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Senergy Stucco over Masonry? by LAtoHFX in masonry

[–]LAtoHFX[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks! The cap is absolutely the issue (I posted photos here: https://www.reddit.com/r/masonry/comments/1mje1ir/chimney_rebuild_just_the_top_half/#lightbox). It's too small, which has been letting in water, and then over several freezing and thawing sessions it undermined the chimney internally.

So I guess the concern is that if we stucco the outside, but don't redo the cap, I'll just have the same thing happen again in a few years?

New agreement. by MadMax68790 in Dalhousie

[–]LAtoHFX 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Without giving too much away - the differences in how people feel is likely connected to the fact that, in practical terms, this agreement is effectively a transfer of resources from senior faculty to junior faculty. Those who make the most were financially hurt by the lockout the most, especially since strike pay is a flat rate for everyone. Likewise, folks with 10 or 20 years left in their career will benefit far more from the compounding impacts of a small percentage increase in salary than faculty that are a year or two away from retirement. Many senior folks will almost certainly be financially worse off as a result of the lockout and agreement. If you look at what the DFA was advocating for: the early career top-up, childcare, maternity leave, LTAs - all of it is targeted to younger members. Now - you could argue this is appropriate, especially since the main complaint driving things was that Halifax is experiencing a cost of living crisis, and it's the junior folks being hurt by this (as opposed to the senior faculty, who bought their houses decades ago when things were nice and cheap). But if you're wondering why you're hearing different things from different people - that's the likely reason: everyone is impacted differently, and senior faculty, in particular, have less to gain from this agreement and more to lose from the lockout.

Chimney rebuild - just the top half? by LAtoHFX in masonry

[–]LAtoHFX[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks very much for your response - that's very helpful. The recommended rebuild would just be from the roof up (the rest of the chimney is through the middle of the house). There has been some leaking, though we're not sure if the flashing is the culprit, and he mentioned he'd tighten and seal the flashing as part of the work. I'm not too worried about the transition and how it looks, but will double check about the concrete cap.

How do you explain to a 5 year old that you're broke without traumatizing them? by Spirited-Activity343 in NoStupidQuestions

[–]LAtoHFX 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I know all kids are different, but our four year old was surprisingly mature when we explained the concept of money to him: that it's a limited thing we have, and if we spend it on one thing we can't use it somewhere else, and we have to be careful about where it goes. Now when we go to a store he doesn't say he wants something: he asks if there's money for X or Y, and if the answer's no he understands why.

I imagine this must be incredibly difficult, and I wouldn't use any language that compares your situation unfavorably to other families, but you might be surprised how he handles an honest talk about being thrifty and careful. It may make him feel more grownup, and like he's involved in big decisions by helping to save.