Lots and Lots Done

WOW - it's been so busy around here I haven't even wanted to think about posting! All I've wanted to do is sleep - especially with the 10+ hour days we're putting in.

The following pictures, and tasks, were done between the 13th and 17th of October.

That being said, let's jump right in.

Here are a couple of the wasp nests we've found.

These two were not active but we've had a lot of wasps buzzing around; not sure where they are coming from though.

Also, while working on the fascia of the east gable we found a hole in the roof. It couldn't have been in a worst spot - right above a 25' drop. We had to cantilever the scaffolding out to work on it.

See that slash of bright light behind the nails? That's where the hole is - the sun is shining through.

In order to work on it we had to remove a bit more of the original fascia than we wanted to. All that's left is the flashing and shingles.

"Hello there!"

Yours truly's finger.

The hole is about 4 to 5 inches long and about 2 inches wide.

This was not a fun hole to repair. Sorry there are no pictures of the repair process but I was more concerned with safety than pictures at the time!

This is the underside after repair.

We inserted new wood under the hole and a metal cap from the top. Under the new piece of wood we installed the pieces that the gutter will be attached to. Then we used a generous amount of caulk to finish it off.

Not too bad of a repair is it?











We then found another issue to deal with - the top south east corner of the fascia was separating.

From this view it doesn't look too bad, but moisture could still get in and so it needed to be tightened up.













Don't you just love this scaffolding?

I let the father-n-law stand on top of that tiny platform in order tighten the corner. I spotted him (just in case) and made sure the contraption didn't collapse under him.








Once this problem was tackled I decided to go ahead and make the replacement fishscale for the east gable while he cut away the remains of the nails that had held in the bad moulding.

On to the fishscale.

From what I've learned there were seven basic styles of fishscale manufactured when our house was built. All the builder had to do was chose what they wanted and order it.

In our case the builders chose half-cove and octagon for the gables.

To our knowledge we are the only house in town with this combination. All the other houses have either round, octagon, half-cove and triangle and only use one style with no mix or matching. However, there is one other house that uses square and triangle fishscale on the house. Instead of in the gables though this house uses it as siding!

To make the repairs easier I cut out a half-cove and octagon template on my scroll saw.

This is the half-cove template.

I then cut out about 20 of each on the band saw.

For the most part it was fairly easy to replace the bad, and missing, fishscale; but sometimes I'd run into a real puzzler.

Here is the lower section of one of those 'puzzlers'.








First thing needing to be done was replace the under portion of shingle that covered the flashing. It also added a base to attach part of the upper portion to.

This is part of the upper portion.










This is another part of the upper portion (you can see the piece from the previous picture directly below it).

While installing it I hit something rather hard and it bent the nail. I just hammered it down since it was secure and would be covered anyway.

Next up was building the actual puzzle piece.

And here it is.

I would like to have installed it as a single piece but it just wasn't possible.



The upper arch area had to be removed and then reattached.







This is the same corner as the one in the last picture of the previous post - only repaired. The puzzle piece is in the middle.

All that needs to be done is the caulking of the divot in the puzzle piece.

You can see eight pieces of replacement fishscale in this corner. What you don't see are the many, little pieces of shingle it took to build it up for the finish fishscale.

Another puzzle piece. This one was easier but note the size of it compared to those around it.

75% of the fishscale were the same in general size but the other 25%, such as this one, were irregular and appear to have been used as bridging pieces.

The one you see here is a duplicate based on the remains of the original. I will talk about this process in a later post.

It took most of the day to replace the fishscale that could be reached without adding a second level to the scaffolding. When finished the workday was over.

We decided that the following day I would devote to glazing windows and SWMBO (since she would have the day off) would get to work with her father.

The next two pictures are of me glazing away at about 20 some-odd feet.





































Since turnabout's fair play I decided to take a few pics of SWMBO working.

Here she is helping her dad install the pieces of fascia that the guttering will be attached to.




She was so pleased with herself at this point - she actually used the cordless drill to attach a piece of the fascia.

It might not sound like a big deal but trust me, it was! Do you have any idea how hard it is to screw something into 100+ year old wood?! Also, the screws we needed to use were not small ones; take a look to the left of her father's hand - that's part of a 3.5" screw.

I will be doing a special post on what it took to deal with this old wood soon.

Here they both are working on the east gable; I was still glazing away.

At this point there is still only one level of scaffolding up there.

Before I leave you let me share a few more pics showing some of the small projects being worked on or finished during this time period.

The white stripe is what you need to notice in this picture. It is the new crown moulding that is under the built-up area the gutter will be attached to. When the gutters are installed they will create a 'double crown' effect.

This blob of gray is the the second layer in that rotten spot under the kitchen window. The gray stuff is bondo for wood. Once this is sanded down a bit another layer will be added.

