Summer Projects
For me, summer is a good time for getting projects done outside the house. When you own a house that's more than a century old, the list of projects often seems endless, and this summer I managed to get a couple knocked off the list that have been there for awhile.
The first was replacement of the lead water service connection. This is something that around 1,000 homes in the older part of the city still have. The city recognizes that these should be replaced, so there is a water service replacement program. The city will subsidize the home-owner's share of costs, up to $2,000, and replace the connection on the property owner's side.
I'm not sure how many residents have been able to take advantage of this program, and I think that we should look at how it could be made more efficient, to encourage participation.
I have been trying to get a contractor to come to our house to do the required excavation for two years without success. Part of the problem is that digging up a single yard is a relatively small scale project, and most contractors are involved in much larger, more profitable projects. This year, a friend who was also arranging for his connection to be replaced gave me the name and number of someone who might be able to help.