion was aither the sleeve anchors, or the epoxy anchors. With the sleeve anchors, I would likely need to go to the next diameter up, 5/8′ths inch I think. Or I could go with the 1/2″ adhesive anchors. Red Head apparently doesn’t sell the epoxy anchors, but they do sell the epoxy. There is another company Hilti that makes the epoxy anchors. They also sell the epoxy. So I will have to do more research on where I can get the anchors and the epoxy. Not sure if Home Depot or Lowes sell Red Head epoxy.
Meanwhile, I will need to return the two boxes of wedge anchors that I bought at Home Depot.
I filled out a form on the Hilti website asking for information, but haven’t head back yet.