Compared to most of the world's problems, it's a pretty minor matter, but tonight I'm grateful for a small blessing. I had bought some spray foam insulation to fill the cracks around our new front door, and this morning it was time to get the job done, so I shook the can, attached the nozzle, and started filling cracks. If you've never used this stuff before, trust me when I say, "follow the directions." Don't ask me how I know. As you spray, it doesn't look very impressive, so it's tempting to add just a bit more. But they aren't kidding when the label says that it doubles in size as it cures. I knew this, and followed the directions to a "T." Nonetheless, in places it ballooned out of the gaps like a swarm of third graders pouring out the school doors on the first day of summer vacation.
This stuff cures pretty quickly, and once it does, it's about impossible to make any adjustments. We have this foam insulation in the walls of our house, and the fellow who did the job said that it actually adds structural strength to the house. I believe it. When I went to apply it on the outside to seal the top of the door, I noticed that at there was about a 3/4" gap between the door brick molding and the siding. Fortunately, I hadn't driven flush the nails holding the door to the jack studs and was able to pull out the top two, pull the door flush with the siding and re-drive the nails. If I hadn't wanted to seal the outside of the door, I wouldn't have noticed the misalignment of the door at that moment. It would have been impossible to re-align it after the foam had cured. The upshot of it all is that Linda had had trouble unlatching the door; she had to use both hands. If you pushed in while depressing the latch, it worked fine, but I have to admit it was sticky. Today's slight re-alignment fixed that latch issue--an added bonus! One problem avoided; another fixed. Small stuff, but it still fits amidst all for which I give thanks tonight.
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