About Us

Sonoma County, California
We are two teachers in love who took on an enormous renovation project over three years ago. In the words of the inspector, "This house has been abused." When we're not educating young minds or working on our place, we are busy with many other interests. Dominic could blog with authority on the following topics: zombie infestations, home-brewing, origami, medieval recreation, and surfing. As for me, my blogging repertoire could include these topics: breastfeeding, guitar for the musically disinclined, bellydancing, and the quest for the perfect matzah ball. This is our story.

Friday, November 30, 2007

So Jacked Up!



It is not a good sign when your front door is suddenly difficult to close. It means dark forces may be at play underneath your house. In life as in home improvement, "settling" is sometimes inevitable but can lead to disaster. Dominic peeled away some siding and discovered that we'd overlooked a floor joist that was disintegrating due to dryrot. Worried that the whole house would soon tip to the left, we jacked up the house (exactly as if it had a flat tire) gradually over a few days, and then Dominic replaced the joist before gradually lowering the house. Raising and lowering the house?!?! I don't think my concern was an overreaction. In the end, it turned out fine (knock on wood that we don't veer to the side any moment now) with the exception of just a couple character-building cracks in the living room drywall.

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