Tag: house

Yet Another Leak

The joys of home ownership continue, but at least not our house this time.

A split PVC fitting sprays water from the house main water supply line.
A split PVC fitting sprays water from the house main water supply line.

Walking alongside the house I hear running water so I stop and listen. The sound is obviously a bad leak somewhere, but the sound is not coming from our house. Rather it is the other side of the hedge, under Bill and Gail’s house!

I push through the oleander hedge and listen again, yup… a leak.

Walking around I find Gail home and tell her about the leak. I crawl under their lanai to find a small muddy swamp and the leak right where the main line comes in from the street. Fortunately Bill is in already Kona, a few phone calls and a visit to Lowes and he is headed home with the right part for the fix.

It takes Bill and I ten minutes to make the fix, cutting the PVC, screwing in a new fitting, gluing the old line into the new fitting right where the PVC line from the street changes to copper for the house. Bill hands me parts while I play in the mud. We spend more time chatting than making the fix, waiting for the PVC glue to cure before applying pressure to test.

No problem with the repair, it was done right from the start. A problem solved and a good start to the day.

Repairing the Lanai

I really have been putting off the repairs too long. There are several boards that have had dry rot set in. One deck board is right next to the usual route of travel, much more rot and it will become a safety hazard.

Repairing the Woodwork
Replacing a section of railing cap that has been destroyed by dry rot.
The lanai is all exposed woodwork, protected only by paint. Paint that is beginning to fail. The first step will be to replace or repair several bits of woodwork that really need attention. That process is now started.

After the repairs a full coat of paint is in order. That is going to be a major job. the latticework of the shaded area will require power-washing. Repainting all of those detailed bits will also require a lot of work. I do have an air compressor, perhaps a spray rig is the right way to go.

I have a quart of exterior white paint to try out. The first item painted will be the first replaced board. I need to see how the paint looks beside the older trim paint used around the entire house. I long ago learned just how many variations of white exist in paint.

It will be a lengthy chore to complete the entire lanai. It is something I can do in stages, a few hours here, a few hours there, it will get done.

End of an Island Legend

Jack Thompson’s house has become something of an island legend. When the rest of the development burned beneath the lava his house was spared. For three decades the lava has repeatedly run past the house. East and west there was nothing but lava fields, around the house lush Puna jungle created an island amongst the devastation.

Jack’s luck has finally run out, madame Pele claiming the last house in the Royal Gardens subdivision.

You can get the whole story, along with a set of photos at Leigh’s Hawai’i Lava Daily blog. Leigh was there for the last hours, photographing the lava, and helping Jack remove a few last belongings when the time came to take the last helicopter out.

Jack Thompson's House and the Lava
A lava flow approaching Jack Thompson's House, photo by Leigh Hilbert, used with permission