The
Squamidian Report – April 28 / 12
Issue #518
Including:
The Ontarion
Hi All,
Boy, where’s Lake Huron Brian when you need his expertise ? The repairs to our back deck went very well. The replacement of the decking was done properly and efficiently, and the company that installed the new vinyl flooring stuff did a great job. However, the structural repairs to the front entrance porch area have had a couple of glitches. Because several feet of brick wall had been used as one side of the planter, that section had been under ground level for 30 years and that is a big no-no. I had been concerned about what we would find when we removed the brick and sure enough, the 2x6 studs holding up that front corner of the garage were totally rotted. There was almost nothing remaining of the sheeting that would have been covering them. So that had to be cut out and replaced. Next problem was what to do about stabilizing the area. Knee walls (or under pinning or whatever you want to call it) were needed for under the concrete porch and for under the brick wall that had been sitting on the porch and on the walkway instead of on a proper footing. I think I would have poured the knee walls and then poured some short concrete walls on top of them so the porch could be extended out over the section that had been a planter. Our contractor did the whole thing in one step by simply cribbing around the perimeter and pouring whole thing as one big blob.
This saved a lot of labour but took 1.5 meters of concrete. Fine I guess but I’d hate to ever have to remove it. And, there was an unexpected glitch. The cribbing was well built and well anchored and braced, BUT, a couple of screws holding the bottom corner actually sheared right off from the pressure and the corner kicked up just as we were almost filled to the top with the pour from the concrete truck. What a mess.
We had to scurry quickly and shovel it into plastic garbage bins and then get the cribbing back into place and re-build the bracing etc. Luckily, we had thrown a fair amount of the old concrete and bricks into the pour area to act as filler and that debris actually held back most of the liquid concrete so the whole thing didn’t end up draining out onto the driveway. Once the cribbing was back in place and braced we (he) then shoveled all that concrete back in. Luckily, he is young and strong (like I used to be) and everything was back in place before the concrete started to set up. It probably helped that it never stopped pouring rain the whole time. I should probably also point out that our contractor is competent and does know what he is doing but does things the ‘west coast way’, this was unfortunate and should have been avoided but sometimes things happen. He did the neighbours garage and addition with nothing going wrong, as well as all sorts of other projects on this street.
Anyway, as long as everything is now stable and stays stable for the next 30 or 40 years, all will be well. I won’t be too worried about it after that. But then to add to the stress, ‘The Wife’s’ dog Willow chose that particular day to be sick. She (the dog, not the wife) did some rather disturbing heavy wheezing during the night and by morning was shaking badly. She (the dog not the wife) needed to be taken to the vet but I was rather busy. Ryan took her for me. Once things were under control I headed down and met them there. Willow was running a fever and very lethargic but the vet could not really pin down what was wrong. All she could do (the vet, not the dog) was tell us to keep a close eye on Willow and let her know if there was any changes, and, hand us a bill for $110 of course.
She (the dog, not the vet) slept most of the rest of the day but ate her supper when the time came and that was a good sign. She perked up a bit during the evening and by the next morning seemed to be back to about 95% which was a nice improvement because she was at about 15% when we realized something was wrong. Still have no idea what it had been but she seems to be back to normal now.
And one last thing for this week… I have that new front tire mounted on the bike. I’ve said it before but I’ll say it again. The stock, OEM tires on the ’09 and newer touring class Harley’s give incredible mileage compared to the 402’s that were on the earlier bikes. I’m at almost 50 thousand kilometers now and that old front tire still had a couple of mill of tread depth over the wear bars. The only reason I had the new one put on now and not in a month or so is that the sides were cupping pretty badly, and I wanted to be on the new tire when and if the rain ever stops and the sun were to ever come out so we can do some serious riding. I’m assuming there is still a sun because it gets light every morning and that light must come from somewhere. Just like when I replaced the rear tire, I am using the Dunlop replacement tire available as an after-market item and at a reasonable price, not the OEM 407 tires available only through Harley dealers and at a ridiculously high price. The Dunlop American Elite tires are just as good or perhaps a bit better so unless you were really stuck, they are the way to go although you have to get them yourself, the HD dealers don’t carry them.
Because there is a recall on those bike to have the rear brake light switch replaced, I had the dealer down in Langley install the tire while I was there for the recall. That all went well except for the weather. It was cold and damp here when I left the house at 7am and every time I rode up a hill I rode into the cloud bank. Then I’d ride back out of it when I went down hill. At the Port Mann bridge I ran into a wall of pouring rain that extended non-stop out into the Fraser Valley including the Langley area. The rain never let up the whole time I was there, and I only rode out of it at the same spot at the bridge that I rode into it. But, all is well, those American Elites ride and handle nicely, and of course, the bike is now very dirty and in need of a bath.
doug
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THE ONTARION REPORT
Hello everyone!