Note that the exterior window casing above it is missing. It was in such bad shape I've decided to replace it.

This last one is just a few scraps of old clapboard attached to a board. The intention is for SWMBO to use it in order to make a decision as to what colors will be used on the fishscale.

As to this project - lets not go there... The colors have been decided upon but it was a very painful process. At least this mock-up did what it was to do. Perhaps I will share pics of it being used in a later post.

While we're on the topic of fishscale colors...

To give you an idea how far we have come since my last post, and how much I need to fill you all in on, the east gable is basically painted and finished. All we lack in order to call that part 'complete' is about 3 more hours of paint touch-up.

Well, it's late and I'm tired so I'll go ahead and close this post.

Till next time...

Cheers!
Larry

A quick update

Okay, here is a quick update.

I had hoped to be further along this week than I am but I got hit, bad, by allergies this past weekend and nothing seems to help. So, I'm dragging my butt around in zombie mode yet, some stuff did get done!

The foyer closet and powder room are fully primed and ready for painting. YEAH!!

Here's a look at the main wall in the powder room.

There is a flaw on this wall that sticks out like a sore thumb in person. I'm surprised the digital camera didn't pick it up! I might have to go back and fix it - we'll see how it looks after we paint.







The back corner - nothing special.
















Do you remember the light fixture we're planning to use in the powder room? If not, go here and here.

Anyway, I've started the restoration of the this light.

DANG!! Another blurry picture!!

You get the idea though; it's been dismantled and cleaned.


The finish is flaking off of the rim so I'm going to try and fix it.








Here you can see where the golden bronze area is in a rough way on the circular part part as well.





Hopefully this thing will turn out like we want it to.

Sadly, some of the faux tortoise shell on the main part has been chipped off as well. This is going to be a bugger to fix. I'll tackle it tomorrow.

Sorry, but I didn't get a picture of the inside of the foyer closet, however, I got a couple of weird ones for you!

For some reason, the previous owner stuck several name tabs on the inside part of the closet door. It was as if, while taking off his coat/jacket, he would just slap it up hear like a trophy. There were dozens of them!

Over the years we have picked a few off, but haven't gotten them all.

Today, I decided to get the rest.

It turned out to be a royal mess and not all of 'em came off.








Tomorrow I will try something else...a blow torch comes to mind.

I will leave you with this final picture.

It is another project I've started.

You'll just have to wait and see what it will be used for.

Well, that's enough for tonight. I think I'll go take some allergy drugs and go to bed.

Till next time...

Cheers ~
Larry

Exhaust Fan is all gone!

Thought I'd give a quick up-date before the weekend.

Not much has happened in regard to the house this week. We are super busy getting ready for a large, annual, garage sale we have every year with some friends. We've also been back-n-forth with the vet's office due to a sick kitty (Sabu has a nasty UTI).

However, that exhaust fan cover is gone!!!!

Not the best pic, but you can see daylight. Now that it's covered, perhaps that will help with heat loss this coming winter.

It was 'fun' removing the cover on Monday. We had a wind storm that was bad enough it blew over trellises, trash cans, etc. and I was on a ladder!!!

Several times I thought I'd be blown off.

We are going to keep the exhaust cover though. I got to looking at it and it might make a great cat door down the road. We could be able to shut it and latch it from the inside and it would also be a little more secure than some we've looked at. Besides, "waste not want not" right? We try to recycle as much as we can.

Voila!!

The hole is now covered and I can start preping it for plastering!!

This is a temporary cover. When we start the preping process for painting this summer we will replace all of this with clapboard.

Well, I've got to jet - got a lot of junk to get packed for the garage sale!

Cheers!
Larry ~

Treasure for the Loo

Last week was not the best week. In the famous words of Roseanne Roseannadanna:

"Well it just goes to show you, it's always something, you either got a toenail in your hamburger or toilet paper clinging to your shoe."

Basically, that's how my week went. First the septic system, then the Dandelion and on top of all of this - I got sick. I finally caught the creeping-crud that everyone else has had. So, nothing really got done this past week.

On Sunday I was feeling a little better so SWMBO and I hopped in the car and went to an auction in a small town next to us.

Among the many treasures we got, two were for the house specifically. One was a big ole' box of ceder shingles we can use to replace the missing/broken pieces of fish scale on the house.

The main treasure was for the upstairs loo. We are planning on replacing the el'cheapo 70s style lavatory vanity with a more vintage type.

What we have wanted to replace it with is an old lowboy dresser, or buffet, with a lavatory placed on top. SWMBO got the idea for this from the B&B we stayed in on our wedding night.



Here it is in all it's glory!!









