Roofers in Progress

It's so much faster when you're not doing it yourself... oh, and when it's professionals working in teams...









Yet another dumpster in the driveway (only this one will probably be gone the fastest):



The only wierd thing is that we could have sworn that we were getting copper in the valleys. So when I saw the valleys this morning:





I was a little bummed out. I went back to the contract we signed, and sure enough, it says "Weave all valleys" Jim swears that he talked to them about copper in the valleys, though. Not sure how we missed it on the contract. ALWAYS THOROUGHLY READ YOUR CONTRACT! I think we were so focused on the type of shingle and making sure that the right parts got done or not done (like the center of the bay between the first & second floor). It's not going to kill us, but it is a little classier with the copper. Jim's going to call O'lyn and see what's up.

But I think the color and the look is nice. I wish I could take a picture from the second floor of the neighbor's house - but I think that's the teenager's party room. "ALEX!!!"

Roof Teaser

Very early yesterday morning, a flat bed truck parked in the street just outside the house. I had just come home from the gym, and was in the midst of my frantic morning routine - and freezing because I was wet from gym sweat and because it's now cold outside. I looked out the front window, and definitely saw that our singles were on the truck.

I thought, this is great - I was working from home that day - so I'd be able to watch the progress.

I showered (during which time, the dog barked incessantly) and then came back downstairs, to find the 3 pallets of shingles in the "courtyard":



I waited all day, but nothing else happened...

Jim left me a text this morning saying they were going to start today - I can't wait to get home and see how it looks! the anticipation is almost killing me...

Dueling Ladders

I finished the 1/2 posts this weekend Here's a view post painting on Saturday:



As I was finishing these up, Jim went to Homer to pick up some hardi-plank/board-fake-wood stuff to cover the crappy porch soffits (no way we were going to strip thick paint while looking up - imagine neck aches, paint chips in the eyes, and no way to leverage the scraper...) Anyway, he comes back with the materials... and a new ladder! He was so excited about his new ladder, I had to capture it on camera. Warning, though - this is rated PG-13 for some gratuitous use of mild profanity... sorry Mom.



Just to put my reply in context, we've been using a little 6-foot wooden step ladder, left in the garage by the previous owner, for the past 4 1/2 years. Jim likes to say that it wobbles, but I contend that has more to do with the uneven ground than the actual ladder. Besides, if you follow ladder guidelines and don't step on the top two steps, it's all good.



So anyway, Jim used the new ladder to put up the cover-up soffits



And I used the old ladder to paint.



Luckily, both ladders do their job!

Then today we put the remaining railing and balusters up. It was not without problems. But I won't point them out, because we don't think anyone will actually notice them. Here's the pictures





A couple of side notes:
-The roofers are scheduled to start sometime this week.
-We turned on the pellet stove for the first time this season.

Thank Goodness for Columbus Day Weekend

I'm in a bit of a frantic panic to get stuff done today before I'm off to class, so only a brief description of what we did over the weekend....

I continued prepping and filling the 1/2 posts... they need time to cure, so I probably won't get to painting them until next weekend.

We also bought the beadboard for the porch ceiling. (note that the Homer guy was irritated at me asking him to cut the 16' boards, but was very pleasant when he came back over to help and Jim was present)

We painted those boards on Sunday,



and then on Monday, we were able to put them up. Looks pretty good too. We're getting better and better at doing the miter - a skill that will now be useless, since the floor and ceiling are now done.



It was very nice to have the lights up, as it got dark around 6:30, and we didn't finish until 8.

Well, "finish" is a slight overstatement - we have a very short final board 2" wide to fit on the front... and then there's also some moulding that needs to be put up. But at least now the trick-or-treaters can come to the house without (too much) fear.




Oh - and I significantly chopped down the rhododendron. Still there, just much smaller.

Back to Work

After a couple of weekends of not doing much for house renovations, this weekend we were back to the grindstone.

Most of Saturday I spent finishing the painting on the handrails & subrails - a deceptively time-consuming activity. I decided to paint them the dark green, so it took 3 coats.

Meanwhile, Jim did some electrical adjustments. The light we chose from Rejuvenation came in, so he put that up.



We also decided to put up 3 recessed lights



This really brightened the porch up - as you can see from this picture taken at dusk...



...which is particularly nice because for some reason, there is no street light that shines on our section of the street. And while this neighborhood is much safer than others I've lived in, it's still nice to be able to see what's happening when it's dark out.

Jim also moved the electrical box, which has been so beautifully displayed at the front door entrance (who chose that location????)


and moved it to a more inconspicuous location at the back of the porch - here is the hole that he drilled for the wires:



Much better location. Jim says it's for my Christmas lights and stuff. Which actually means that it's for my power tools and some family in the future's Christmas lights.

Then Sunday, we finally pulled back out THE BALULSTERS!!! We worked on two sections. I'll just go straight to the pictures, because that's all anyone wants to see!








The last two sections need parts of the 1/2 posts finished (they're in progress...) before they can be put up.

I can't believe how long it's taking to do this porch project. Last year it felt like we got soooo much more done. But it was all just straight clapboard stripping and painting. So much more detail on these, I guess.

I can't believe it, but we're already planning our "end of exterior renovation season" soup party...