Home repair is one of my least-favorite things to do. I prefer to call a service company. But sometimes the job is just too small to call a contractor, and you either do it yourself or it just doesn't get done. Sometimes I fall into the "just doesn't get done" column.
Recently our refrigerator's water supply line sprung a leak. OK, it sprang a leak two years ago and apparently had been spraying the wall for a good while, because when we finally noticed the leak, it had rotted out the baseboard behind the fridge (a piece that no one sees).
When we had the water line fixed two years ago (with only a patch), I should have repaired the baseboard before pushing the fridge back in place, but that small job fell into the "didn't get done" category. As soon as we put the fridge back in it's "hole" it was out of sight, out of mind.
When the water supply line sprang ANOTHER leak about two weeks ago, we noticed this one quickly, pulled out the fridge again, and, oh yeah!! I was reminded that I never replaced that rotted baseboard.
So, after getting the entire line replaced this time (with a new warranty to cover this now 7-year-old fridge), I finally buckled down, bought some 1x8x5 baseboard, about 10' of 3/4" quarter-round and some Cherry stain.
I carried safety equipment a little far this time:
Recently our refrigerator's water supply line sprung a leak. OK, it sprang a leak two years ago and apparently had been spraying the wall for a good while, because when we finally noticed the leak, it had rotted out the baseboard behind the fridge (a piece that no one sees).
When we had the water line fixed two years ago (with only a patch), I should have repaired the baseboard before pushing the fridge back in place, but that small job fell into the "didn't get done" category. As soon as we put the fridge back in it's "hole" it was out of sight, out of mind.
When the water supply line sprang ANOTHER leak about two weeks ago, we noticed this one quickly, pulled out the fridge again, and, oh yeah!! I was reminded that I never replaced that rotted baseboard.
So, after getting the entire line replaced this time (with a new warranty to cover this now 7-year-old fridge), I finally buckled down, bought some 1x8x5 baseboard, about 10' of 3/4" quarter-round and some Cherry stain.
I carried safety equipment a little far this time:
- got my face mask to protect my breathing in case there was some mold growing behind the fridge (maybe a tiny bit which we sprayed with Clorox first and let dry) CHECK;
- goggles for my eyes to that they would be protected from any flying wood chips CHECK;
- headphones to protect my ears from the loud screeching of the circular saw, CHECK!
(I think that's the first self-portrait I've ever put on my blog)
Amazingly enough, the old mitre saw worked perfectly (after a little lubricant) and I cut a few 45-degree angles into the quarter-round. Used the circular saw to cut the baseboard to fit, stained all four pieces, and lo and behold they laid down just PERFECTLY. So perfectly that I don't even need nails to keep them in place.
Obviously, if this were a high-traffic area, I would have nailed each piece into place, but since all of the pieces are behind the fridge (see picture below), I just laid them in place, and it looks amazingly good.
I may hate doing home repair, but I'm actually pretty good at it when I apply myself. (This is so rare for me I had to catalog it.)
And, no, don't ask me to come over and put in some baseboard or quarter-round in your house. It took me a long time to get mine done; it would probably take years to get me to do yours.
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