Busy view

Today we started to put up the fascia boards, beginning on the west side. For this eave I connected two boards before putting them up because cutting them to meet at a rafter would have wasted a lot more wood. You can see where they come together. The caulk at the connection looks like a white scar with sutured stitches. It will be touched up when all the boards are in place.

I struggled with how Sandy and I could get the boards up and level them by ourselves. What worked was to clamp just one side of a joist hanger to some of the rafters with the other side hanging outside the rafter end. We then set the fascia board into the hanger and leveled it with shims. Screwing them in was easy then and didn't require a second person.

The 16-foot-long rafter visible to the right of the fascia is nailed to the top of the greenhouse wall and extends to the south side of the greenhouse over the foundation. The greenhouse wall will be built under it. In the mean time it is temporarily holding up a plastic covered, lattice like grid that can be seen to the left of the ladder.

Two doors are visible inside the greenhouse. The light one leads into the second bedroom; the other, to its right, into the living room.

The dark brown walls of the greenhouse are barn siding just as it came off the old barn. Of course Sandy cleaned every square inch of every board with a wire brush before I could use them.

The west end of the wall and the west side of the third bedroom still need siding panels installed.

A peek at the siding

I had hoped to use the siding from the barn we took down in a past life, but there wasn't enough of it for the entire house, so we chose siding like we put on the apartment. It looks good and is easy to install with a little help.

We painted it before it was put up. This has saved a lot of time. A touch up covers the nails after it is up.

Whatcha  doing?

Here's the first clerestory window with its siding and trim in place. The view is from the front of where the greenhouse will be.

Another climber

Though not as helpful as Lucas, I spotted another local resident who apparently likes to climb. On my walk from the apartment to the house one morning, as I got to the rain garden Sandy created, I noticed something unusual at the top of a three-foot-tall lobelia and stopped to check it out. Here's what I found.

This little guy was about 10 inches long and wrapped three times around the very top of the plant. Each of the next two mornings it was still there, but was gone by the afternoon of the third day.

If anyone can identify it, please post a comment and I'll update this entry.

Finally catching up

Once again there has been a big pause in posting activity, but the work has gone on. Here's a partial rundown of where we are on various parts of the project.

All three bedrooms' walls are finished - drywalled, taped, mudded, primed and finish painted. After the floors are stained the trim will be added.

The second bedroom's loft frame is in place and ready for its floor.

The hallway, living area, "office" and kitchen areas are also finished and ready for the kitchen cabinets and pantry. They, too, will have stained floors, and after that, the door and widow trim.

All electric wok is done except for wiring and hanging lights, most of which are now purchased.

Other than the plumbing and electrical stub-ins, the bathroom and half bath are yet to be finished. Floor tile, glass block, tub, sink and vanity have all been purchased and are awaiting installation after the tile is laid.

About 80% of the outside wall is now covered and painted - two coats.

Window and door trim has been cut, painted and installed for all windows where the siding is up.

The bead board for the eaves across the front has all been painted and is ready to go up when the lookout rafters are installed.

The greenhouse area has a very temporary roof on the north half of it and the old barn siding has been cut and installed on the inside of its north half.

Lots of work has been done on the hillside in front of the house, including about half of a stone stairway that climbs the hill to the house. A stone walkway has been started leading from the front door toward the parking area.

Sandy and my sister Judy (who came out from Delaware to help for more than two full weeks) have worked relentlessly to paint and help put up the siding among other things. Each spent at least a week in a row doing almost nothing except painting, either while hunched over 4 X 8 sheets of siding and bead board before it was installed or up and down a ladder painting drywall after it was up.

I'll post a bunch of pictures next that cover much of what is listed and some other topics.