R was still at the beach this weekend. M and, C and I worked around the house quite a bit. The finish-up work continues. Back in May, I commented that our place should be known as "Zeno's Cottage" in reference to Zeno's Dichotomy Paradox. Really, it's the Pareto Principle that's in play on our house. You know, the one where 80% of the job takes 20% of the effort, then the remaining 20% of the job takes the 80% of the effort? That one.
With the patio completion languishing in the purgatory of a contractor that doesn't arrive as planned, C has been doing the work of two day-laborers, digging out the area alongside the parking area as well as the path into the yard from the parking area. It's tiring, hard physical work that she shouldn't be doing. But she wants the patio crew to have no excuses for not finishing the job. I have some feelings on both sides of this dynamic, but they're going to do what they're going to do. Given that the Saturday temps were in the mid-90s, this was a huge amount of physical exertion for Cate. At least she was working in the shade.
So, at this moment, the pathway has a 2-foot pit dug, ready for drainage gravel and pavers. The edge of the parking area now has a similar pit, ready for gravel all across. These two drainage areas will provide more sure-footed movement, as well as a place to capture rainwater and keep it from puddling on the path. This should close the lid on any wintertime drainage issues going forward.
On Sunday, C also cut in a bunch of flagstones to make a footpath to from the parking area toward the house. It's starting to look well put together.
The patio guy did show up for about an hour on Saturday. He mapped out the wiring for the outdoor lighting, and promised to be back later that day. We didn't seem him hall weekend.
I spent the two days of the weekend doing detailed finish work - primarily on the porch - but throughout:
- New window trim around the porch window sashes. For a couple of these pieces, it took a couple hours of careful, precise, carving-style work.
- Patched in the siding gaps around the porch that Bo and Cody left unfinished. Now the siding comes right up to the door frame - no gap.
- Pegged the holes in the outside window hinge mounts. Ready for new decorative hinges as soon as we can mount the stained glass window.
- Fabricated a baseplate for the porch light. Mounted the baseplate to the house and installed siding all around.
- Painted all the new siding that I had installed.
- Since I had the paint out, I painted touch-up spots all around the house.
- Installed a trim sill plate under the dining room window area. This has been a bunch of raggedy-looking tar paper since the siding project. This sill plate helps the overall transition from the shingle siding to the foundation by presenting a very finished looking trim piece. Originally, there had been a large piece of decorative quarter-round there. That solution will not work now. Instead, I milled a piece of hardwood 1x2 and installed that as the trim piece. I'll match this piece on the living room side, and the front of the house will be consistent and balanced.
- Moved a number of siding shingles that Bo and Cody installed crooked.
- Finally got the decorative piece of quarter-round trim installed under the dining room window sill.
- Installed the porch lamp on the new baseplate. Now the porch lamp looks thought-out, well constructed, and hands properly. It doesn't look like a tossed-up afterthought any more.
- There was a piece of under-eave crown molding that encroached on the front porch entryway. I cut it away and started balancing up the look of the front entryway.
- Selected a door knocker for the front door with C. She had two options: the knocker, or a hand-crank mechanical doorbell. We went with the knocker because the bell mechanism would look funny hanging off our door.
- Re-mounted all the door hardware with new (antique-looking) screw hardware.
- Shaved the stained glass window frame to fix the sticky spots. Now the window closes smoothly.
- Replaced the failed GFI in the kitchen.
For me, I was working in the full sun all weekend. Lots of water and a lovingly caring wife who kept me slathered up in SPF 30 helped me survive. I've got a bit of a tan working now; and a front entry that no longer looks like it belongs on "The Crooked Man's" House.
Late last night, C brought out the can of stain to touch up the spots I shaved off with the planer. All that window needs now is a latch that will fit in the space we have. She's off to Rejuvenation today to do exactly that.
Other items on the short-term list to complete:
- More grass seed in the front yard. Some was washed away before it took root.
- Finish the outside trim paint on the house and garage.
- Install corner trim flashings on the corners of the house to seal off the new/old siding.
- On the front porch entry:
- Re-align the gutter so the downspout is no longer the high-spot
- Re-align the fascia under the gutter to give the appearance that the fascia is square. Right now it sags pretty noticeably to the left.
- Install the second stained glass window.
- Back door hinge hardware swapped out for new.
- UV film on the living room picture window. This is working so well elsewhere, we're considering using it on the big picture window. Heat really isn't he issue here, however. UV protection for the furniture might be the larger concern.
We celebrated a great week with M - she's so low maintenance, overall - by taking her out to see Wall-E during its opening weekend. It was a good story - hardly any dialog, overall. Such a deeply rich visually-told story.
Then we had Mediterranean food at Hoda's on Belmont after the movie.
The girls enjoyed the night out. So did I.
