Wednesday - October 01, 2008

The Ultimate Squeegee Project, Day 1

Hey, I’m still alive! My feet are killing me from standing on a ladder all day, and I had to leave at a normal time because it started to rain. But I got about 32 windows done on the outside. And I got them perfectly clean. That ate up 2 squeegee rubbers, 2 gallons of cleaning water, and several dozen rags and microfiber polishing cloths. I have already been invited back for next year, and they want me to do more things this time and add that to the bill. I guess they notice good work?

Well, they notice bad work, that’s for sure. The crew that did the glass last year was, for reals, a bunch of hippies who showed up with Windex spray bottles and a whole Goodwill Box full of rags. Needless to say they didn’t do a very good job. I was pulling their rag threads from the mullions all day.

And it’s stinkbug season. The little bastards are everywhere. They congregate on the windowsills in the fall, I don’t know why. It’s not just this place, it’s all over New Jersey. And it’s a new thing too; 3 years ago we never saw one. Must be that damned Global Warming. Personally, I blame Bush.

The glass in this mansion is 100 years old. I know firsthand, and then some, how old glass deteriorates. It gets pitted and rough from air pollution and weather, etc. But this glass also has waves in it. And air bubbles. And thin spots. It’s a challenge. Glass is actually a frozen liquid, and over a long time a big window will actually be noticeably thicker at the bottom as the glass slowly slumps down. Which means the glass at the top gets thinner, and if the house settles a bit then it’s the thin glass that takes the pressure first. In the worst cases it can be like eggshells.

My wife always notices when I complain about things not being properly made. Let me build something, and I’ll make it heavy duty enough to last 10 lifetimes. Most things are built to fall apart after 3 years - go take a look at your plastic vacuum cleaner and you’ll see my point. Anyway, her word for things made really well is that they’re built to “Drewspec”. Hey, I appreciate that ... but today I found something that exceeds Drewspec beyond my wildest dreams. The windowsills on this house are solid marble slabs. Solid. Marble. They stick out from the windows a foot and a half and are as thick as a coffee mug is tall. That’s about 4 inches thick I think. More than sturdy enough to stand on, and no worries at all resting a ladder up against one. I’ve seen thinner marble used on tombstones. Try leaning a big extension ladder against the 3/32” thick vinyl siding on one of today’s homes, and then climbing up it. Goodbye siding! Or play it safe, and tuck the ladder ends against the base of the windowsill. That’s when you’ll find it’s made out of 22 gauge anodized aluminum. You know why they sell all these ladder stand-offs with great big padded feet on them? It’s because they have to! No, the way to do it is to get a bloody huge ladder, a big standoff, and rest the end up on the roof. That’s the only part of a modern home sturdy enough to take any pressure. Not this house. I think this place would stand up to moderate artillery. Sweet!

Posted by Drew458     on 10/01/2008 at 05:33 PM   
Filed Under: • work and the workplace •  
• Comments (3) • Trackbacks(0)  Permalink •  

DISCLAIMER

THE SERVICES AND MATERIALS ON THIS WEBSITE ARE PROVIDED "AS IS" AND THE HOSTS OF THIS SITE EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMS ANY AND ALL WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, TO THE EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO WARRANTIES OF SATISFACTORY QUALITY, MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, WITH RESPECT TO THE SERVICE OR ANY MATERIALS.

Not that very many people ever read this far down, but this blog was the creation of Allan Kelly and his friend Vilmar. Vilmar moved on to his own blog some time ago, and Allan ran this place alone until his sudden and unexpected death partway through 2006. We all miss him. A lot. Even though he is gone this site will always still be more than a little bit his. We who are left to carry on the BMEWS tradition owe him a great debt of gratitude, and we hope to be able to pay that back by following his last advice to us all:

1. Keep a firm grasp of Right and Wrong
2. Stay involved with government on every level and don't let those bastards get away with a thing
3. Use every legal means to defend yourself in the event of real internal trouble, and, most importantly:
4. Keep talking to each other, whether here or elsewhere

It's been a long strange trip without you Skipper, but thanks for pointing us in the right direction and giving us a swift kick in the behind to get us going. Keep lookin' down on us, will ya? Thanks.

THE INFORMATION AND OTHER CONTENTS OF THIS WEBSITE ARE DESIGNED TO COMPLY WITH THE LAWS OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. THIS WEBSITE SHALL BE GOVERNED BY AND CONSTRUED IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE LAWS OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AND ALL PARTIES IRREVOCABLY SUBMIT TO THE JURISDICTION OF THE AMERICAN COURTS. IF ANYTHING ON THIS WEBSITE IS CONSTRUED AS BEING CONTRARY TO THE LAWS APPLICABLE IN ANY OTHER COUNTRY, THEN THIS WEBSITE IS NOT INTENDED TO BE ACCESSED BY PERSONS FROM THAT COUNTRY AND ANY PERSONS WHO ARE SUBJECT TO SUCH LAWS SHALL NOT BE ENTITLED TO USE OUR SERVICES UNLESS THEY CAN SATISFY US THAT SUCH USE WOULD BE LAWFUL.

Copyright © 2004-2015 Domain Owner