One More Project Completed

 

Just Starting

I have an on-going "Mile Long To Do List" and, at one time, I used to post it once a month with any updates.  I stopped doing that after about a year or so because I wasn't making much progress on some of the items.  But, I kept the list going and I last updated it in 2024 when the retractable garage door opener mechanism was replaced.  I am happy to say that, on Friday, one other item that had been on that list for years was completed:

• Repair water damage to kitchen ceiling and wall - DONE May 2, 2025!

The roof had leaked one year and caused some damage to the kitchen ceiling and part of the ceiling collapsed, leaving a hole in the ceiling.  It was behind the cabinet above the refrigerator and while the hole wasn't visible, I knew it was there and there was some visible water damage to the ceiling just in front of the cabinet and to the wall behind.  I had wanted to get it repaired, but, I didn't do anything about it for one reason or another.  

Eventually, I showed it to my neighbor E (he does construction work) and asked him to give me an estimate.  He didn't get back to me for months, and I thought that he had either forgotten about it, or wasn't interested in accepting the project.  But, on Thursday evening, he knocked at my door and said he could get one of his crew to work on my kitchen ceiling the next day!  He will be here at 7:30 a.m.

So, Friday morning, I woke up at 6:45 a.m. (after going to bed at 3:00 a.m.), showered, dressed, had a cup of tea, and was ready when neighbor E and his assistant R showed up at 7:30 a.m.

I forgot to take any "before" pictures, but, I took the above picture after R removed the upper molding/trim from the cabinet.

A short time later, it looked like this:

Removing the Damaged Ceiling Area

You could see all the way up to the rafters:

Rafters 

Then, the ceiling was patched and painted (R painted the whole ceiling because the new white paint he used was a different white than the existing white on the ceiling and he said it didn't look nice).

After Patching, but, Before Painting

The wall on the other side (hallway side) where the paint was cracked and starting to peel due to the water damage, was also scraped and patched:

Hallway Wall - During

And painted with paint that I had stored in the garage:

After

The paint wasn't an exact match after being stored in the garage for over 10 years, and R wasn't very happy about it, but, I didn't mind.  One day, I will have the remnants of the wallpaper border that's up along the top of the walls in the hallway removed and repaint the hallway.  It's the only area of the house that is painted in a color other than white and I might go back to white or stay with the lilac color.

R also went ahead and painted the wall area around the wall heater which was never painted after the heater was replaced a couple of years ago:

The paint color changes with the amount of light
(You can clearly see the missing wallpaper border)

The hallway ceiling too, was repaired:

Hallway Ceiling Repair

And a crack in the ceiling between the living room and dining area was also patched up:

Dining Area Ceiling Patch

R painted over the patch, but, the new white paint he used was whiter than the rest of the ceiling and he told me I should get the whole ceiling painted (just as he did with the kitchen ceiling).  Yes, actually, I want to get the whole house painted, but, that's a project for another day.  For now, I am glad that these repairs were done. 

Before he left for the day, R also fixed new hinges to a bathroom cabinet door that had fallen off (daughter had fixed it, earlier, but, it came off, again) and the towel railing in my bathroom that had come off the wall.  What a blessing to have all those repairs done!

I am so grateful for:
- Neighbor E helping me with this project
- R for all the work he did
- Finally getting this repair project done and crossed off my list!

Now, to tackle the rest of the 101 projects on my Mile Long To Do List!  

Do you, too, have a Mile Long To Do List?