November 17–30, 2012
Posted here April 15, 2022
Kevin and Kelly Strebe were good friends of ours.
Saturday, November 17, 2012
Kevin Strebe was here today to start work on Wendi’s wheelchair ramp. It got more complicated than he figured: many of the boards on the front porch were rotting, and he ended up taking the whole front part out, leaving only the supports below. He used some of the good boards to replace broken ones, so there is no more hole in the side porch. ~ There is also a problem with the foundation: the house is very old and has a stone foundation that is essentially crumbling into sand. Kevin looked at the basement walls as well as the foundation in front of the house. He will have his brother-in-law look at it next week so they can decide what to do. ~ There is caution tape around the front porch; the mailbox has been temporarily moved to the front of the porch, away from the house, and the front door is boarded up to prevent anyone from stepping out and falling into the hole. In addition, we will keep the front porch light on so people passing by will know not to step in there.
Tuesday, November 20, 2012
Kevin and Kelly Strebe showed up at 11:13. Soon Kevin’s brother-in-law, Doug, came also; he and Kevin looked at the foundation of our house. Kevin had removed the boards from the front porch, intending to rebuild the porch so it was level with the house floor, so a wheelchair could be pushed through the doorway without dropping down to the porch below. But with the boards gone, it was evident that the foundation was crumbling; this had been hidden from view until now. Stones were reduced to powder, and there were holes in the foundation! ~ The men decided that the rest of the porch would need to come up to reveal the foundation, for the rest of the hidden part was probably bad too. Doug will contact a masonry firm about bricking it up or whatever; Kevin will discuss with us later, how this will be paid for. This being a historic home, we may be able to get help from the city for repairs, but it may mean that we must adhere to some historic guidelines.
Friday, November 30, 2012
Also right after the run, a stone mason showed up at the house and was poking around at the foundation, deciding how to fix it. I had spoken with Kevin Strebe during the run; he said someone would be looking at the place, but this guy was ready to start work already. I phoned Kevin, and he told me to have the guy hold off for now; he was checking out another quote. ~ Later, Kevin phoned me again; they had decided to go with Cal (the guy who showed up), since his quote of $750 was considerably lower than the other mason. Kevin would pay him in full, and I could pay him $50/month. Eventually, we were able to pay this off in full.