Did That Groundhog Say……
Spring was going to be sooner than later or vice versa? Seems I can’t quite remember and if I am not mistaken, the two most popular groundhogs, Punxsutawney Phil and Staten Island Chuck, were at odds with each other this year, one predicting one way and the other the other way. Now further research shows us also that old Phil is only accurate about 50 percent of the time while the seemingly younger Chuck (and I say that only as in I don’t really recall Chuck being mentioned for quite as long as Phil) runs at a near 80 percent correct rate, which I would say clearly puts Chuck on par with most TV weather reporters and handily outdoes Phil’s efforts. All that being said, I am not really sure which one did what this year and I am not quite sure that it matters, but what I can tell you….the cold just seems to keep following me where ever I go so I would really be happy if that just stopped for the time being and I am pretty much ready for Spring now (does that fall under either Phil or Chuck’s predictions)? Anybody with me on that?
For my selfish reasons, we need it to warm up a bit at the 1800 Project as we have a small, but crucial, section of foundation (under the future “breakfast nook” area) that needs to be rebuilt, as in, needs a new concrete wall set and poured so we can carry on with our interior build out. While there are ways you might get around this on let’s say a large commercial construction project, not so much with our small (but big to us) house restoration thus, as the instructions on the bag say, best to use in above 40 degree weather conditions. That means a steady above 40, including the overnight, as concrete itself has a very long curing time (it hardens to walk on fairly quickly, but full cure takes significant time) and as concrete is indeed made with water, well, just do the math, cold not good!
So we wait. A large part of this too will be the plan for that breakfast nook area, which is to essentially break it completely down then frame and build a new one on top of that new foundation wall (the other choice being to build your foundation while lifting the existing section, then dropping it back down on top of new foundation, which in this case might result in, 1., the whole thing falling apart, or 2., the roof line being made askew because you lifted up that section). Wise minds, of course, went with the first plan, build a new one, which should be just grand and will also allow us to do a couple wish list items as we’ll have total access to walls and flooring framing, not going to say what those things are just yet, but keep following us, and we’ll spill the beans when the time is right.
That’s all for now, time to layer up and get back out in the cold. Enjoy March madness and see you next week!
