“And if a house be divided against itself, that house cannot stand.” (Mark 3:25)
I know the above isn’t speaking about a LITERAL, PHYSICAL house- rather it’s speaking of a group such as the “House of Israel”. Nevertheless, I’m speaking about the house I live in. The house I live in is owned by our church, First Assembly of God of Framingham. In our church a house for a minister’s use is called a “parsonage”. If a pastor lives in a parsonage that’s owned by a church which is financially stable and which wants to maintain the house (if for no other reason than) to keep up the real estate value, then that pastor kind of “has it made”. If the church doesn’t have the money to maintain the house but the pastor is kind of a “handyman” at least he can usually keep things from being a total wreck. If the church is financially strapped and the pastor is not a handyman, well, things can get dicey! That’s the situation I’m in.
Well, it’s not all bad. It’ll teach you faith! Over the years, God has provided “stuff” in one way or another for this circa 1892 house. Through some clever refinancing, four years ago, the church had a new roof put on the parsonage. The old roof was well over thirty years old and we were risking major damage if the roof was not replaced. A year ago, volunteers (including me- with lots of help) ripped the old deck off the parsonage and built a nice new deck. Last year, we discovered holes in the foundation which “unhandy me” managed to patch with hydraulic cement. So far, that’s held pretty well.
The latest situation I’ve discovered is the bulkhead is deteriorating and will need some major work. The present bulkhead was put in probably about five or six years before I came, or around 1981. Once or twice, I did wire brush the bulkhead and paint it with Rustoleum. I have NOT done that in over ten years, however. As can happen, the bulkhead is not the first thing on my mind. If I made a “to do” list (and as a matter of fact I DO make “to do” list) even then, the bulkhead would never have made the top fifteen items. Well, over ten years of neglect have caught up with me. Not only is there some serious rusting and deterioration of the bulkhead’s metal frame, but one of thewooden beams around the bulkhead is badly rotted and crumbling. I “put a Band-Aid” on the situation by putting a rubber molding strip above the beam, then putting a plastic bag on top of the strip, then putting some stones on top of that to hold it in place. But that’s a “Band-Aid” indeed!
I’m not bad at yard work, and I’m not bad at painting, and I can do simple (and I mean REALLY simple) repairs with hammer and nails or screwdrivers and screws at times, but as a “non handy” guy, this is WAY beyond me.
Mary Ann even thought I should contact “Ask This Old House” and see if they’d feature it as a project on their show! Well, preferably in 2007 and if not in ‘07 then ABSOLUTELY before the end of ‘08, that bulkhead needs some major, major work. If anyone out there is a handyman (or handy woman) and has any ideas I’m all ears!
I know the above isn’t speaking about a LITERAL, PHYSICAL house- rather it’s speaking of a group such as the “House of Israel”. Nevertheless, I’m speaking about the house I live in. The house I live in is owned by our church, First Assembly of God of Framingham. In our church a house for a minister’s use is called a “parsonage”. If a pastor lives in a parsonage that’s owned by a church which is financially stable and which wants to maintain the house (if for no other reason than) to keep up the real estate value, then that pastor kind of “has it made”. If the church doesn’t have the money to maintain the house but the pastor is kind of a “handyman” at least he can usually keep things from being a total wreck. If the church is financially strapped and the pastor is not a handyman, well, things can get dicey! That’s the situation I’m in.
Well, it’s not all bad. It’ll teach you faith! Over the years, God has provided “stuff” in one way or another for this circa 1892 house. Through some clever refinancing, four years ago, the church had a new roof put on the parsonage. The old roof was well over thirty years old and we were risking major damage if the roof was not replaced. A year ago, volunteers (including me- with lots of help) ripped the old deck off the parsonage and built a nice new deck. Last year, we discovered holes in the foundation which “unhandy me” managed to patch with hydraulic cement. So far, that’s held pretty well.
The latest situation I’ve discovered is the bulkhead is deteriorating and will need some major work. The present bulkhead was put in probably about five or six years before I came, or around 1981. Once or twice, I did wire brush the bulkhead and paint it with Rustoleum. I have NOT done that in over ten years, however. As can happen, the bulkhead is not the first thing on my mind. If I made a “to do” list (and as a matter of fact I DO make “to do” list) even then, the bulkhead would never have made the top fifteen items. Well, over ten years of neglect have caught up with me. Not only is there some serious rusting and deterioration of the bulkhead’s metal frame, but one of thewooden beams around the bulkhead is badly rotted and crumbling. I “put a Band-Aid” on the situation by putting a rubber molding strip above the beam, then putting a plastic bag on top of the strip, then putting some stones on top of that to hold it in place. But that’s a “Band-Aid” indeed!
I’m not bad at yard work, and I’m not bad at painting, and I can do simple (and I mean REALLY simple) repairs with hammer and nails or screwdrivers and screws at times, but as a “non handy” guy, this is WAY beyond me.
Mary Ann even thought I should contact “Ask This Old House” and see if they’d feature it as a project on their show! Well, preferably in 2007 and if not in ‘07 then ABSOLUTELY before the end of ‘08, that bulkhead needs some major, major work. If anyone out there is a handyman (or handy woman) and has any ideas I’m all ears!
1 comment:
that WOULD be pretty cool to put it on the show. it IS a VERY old house
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