In early 2017, David Rose traveled to Lone Mountain, and sent the board quite a number of pictures of problems around the house. The most serious problem was leaks in upstairs walls and ceilings in the areas of the chimneys. The advice we received when we replaced the roof in 2013 was that it made no difference if we took the chimneys down or not. This proved not to be true, as we later developed leaks around one of the chimneys that caused damage to upstairs walls and ceilings.
Our regular handyman had addressed the problem by placing large blue plastic bags over the chimneys, but this was just an interim solution.
We also had problems with rot in some of the boards on the exterior of the bathhouse and deterioration of the deep window sill in the dining room – it was sagging more and more as time went on. A hole in the wall paneling near the window had also developed. Turns out, this was due to water getting into the walls due to the rot around the window.
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The Board has had some concerns in the past with not being able to supervise work that was being done. Amy and Frank Potts had an excellent and trusted handyman who does all the work on their home in South Carolina, Jan Terens. Jan and Club Payne entered an agreement for him to travel to LM and stay at the house while doing a number of repairs – taking down the chimneys, repairing the deep window sill in the dining room, replacing rotten exterior boards in the bathhouse, and installing new skirting around the house. Amy, Jan, and Jan’s assistant, Bill Joyce, traveled to Lone Mountain in late July where nine days’ worth of much-needed repair work was done. The results were excellent.
The Bathhouse
The first job Jan tackled was the siding of the bathhouse. It was supposed to be the most minor of the projects he would undertake, but turned out being much more involved than expected. It turns out that the type wood used for the siding was not optimal for exterior use, and the boards were attached directly to the studs and over the insulation with no waterproof tar paper between. Additionally smooth nails had been used rather than ring shank nails which resist pulling out. Many of the boards on every side were terribly warped, and many gaps had developed over the years. As a result, much of the interior water damage that we had attributed to the roof, was actually caused by leaks in the walls. Jan and Bill replaced many of the most warped wall siding boards and re-nailed where they could with ring shank nails. They hung tar paper on the large area at the back where most of the boards had to be replaced, they caulked gaps all around where possible, and began painting for added waterproofing. (Amy had them move onto more pressing work rather than finish painting, as the family can do that or easily hire it done later. LM Paint Party anyone??)
While working on the bathhouse, Jan rewired and improved the RV connection at the back of the bathhouse. He also installed a new dryer vent that prevents varmints getting in.
Jan recommends vinyl siding on the bathhouse when we can afford it, but he thinks the repairs he did will hold us in good stead for a few years.
The Roof
Jan reported that the reason the chimneys were leaking is that they were so old and the grout was so porous as to be like a sieve. He said it was amazing that the chimneys had not blown over as the bricks could practically be pulled apart by hand before being tossed into the side yard. We discarded the broken bricks and stacked the whole ones near the firewood for future use. They are historic!
Once the chimneys were down, the openings were recovered with aluminum. A vent was installed over one of the chimney to allow escape of exhaust from furnace.
The Dining Room Window
The window seat in the dining room extends out beyond the wall and supports the air conditioner. It has sagged more and more every year and along with the other window in the room, has been allowing water into the walls. This has caused rotting wood and weakening of the beadboard of the dining room wall. We suspect mice have used that weak spot to enter the house. The Board decided to replace the two old windows with two shorter windows that would fit above the air conditioner. This allows for the air conditioner to be permanently mounted. We purchased a new air conditioner for this room and plan to clean up and move the old air conditioner to the “Tip” bedroom downstairs next spring. Once done, all four of the bedrooms in the LMH will be air conditioned during those hot summer months.
Amy put the primer coat on the interior of the new window seat. It looks really great!
Other Work Done
While we were at Lone Mountain a leak developed in the inside bathroom which Jan fixed. He also fixed a longstanding problem in the first shower room of the bathhouse by replacing the stem and handles of the shower. Jan and Bill also hauled away several large, heavy items that are no longer usable and are just cluttering up the place – a broken bedstead, one of the old wooden cots from the upstairs hallway (which was supposed to have been removed last year), and the old console Zenith TV in the living room.
Jan is quite concerned about rotted sills on almost every window in the house. We are getting a lot of water in our walls as a result. He says rotted wood will need to be removed and replaced under each window, the sills rebuilt, and proper flashing installed. He did a temporary fix on each window sill in hopes of diverting water until the permanent work is done. He also said that the plastic skirting around the house should be replaced by metal skirting, but that problem is less pressing than the windows.
Jan and Bill enjoyed working at Lone Mountain and are willing to return if we ever want to hire them again.
A Big “Thanks” to our Club Payne Members
It is only because of the generous contributions of our Club Payne Members that we were able to afford these major repairs to the LMH. The total cost of the project was:
- $20004.14 Materials
- $3500 Labor
for a total of:
- $5504.14
Thanks to our members and to Jan Terens and Bill Joyce for doing such excellent work for us!