Or three days, rather? I struggle a bit, secretly, with deciding when or what is enough. The so-called eight-hour business day is very ingrained. Our contractors have typically started at 8:30 and quit around 3:30. When we started doing full days ourselves of physical labor, 3:30 was a very welcome stopping point — when the …
As expected, the fifth and final hole dug for the porch footings had layers of cinderblock three feet down, put there as a sort of footing for the original 4×4 post. What I didn’t expect to find, about two feet down, was the long-lost septic outflow pipe: Fortunately, due to its angle, it left just …
Yesterday was upper-body and arm day. Dug two holes and poured concrete for one, mounting the 6×6 post base in the top of the pier. Today was upper-body and arm day, times two. Got the rest of the existing posts out and took down the existing beam (without dropping it on yesterday’s work or the …
At least one sister, and maybe both, asked me during this project, “How do you know how to do all this stuff? I didn’t recall that you were so handy….” Herewith — Top Ten Ways to Excel* at Large-Scale DIY *(Not that I excel, necessarily. There’s a reason our motto here is “better is better,” …
Do you like beams?? The beauty of taking a day off is that I get to post about what I did yesterday! I may have mentioned a temporary “wall” that we needed to build under the porch, so we could remove the existing (inadequate) supports, and replace them with something more robust. The wall is …
Passing the milestone the other day of removing the LAST of any rotted framing got me thinking about the scope of this project and how it grew. How at every point — including the very beginning, when we were assessing what looked like passable wallboard and paneling — we’ve tried to push our imagination into …
There’s a Right Way and a Wrong Way. Then There’s Our Way. Read More »
The day was cool and blustery, finishing with rain. A kind of day I used to call an “Eagle Harbor day.” Eagle Harbor, Mich., on Lake Superior where I summered as a kid at my grandparents’ house and where my parents and uncle still have summer homes (though my parents are selling theirs). An Eagle …
A tale of two days. Sunday’s “day of rest,” and our gentle efforts with insulation. Monday’s return to hardcore demolition and construction. First, the back wall of the kitchen: And the upstairs half-bath: There’s lots more we can do as the outside weatherproofing is completed. But we also need to put up the lower half …
Another thing I left out from Thursday’s report was the delivery midday of the building supplies I’d ordered in anticipation of being ready to proceed with interior projects. 56 sheetrock panels, 45 2x4s, 5 6×6’s, assorted long pressure-treated beams, a bunch of strapping, a pallet of insulation, and a potpourri of 3/4″ pine stock in …
First things first: Remember, dear reader, where we left off yesterday? This was the scene: Where rotted holes had gaped just hours before, nearly complete replacement siding was rising from the foundation to envelop the front of the house. This is the scene tonight: Reid and I knocked out the remaining rot from the second-floor …