A Supply Run That Turned Into a Work Day

When Liz woke up, she felt like she was getting sick. We had a few errands planned for the day – but given how she felt, I opted to go and do the errands on my own.

With the weather getting colder, it felt high time for us to remove our AC window units. You would figure that I’ve learned my lesson, in terms of leaving AC units in windows after October. It’s cold, and it was time.

Since we have a storage unit, one of my first errands was to drop off the AC units there.

Given the close proximity to a Target and a Home Depot, I had a few other errands to run.

I got a ton of Halloween candy at Target (in anticipation of the kids in our neighborhood). And at Home Depot, I got a lot of supplies to help insulate the exterior basement walls underneath our porch.

Bob suggested I get some 2″ styrofoam insulation. I was hoping to fit most of it in my car, but ended up doing a lot of field cutting in the parking lot… just to get it to fit.

It took a good while to get this all inside my car. I purchased two 2″ x 4′ x 8 sheets.

Driving home, my seat was pressed up against the steering wheel. Felt like I was navigating a clown car.

Back home, getting ready to go under the porch. There were a few wooden blocks I needed to remove from the walls. And I wanted to fill in any gaps with Great Stuff foam.

I had some tubs of liquid nails as an adhesive. And also had some 2.25″ screws, along with a set of Fender Washers (1/4″ x 1-1/4″).

Since I had to cut up the pieces to fit in my car, it took me a while to determine how best to cut everything up. Here’s a time where I really wish I owned a truck.

In terms of effort, the cutting and calculation actually took the most time throughout the entire process.

Here’s where I spent a good part of the evening.

The last time work was done on this house was circa 2009. So it’s probably been about eight years or so, since someone other than me was down here working on things.

Styrofoam boards in place.

Wrapping around the corner. The space down here is super dusty, and I opted to wear a respirator.

This area got a little…. rough. Had to do some field cutting, and it’s no quite as snug/tight as I would like. I need to come back in here and fit in a few more fix pieces.

All told though, it’s a good bit of insulation. This work, coupled with the Visqueen and drywall work we’ve lately should really help reduce the horrific drafts we’ve had in the basement, these last few years.

Mess and aftermath.

While I was planning on just doing some errands and a supply run, I shifted into this mode where I just figured I should keep on working and actually do the insulation install.

It was a nice day, and the days are only going to get colder. By the time I got inside, it was close to 6:30 PM.

While I was hoping for a relaxing weekend day off, I ended up working pretty much straight through the afternoon and evening. But I will say this – I feel a great sense of accomplishment.

Given the hours I put in, I decided that a shot and a beer was in order. Ever since I heard about how Bob used to work with his dad, and how they would go to a bar afterwards for a shot and a beer… this to me is the drink that signals a solid day’s work having been done.

Related:
Yard and Basement Day
Basement Cleanup and a Trip Under the Porch
The Big Storage Unit Move