STORY #!: MY ROOF: Three new Turtles!
A few weeks back we experienced a rather nasty little hail storm. I've been thinking that Chez Tortue might be due for a new roof, and perhaps the timing was simply perfect. I crawled up on to the roof shortly after the heavens opened up to discover a well worn, but not completely worn out roof. The vent covers, however, were a different story. All three seemed to be bashed to oblivion. I called my insurance broker to inquire as to whether it would even be worth putting in a claim since the roof is 22 years old - 2 years past its expected life span.
"The worst they can say is no.", was what my broker had to say. "They may give you partial coverage."
As for the impact on my rates? I would lose my 'no claim' status resulting in an increase in premiums of roughly $100/year for four years. That doesn't even come close to the cost of a roof!
I put in the claim, the adjuster came out, took some measurements and surveyed the roof.
"OK, you get a new roof. We're also putting in for new troughs and downspouts. I noticed you have rolled roofing on all your sheds. We don't really do rolled roofing so we'll waive your deductible. Is that acceptable?"
Um... let me think about that for a second...
OK. It would appear that I've scored in the roof department. I accepted the adjustor's damage report and noted that he's included the replacement of three "turtles" - these being the style of vent covers.
I couldn't be more thrilled.
Turtles.
I get three new Turtles.
How fitting, for Chez Tortue... my... shell.
The best face of the roof - still a wee bit worn, methinks...
The worst wear is in the only valley
One of the three beat-up Turtle vent covers. Yay- new Turtles!!
STORY #2 - The Great Escape
Last weekend, all of our work was out of town. On Saturday I did a wedding in Priddis, a small Hamlet south of Calgary. On Sunday I did a wedding at Buffalo Mountain Lodge in Banff. Both parties went rather well. The staff in Banff treated me exceptionally well - the manager bought me a beer and the serving staff insisted that I leave cards for referral to their clients. I was pleased.
It was long-weekend craziness in Banff - not a parking spot to be had in the town, so I spent the bulk of my free time on Sunday scouting out a place to sit, relax and play some guitar.
STORY #3 - In preparation of my new hardwood floors
A few weeks back I did the music for a friend's wedding. Matt is a fellow I know through some mutual friends. He had a Ballroom/Swing theme for his reception dance, and it was amazing. In lieu of payment, Matt has agreed to head up refinishing my hardwood floors at the end of August. I'm thrilled. It means a lot of prep work, however. I literally have to move out lock-stock and barrel for the better part of two weeks. The prep began today as I tarped off the patio - having borrowed a sizable tarp from my Aunt M. - with whom I share scotch once a month.
If it all works out, the contents of the sheds will move to the newly-constructed "Blue Room" at Chez Tortue. The contents of the upper floor will then be stored securely in the sheds. I will likely set up office arrangements in the kitchen since it's the only room on the upper floor that does not have hardwood - other than the bathroom. Depending on the level of odour, I may make sleeping arrangements in the tent trailer out back.
The tarp partially up. The breeze today was both a blessing and a curse. It actually helped by lifting the tarp conveniently so I could get it positioned properly. At other times, it would prematurely move the tarp before I had it secured.
From the roof of the house, the new "Blue Room" at Chez Tortue.
I thought I'd taken a ground-level photo of the completed Blue Room, alas no. Maybe later.
All in all, very exciting- the prospect of refinished hardwood AND eventually new baseboards!
STORY #4 - Networking
Matt and I share a love for vintage radios. He showed me a couple pieces he's collected and was really excited to hear that I know someone who works on tube-based audio. Tonight I took the "guts" of his cabinet hi-fi to Dave D.'s for service. It was a great evening to catch up with Dave and to play around in his home-shop.
I spent the evening looking over Dave's shoulder and learning all about using a tube tester.
He has seemingly countless shoeboxes and cartons full of "new" old stock tubes. One we used was new in the package dating back to 1950-something.
Tubes would read "GOOD", "QUESTIONABLE" or "REPLACE"
For one special tube, we had to break out an old Military tester.
The most expensive of the bunch illuminated green on the end...
...it sat at the front of the unit...
...and provided a seemingly 'before-its-time' trendy 'on' status.
Reading output voltage across one of the pins of a tube; note too, the can of Tuborg. We've dubbed this "Tube-borg" - great Danish beer for testing tubes.
Test speaker - every shop should have one of these!
On to repairing the phonograph...
For kicks, Dave showed me this sizeable tube: arranged in pairs, these can deliver 480 watts of output power. For the layman, that's loud.
2 comments:
You've got to learn hoe to do this. You coulda had four blogs and been on your way to blog sustainability. :)
I can't believe your luck with the roof. Things sure work differently in the mild west.
Woot!!! A NEW roof!
Janice~
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