Ain't it grand! (Hmmm...I know what you’re thinking and THAT'S what Annette thought when she first saw it too!)

We were suppose to pic it up on Monday, but the weather was bad and we had to wait till today to get it. Don't feel too bad about your first reaction, my dad had the same one!

Oh, before I forget - there were treasures inside the treasure! I found an old hand saw, buttons, and mice nests inside.



As SWMBO has recently discovered, she's the geeky nerd and I'm the free spirit.




Perhaps that's why I could see the 'diamond in the rough' and she couldn't.

In all honesty, the more she looked at it the more she liked it.

It does need a LOT of TLC - but hey, it'll be worth it.

During one of my working lulls today my curiosity got the best of my - I just HAD to see what the wood looked like under all that cruddy paint.

With masking tape in hand I decided to do a 'before & after' type thing with it. I placed tape down the center and applied some new stripper we got.

Let's just say we are not happy with this company or it's product. The customer service sucks, they charge an outrageous shipping cost, and it didn't work as well as it was suppose to. Anyway, you can see in to the left of the blue tape in the photo. Granted, the instructions say it can take from two hours to 24 hours to work, but the ads claim it's ready when the color changes (and the average is 3 hours). Well, I let it set for almost five hours and it looked like it dried out! The color did change, but not much.



This is what it looked like after scraping off the stuff.





BTW - It didn't come off as easily as it claims to and was messy than advertised also.

However, I will give it a second chance at a later date and will give an up-date when I do.

This is what it looked like after using the tried-n-true 'Stripease'.

Can you believe how rich this wood looks?!

After using the after-wash, and letting it dry, I used a 300 grit sanding pad to clean it up a bit.




Looks like all we'll have to do is add a sealer and clear coat. Let's hope the rest of the wood is just like top!

I'll keep you posted on this project as well.

Cheers!
Larry ~

New Toys

WOOHOO!!!!

I love it when I get a new toy and one I've really been looking forward to arrived today.

It may not seem like much, but it is suppose to be AWESOME!

It's called the Magic Trowel from TexMaster tools.


What I bought was the Magic Trowel Kit.




It includes a 22" blade, 12" blade and stainless steel handle with non-slip grip.

Here is a better view of the 22" blade with the handle attached.

The company site has a great "How-To" guide as well as a video demonstrating it.

While researching this little 'thingy' I ran across an excellent review of it over at the Brooklyn Row House blog.

So, hopefully this time next week I’ll be up to my eyeballs in plaster!

Cheers!
Larry ~

%&^%#&($^@^%)

I think the title says it all.

There is an old Mexican proverb, I can't remember exactly how it goes but it's something like this:

"Life is like a water fountain. For every cup of happiness you draw you also draw a cup of sorrow."

Well guess what, the past couple of days I got a couple cups of happiness - remember the blooming Crocus and the wood replacement board? Well last night and today I got my cups of sorrow.

Here's the back-story.

About a year and a half ago we put in a new, state-of-the-art septic infiltration system. I can not recommend this system highly enough! Any one needing to put in, or replace, a lateral septic field needs to go with this system. It's from Infiltrator Systems Inc (listed in the links section).

This is basically what it looks like. You can see it better if you go to their web site.















This side view shows you how ours is installed.

We did not need to go with a double application, like in the above picture, but we did install one chamber more than we needed - just in case.

This is the scar left behind. It isn't all that bad and will be smoothed out this year (the guy who installed it suggests we leave the scare alone for at least a year).

The best part is that it only took about 1 hour to dig the trench; one hour to lay and assemble the chambers and connecting pipe; and about 20 minutes to backfill.

In the middle of this pic you can see a muddy patch with a clump of leaves in the center.

Early evening yesterday I walked past the spot and noticed a 'funky' smell. I turned around and coming from this spot was a little spring of dirty water.

%&^%#&($^@^%)

So I checked the site for trouble shooting and new it couldn't be the septic tank its self. But there in the literature was a statement about drought conditions and lots of rain. So, we think that all the rain we had last summer and fall, plus all the snow this winter, has caused chamber system shifted and knock the connection pipe out of kilter.

The strongest evidence to this is the fact that the little spring is right above the pipe’s location, not above the chambers or tank.

So, guess what I get to do tomorrow!!

To top it off I will leave you with this pic - the first blooming WEED of the year.

Isn't it nice....




AAAAAARRRRRRRGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!


We have so many friends, and family, ask why we do not apply weed killer to the yard. If we did this we would have no yard! Right now, green is green. When the weeds are mowed they look nice too. Besides, the grass is making a comeback in some spots.

We just figure "why redo the lawn at this point when there is still so much landscaping to do".

Oh well...I guess I've got my two cups of sorrow. The next cup should be happiness.

Cheers!
Larry ~