Rant: my half-assed baseboard fix turned into a weekend project
I tried to patch a 4 inch gap in my baseboard near the radiator in my kitchen last Saturday. I figured a little wood filler and paint would do the trick. Well the filler cracked and fell out after two days because the wood was too old and dry. Then I had to chisel out all the crud and measure a replacement piece from Lowes. That took three trips because I kept getting the angle wrong on the miter saw. Ended up spending Sunday evening sanding and painting the whole thing. Has anyone else had a simple fix blow up into a whole day of work?
That's just how it goes with old houses... one patch job turns into a whole new piece because nothing is ever square or level after fifty years. I've noticed the same thing with small plumbing drips or even a sticky window. You think you're just tightening a knob, and suddenly you're rebuilding the whole frame. Seems like every little fix in an older home is really just uncovering the three other problems that were hiding behind it.