December 02, 2004
Homeowner Adrift

Reasons to hope for a better 05 at KJ headquarters:
1. Upstairs neighbor's dog, which is barking right now as I type this, and which has also taken, inexplicably, to barking at 4 a.m.
2. It's freeeeezing. For some reason, after eight Chicago winters, I am still flinching and shivering--not just outside, but also inside, as we take root in yet another of a series of large-windowed, hard-wood-floored, drafty homes. The space heater is my new best friend.
3. Strange things have started to break in the house, in ways that I neither know how to fix nor know who to call to fix them. The ceiling fan light fixture, for instance, which eats light bulbs for breakfast and plunges half the room into pre-solstice darkness. And then for really ambitious projects, there's KJ's Bloomington branch, aka "Squatter's Inn," where we ponder installing floors and removing wallpaper, in a house where we don't live, 200 miles from here.

I turn, in desperation, to the Internet--where, if I can't find answer to my exact questions, I am reassured that there are many people out there who are just as clueless as me.

Various links of interest:
All about radiant heating, which we have in Bloomington and which I wish to god we had in Chicago.

The ins and outs of duct work, which can make rooms too cold.

Miscellaneous home repair hints. Also, more here.

The WaPo Home Sense chats every other week may prove helpful. The Nov. 11 installment covers installing flooring and removing wallpaper.

Who am I kidding, I barely know a hammer from a screwdriver. Hardier homeowners may take on repairs themselves, but as this article states, it's always good to know when to retreat and call in the pros.

Posted at December 02, 2004 07:32 PM