When was the last time you went shopping for a new vehicle? My last time other than my motorcycle was back in 2003 when the new Jeep Liberty caught my eye. Carole and I were on our second 1993 Nissan Altima and were just toying with the idea of getting a different vehicle. The Altima had some rust on the rear wheel wells and it was either time to have some bodywork done or look into purchasing a new or different vehicle. We had looked at the new Liberty in 2002 when they first came out and were really taken by their appearance. I had just retired from the Fire Dept and was kind of itching for a better car. We decided to wait for a year to see how retirement would go and after gathering loads of information on different vehicles make an informed decision on a new car. After the year had gone by we started looking around on a casual basis. Whenever we would pass a car lot, we’d slow down and look at the different vehicles for sale. To my surprise, Carole was really impressed with the Jeep Liberty. She was normally not interested in what kind of vehicle we were driving as long as it was clean and got us from A to B. I was actually shocked when she admitted that she really liked the Liberty and said she thought she’d like to own one. We had taken one for a test ride when the new design of Liberty came out in 2002 for the first year. We both liked the way it performed and the fact that it felt sturdy and we felt safe riding in it. We found that we were sitting higher than in a car and that gave us a view of the traffic around us that was much improved over the view from a car. So when the year was up and we started talking about a new vehicle once again, Carole mentioned the time we had taken the Liberty for a test drive. I told her I’d keep my eye out for a good buy on a Liberty.
About a week later, I was passing Bustard Chrysler Jeep Auto Sales up in Waterloo and they had a beautiful blue Liberty sitting in their used lot. I was curious as to why when they were only on the market for one year would there be a Liberty in a used car lot. So, I pulled in to take a look at this blue beauty. Now, the original price of a comparable New Liberty was $34,995.00 Plus Plus….. so I was surprised when the sales person told me that the asking price on this one was only $24,500.00. When I asked why it was traded in I was told that it wasn’t a trade in but one of a group of Chrysler Corporations company fleet managers vehicles. They supply their managers with a new vehicle every year and then sell them off at a reduced price to the public through their dealers. This one he told me had high mileage on it and was being sold at a lower price than normal. It had 68,000km on the odometer and to me that was relatively low mileage when converted back to “Miles” as I was used to doing! This came to only 40,000 miles and I figured that was peanuts! I asked what kind of shape the Jeep was in and he told me that they would put new tires on it, do a full tune up with new plugs etc etc and would change all of the fluids in the differentials, engine and transmission, install new brakes all round and give me a full 115,000kms of warranty on top of the 68,000 km that were already on the vehicle. This was as if I were starting with a brand new “0”km vehicle and he would take my Altima on a trade. He looked my Altima over and said he knew someone that would buy it from him the next day. He told me that he would make the deal for $22,000.00 and my car. I said that was too much and I’d have to think it over. He told me to take the Jeep home for the night and come back the next day after my wife and I had talked about it and after she had a chance to ride in it and drive it too. I took it home and we both loved it. I went back the next day and said I would give him $21,000.00 and my Altima and he’d have to include the taxes in the deal. He looked at me as if I was nuts but still treated me with respect saying he’d do his best for me with his manager and asked for me to give him an hour. I went for a coffee and when I returned he said if I’d give him another $350.00 we’d have a deal. I told him that I’d agree to that as long as he’d replace the one floor mat that was missing and that there was a rubber seal on the driver’s window that was damaged and I’d need that replaced as well. He shook my hand and said he’d have the vehicle ready for me by mid afternoon the next day. It’s now been 9 years and I have 248,698 km on the Jeep and it’s still running like the day I bought it! I’ve loved driving this vehicle every time I’ve gotten behind the wheel and would have no problem owning another one the same if they still made the same style. I don’t like the look of the new Liberty’s as much as the one I have so I’m not sure if we’ll buy another one this time. I will have to give it some thought and do some careful looking around before I make a deal on another vehicle. The only reason I’m even thinking of buying again is because like most guys, I get the itch every spring when I see the new vehicles at the dealers. It’s kind of a right of passage that infects every man this time of year! I know I can make this Liberty last another few years without too much effort so I’ll just take my time and keep looking! Ya never know! It may just be time to make the move once again! After all, it has been nine whole years without a new one!
That’s all for now folks! Thanks for tuning in and I’ll look forward to talking to you all again next week in The Ontarion Report!
Bye for now… Greg
PS: Something To Think About>
A grenade thrown into a kitchen in France would result in Linoleum Blownapart!
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Have a good one..
the doug
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The articles in these issues are the sole property of the persons writing them and should be respected as such.