Getting ready for siding...sort of

We busted up the sidewalk that leads nowhere; raked up the wood chips only to find under the garden cloth is 6 inches of landscaping rock, then plastic!  What a mess...why can't people do the job right the first time!

We originally planned on leaving the rubble for under the, yet to come, deck. There so much though and the siding contractors are going to need a stable surface for scaffoldingn we will look into having someone come with bobcat, scoop it up and haul it away.

And Jim only jackhammer ed his foot once!

Behind Door #2

We ordered 2 new doors: an insulated door in white with a big 9 - pane window and a white storm door to match. Jim started the next door project on to find a rotten sill. So another simple project just got complicated.

While Jim worked outside, I worked in the basement cleaning out the rest of the mouse and mouse - poop infested insulation along the east side (under the back door). I don't think we had any mice this past winter. I think the problem originated with the broken basement windows, but the rotten sill definitely made an easy place to dig into.  I will take the other three walls later this summer.

Beginning of Summer 2014 Projects

Easter weekend we made the big move and took out the picture window in the living room and replaced it with a sliding glass door.  We are going to leave the outside unfinished until later this summer when we have the whole house resided.

Got Wood

Is this normal?

Pulled a few shakes off to fix bird damage and found these treasures.
When the house was insulated they just cut the shingle, drilled holes, filled, and tacked the original hacked piece back up. I'm wondering if the hardboard backing on each row is normal?
This needs help.

Not much

No pictures today. Just a quick note to say things have been slow and steady over the past six months. A new furnace, water softener, and some paint is all to report. I am hopeful that fall presents some opportunities for more exciting updates; Kristin needs to get some photos of the front yard while its' still in bloom.

October Update

 

With Jim in school and working he's had little time to work on the house. General winter prep is all he can muster right now. He was asked the other day if the house got painted so I think we are moving in the right direction. We took off the shutters on the picture windows, caulked all the exterior window trim, and replaced missing or broken shingles too. They are grey primer and will stay that way until spring. Kristin and Morgan planted over 200 bulbs and moved the shrubs out front. The extension agent was out on Monday and likes what we've done so far; spring will be colorful!

We had a fire in the fireplace the other night and it was really nice.

More to come....