We arrived in the evening of 10-8-11 - all in order.   Left in the evening of 10-10-11.

This trip: killed wasps, had Gary Danko and Jim Bianco over to inspect chimneys/roof leaks, split wood.  We went canoeing on Lake Garfield and then on both Lower and Upper Goose Pond, which was beautiful.

There were no mice in any of the four traps I put out the weekend before nor were there droppings.

House in moonlight - 10-8-11

Roof Leaks
Gary Danko and his mason, Jim Bianco visited Sunday morning, 10-9-11, and they looked at the chimneys from the basement to roof.  They observed that, in theory, there may be too many appliances venting into the back chimney (water heater, long room floor furnace, long room wood stove), and that both the floor furnaces are not properly venting into the chimneys, resulting in a potentially dangerous situation (see furnace update in an earlier post).

It is their opinion that the roof, flashing and brick work on the chimneys are in good to very good shape, and that there are no obvious leaks in any.  They think it's likely that during heavier and/or extended periods of rain water is actually leeching through the chimney bricks and mortar and that the next step is to apply a sealant to the outside of the chimneys, as well as secure a piece of flashing on the front chimney.  The estimated cost is $400 including the cost of the sealant.

House Corner
The Southeast corner of the house appears to separating from the porch and we had Gary Danko look at it.  The wood that supports the house on the foundation is called the sill and in this corner it is clearly rotting away.  This has resulted in a large gap under the corner of the house, porch separation and has probably affected other areas of porch support judging from the way it sags and buckles.

Without getting in and exploring, which requires porch removal, there is no way to know the extent of the damage.

It was Gary's opinion that this needs to be looked at in the spring at the latest.  If it's bugs (like carpenter ants) they are asleep now or will be soon.  He said it is a serious situation, could result in at least a partial porch re-build, would require a building permit (that he says is not hard to get) and won't be cheap.

SE House Corner 10-10-11

SE House Corner - Close up - 10-10-11