This weekend saw a little progress. You know unless I am seeing a lot of physical progress, I refer to it as “a little.” Yesterday after grocery shopping and having lunch, I went outside and screwed down the remaining decking. Of course it took a couple of hours. Slow but sure. As I get older, it takes longer to get things done.
Today, I painted the 7 posts that I have for the porch. They are 4X6 posts that will be used for the upright posts and the headers that the ceiling joists will be sitting on. I know, confusing right? At least it is for me, so I have to think about it and roll it around in my mind. I see it kinda like a puzzle and all the pieces have to be put together in the proper order and, you just can’t rush it. I am learning patients, everyday.
On another front when I was cooling off after lunch, I was cruising the internet in search of fascia moldings. We have to replace the 5 inch molding along the roof line. It has held up for 100 years and is finally looking tattered and torn. In other words awful really really awful!! We need to replace about 60 to 70 feet of it. Of course I am not finding the exact pattern. I think we will probably have to substitute something similar. We cannot afford to have someone duplicate it exactly. Even the ones that they have in the DIY centers are expensive. It’s on the weather side of the house, so I would rather have pvc or urethane as it would hold up in the weather. On the weather sides, we have a hard time keeping paint on wood. I am open to any suggestions or if you are aware of a company that is affordable, I am all ears.
I am attaching photos of which I am truly embarrassed to be showing, that we have let it get this bad. But the inside of this home had been the focus, then the front porch, now the back porch. In between times we are working on the dream house. I hope I at least get most of those projects finished by the time I retire. That gives me about 4 years.
Back to painting. I began painting some of the slats that will be on the railings on the back porch. I finished 27 of them. As with all my painting now, I begin with Kilz Premium Primer. It is the best I have ever used. It is exceptional in adhering to the raw wood and makes a great foundation for paint. It also has to wear off my hands. I tried many primers over the years and finally saw this primer in Fine Home Building Magazine. If you ever need really good information, that is the magazine to buy. We have found lots of good information in there.
I follow the primer with Behr Paint Semi Gloss from Home Depot . We have so much dust here that the Semi Gloss sheds the dust easiest. It has shown to be a good paint and holds up well. I don’t get the paint with the primer in it as that is unnecessary when using the Kilz Premium Primer. We shop at Home Depot as it is the only DIY center close to us.
Next weekend begins my vacation. I am going to take a week off to work on the porch and celebrate our 25th Anniversary. 25 years of DIY, I am surprised we have made it this long, working together on these project we tend to have some short tempers. My husband is dreading it, because he said I am trying to work him to death. He dreads the weekends and says he feels guilty if he isn’t out there working alongside of me. That bothers me because I don’t want him to feel that way. I know that he does as much as he can, I just wish we could afford to pay someone to get this done, but until I win the lottery, I guess this is as good as it get. I think you have to play the lottery to win, hmmm, I guess we won’t be winning the lottery any time soon. Hopefully, we will include a few fun things, like going to breakfast at the Maple Counter and lunch or dinner at a good restaurant. Can’t be all work and not play.
Well it is back to work tomorrow (the paying job) for another week, then some much needed vacation time.
Until next weekend, stay out of the heat, and I’ll see you later.
Annie, the happy porch lady 🙂
15yearsandcountingdream 