Porch Progress – Moving Slow and Steady

Lynn reluctantly spending his Sunday, working on the porch. McKinzie staying close.

April is supervising the operation.

Another detour. Fixing a leak

Love the smell of raw wood.

Staining the boards Rubicon Red. 2X6

I get a little anxious when the weekend comes around as I want to go gun-ho on the porch.  I don’t want to do any of the other things I have to do, I just want to focus on the porch.  Maybe a little OCD?  But Lynn tempers that side of me.  He says groceries first and then we are both pooped by the time we get home.  Well, I have a plan for that…. We go to town (20 miles away) and get the groceries, come home and unpack the groceries and put them away, quickly…. Get in his truck and go to Home Depot (20 miles away) and pick up some lumber and other building materials, because tomorrow is going to be a totally “get it done” day.  We come home and we are doubly pooped.

Then he breaks the news to me, there is a pipe in the horse pasture that is leaking water and that needs to be taken care of before the porch.  Ugh.  Double ugh!!  Okay, I got to rethink this.  If we turn the well pump off Saturday night, the ground will be soft but dig-gable in the morning.  We can do that first thing as that is when the shade is in that area.

Sunday morning, up bright and early and ready to dig and get that out of the way.  I am the chief-whole-digger as I can get down and into it.  (sometimes it doesn’t pay to be healthy)  The whole is dug and the leak is found and the repair is made.  Let the glue set-up and wait a few hours and test it.  In the meantime, back to the porch.  🙂 This is me smiling.

Staining the lumber first with Architect Series Semi-Transparent Wood Stain – Rubicon Red (It is a redwood color).  This is an oil stain and I really like the color.  It is just what I wanted.  I am staining the top and sides so when it is put down, all I will have to do is some touch-up.  Besides its easier to stain standing up (wood on the saw horses) than for me to crawl around on the floor.  I get down okay, its the getting up that is a challenge.

Got out all the power tools set up for the hubby.  Skill saw; palm nailer; nail gun; compressor; hammer; wreaking bar; pry bar; and a multitude of other tools to accomplish the job.  Now to get Lynn (the hubby) out there to do some of the intricate detailed foundation of the porch work.  Some of the floor joists we are keeping as they are sound and oversized compared to the lumber of today.  Some old, and some new.

If you haven’t figured it out by now I am the energetic gopher of this project.  I get the ideas in my head and try to explain them to Lynn, and he does the magic of figuring how to make my visions come true.  He does tend to get a little frustrated at how my visions keep getting modified and more detailed.  They start out simple and evolve, while he stands there and shakes his head.

Took a break from the porch, to turn the well back on, check the leak, and refill the whole.  That job is done until the next leak.  Nothing stays fixed on a Ranch/Mini Farm.  Always something to fix.

Well I got to get back to work, there’s still daylight.

Annie, the energetic gopher  🙂

Verdict is in, the porch will be coming down

Well, I have to back track on what I thought yesterday as we uncovered the porch ceiling.  The structure of the back porch is definitely undersized.  The roof rafters are only 2×4’s.  Need at least 2×6’s for the span.  So it all comes down.  Plus one is split, and that explains the sag in the roof.

Armed with a saws-all and a wreaking bar I proceeded to start dismantling the back porch which even had square nails in it.  Just to give you an idea of how old it actually is.  Tearing away the ceiling and looking underneath yielded some surprises.  A couple of ceiling rafters are just cobbled together.  I don’t know how it has lasted this long.  They will soon be replaced by new rafters and a redwood deck.

Had to stop early because I got something in my eye.  I had my glasses on, but should have had goggles.  There was so much dust and dirt that I felt like I breathed all of it into my lungs.  Tomorrow I will be armed with goggles, hat and face mask.  This is not girlie stuff.  Should have listened to Norm Abrams “There’s nothing more important than safety goggles.”  Or something like that!!

I had to laugh, as all last night Lynn kept telling me that I needed to go to work today, as they really needed me.  Then he accused me of trying to work him to death.  Now I am exhausted, my eye hurts and the Excedrin hasn’t started working yet.  He must have put a whammy on me.

Getting cleaned-up and ready to go to my second creative writing class at the local library.  Get to hear one of my favorite author’s speak.

I have been taking pictures, all along, of the progress of this little miss-adventure.  I will share those when it is finished.  Hopefully, that will be in the next couple of weeks.  As I will need to refocus on the Dream House once again.  Oh, I hope this doesn’t cut into the budget too much, but a little more than I expected.  It will be worth it in the end.  I keep telling myself this.  🙂

Annie, the demolition diva