‘You Think We Don’t Belong’: Woman Records Husband Being Handcuffed On Their Own Property For Trespassing https://shinemycrown.com/you-think-we-dont-belong-woman-records-husband-being-handcuffed-on-their-own-property-for-trespassing/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=mastodon #Justice #CivilRights #PoliceBrutality #Trespassing #HomeOwnership

In my free time when I'm not pretending to be a competent programmer, I sometimes pretend to be a passable handyman. This is my current project, wherein I've removed the terrible, rotten wood platform the previous homeowner put in here 20 years ago and am preparing the space to extend a concrete slab into this exterior storage area. The squirrels and mice had made a real mess of the wood platform and I'm very pleased to see it gone.

Things I've not done before today: putting in temporary supports for a porch roof and removing 3 out of 4 existing supports that were sunk into the ground with concrete bases (1 of which was completely rotten at the bottom).

Up next is laying down and compacting gravel before framing in the new slab.

I'll just start my day by replacing that light bulb that burnt out last evening, I thought. What could it take, five minutes?

Crazy disassembly screws, wacky tubular halogen bulb I haven't used in 20yrs (explains the heat the thing was giving off), disassembly and removal, shopping for new fixtures, poor in-stock supply at stores…

Early afternoon and still going. Hopefully no more challenges to replace fixture (and now switch too) and finish up?

A long five minutes.

Oh, I'll just clean out that shallow bottom-of-the-sloping-driveway drain basin, I thought, a couple of hours ago. It catches rainwater in front of garage door.

Well, turns out it's not shallow, it's full of muck, composting leaves, soil and every bug known to humanity.

Not sure when it was last cleaned, but I hope it was a long time ago, 'cuz I don't want to face that much gunk every year.

Done yours recently?

Oh good.

This afternoon, with only light rain falling, I excavated the sinking corner of an old shed and got a hydraulic jack under it to bring it up to level.

But the base is rotted so I'll need to cut away the punky wood and put in something treated. Then I can build up a foundation with better drainage.

Lots of outdoor time today, as we start into yard work. Got the eavestroughs mounted on the gnarly old shed, and our rain barrel is in place now.

Next will be some shed floor patches and leveling the whole thing. Also sinkhole filling, stone walk re-setting, and landscaping all around it.

Super happy that some transplanted items from the last house have survived and are showing sprouts! Bull rushes, hops, trumpet vine. Yay.

I like how flying yard debris is a good indicator for wind direction.

Neighbour's cushion in my back yard? Wind is coming from the north.

Maple leaves in my front yard? Ah wind must be coming from my neighbours on the left (west)

Flying raccoon poop? ... eh...

Getting rid of this old thing today. 1950s round receptacle in stunning brown.

It's for a sump pump - swapping in a modern one and with an energy monitoring zigbee device connected as well. Will be interested to know if and when the sump pump is being activated.

Just dropped $200 on a dump cart / wheelbarrow.

Do you know how many action figures that is? Sheesh...

Homeownership... what were we thinking?!?

I think we have mice in our attic. So I was just up there investigating (wearing a respirator after reading about Gene Hackman's wife's hantavirus death.) I already hated being in our attic, because I HATE fiberglass insulation exposure SO SO SO SO SO MUCH. Adding a face mask to the mix is so completely suffocating; I almost think I'd rather die of hantavirus. #homeOwnership #diy #rodents #HELL

The basement is DONE done! Nat and his crew reinstalled the laundry floor, installed some door stops, and put a final coat of paint on a couple things, and it is done! Now to give it a vacuum and start moving back in. I’ll get some before/after photos up later this week.

Just dropped another $1,000 on carpet installation.

The total damage of our leaky basement from a super wet summer is $8,000+ now.

$5,000 - outdoor basement waterproofing
$2,000 - indoor mold removal and floor/drywall refinishing
$1,000 - carpet / underpad replacement

And this was considered a "small" job by most contractors we called. A couple who declined the job because it wasn't worth it to them.

Homeownership is wild... don't buy a house. Get a condo with amenities and no shoveling snow or cutting grass and underground parking

#HomeOwnership rates play a key role in the widening racial wealth gap. By 2021, 74% of white households owned homes vs. 43% of Black households, making equity gains uneven. A professor explains: https://theconversation.com/rising-house-prices-dont-just-make-it-harder-to-become-a-homeowner-they-also-widen-the-racial-wealth-gap-250020
#wealthgap

Gone fishin'

I've been trying to pull some cable through old house walls, which is a process of prodding and poking trying to figure out where there's hidden structure to block my fishing attempts.

Some of it's for network cable and some to move light switches that are in the wrong place.

Having a good supply of masks is one of the good outcomes from COVID, I mean apart from all that death and political insanity – handy masks for renovators and woodworkers. yay.

Going to take advantage of the unusual warm day for some outside electrical work. Need a heater cable to address what looks like a potential ice-dam situation. With a roof that was new this year, it's hard to tell if there was previously a problem there.

I have a patreon where I post bonus stuff.

https://www.patreon.com/posts/bailed-out-115674744