Paul’s Little Helper

So…….

A few weeks ago my stepdad Paul needed a little help doing some work in the crawlspace at the house he’s selling back in Upper Township. He needed someone good at digging holes and crawling into small spaces. Obviously he called me right away! I found time in my busy schedule to drive down, visit my mom, and help out at the house.

First job was to dig out the bottom of the back deck stairs and add in support blocks. It was the perfect job for me - as a Geologist, digging in the dirt is something of a specialty. Paul took the steps off to help level it out and after it was all done, the stair looked great!

The next issue was down in the crawlspace. A wooden frame supporting the well water pump needed replaced. With a little of Paul’s guidance… ok with a LOT of Paul’s guidance we were able to hoist the pump with a ratchet strap, remove the old wooded support and slide in the new pressure treated wooden frame crafted by Paul on the spot with my measurements!

When we first went into the crawlspace I had to take a selfie with Paul poking his head in, we had a good laugh.

After the pump was hoisted and the old frame was removed, Paul used his table saw and cut the perfect support frame using scrap pressure treated wood. He did a great job. He handed me the new frame, I put it in place, lowered the pump and it was solid as a rock. There was also a leak and Paul talked me through how to fix that too.

Check out that beautiful new support frame!

All in all it was a solid day learning some new things and helping fix some house problems. Thanks Paul for teaching me how to do some stuff!