Porch Update, Weeks 7, 8

Good progress is being made even though there has been bad weather and holidays interfering with the schedule. Here are a few pictures to show the progress.

This is where we last left you. Roof trusses were being covered with sheathing, floor joists were in, and the piers were starting to get bricks around them.

Since then, the roof was shingled and an arch was built for the front of it. We are pleased with how well the new roof ties into the existing roof.

This notch at the top of the beam next to the arch will hold a beam tail, part of the trimming.

And perhaps the most important thing that happened recently is that we passed the framing inspection, so work can continue.

The electrician has begun wiring for lights and ceiling fans. Right now we have six can lights and two ceiling fans planned as well as a couple of new outlets. We may need a new subpanel to handle these. Also, the contractor is pricing some additional lighting and outlets for us now to see if we would like to add them.

The mason finished bricking the piers and poured the landing for the steps yesterday.

They have added the posts for the railing and begun wrapping all of the exposed wood in Boral board, a composite cement product that should wear very well.

And that's all she wrote.  Until next time...

Merry Christmas!

^"Glory to God in the highest, and on earth 

peace and goodwill towards men."

"...And that's what Christmas is all about Charlie Brown."

 "A Charlie Brown Christmas" 

Christmas is coming

This has been a good Christmas season. I guess they all are, in fact, if I take time to look around. Here's a little of what has been going on for the last month or so besides building a porch on the back of our house and starting a new job.

The Friday after Thanksgiving, Miss Landers, Ward, and I went to see the Eric Byrd Trio play various arrangements of the music from the Charlie Brown Christmas. I thoroughly enjoyed the show, but beforehand didn't want to go. I was quite comfortable where I was on the couch with Annie on my lap. It's a good thing that I make it a point to schedule things outside of the house or I don't think I would ever leave. The music inspired me to get a Charlie Brown door mat and it makes me smile every time I see it.

Charlie Brown and the gang are greeting our visitors.

The week after that, I had a cookie party with my work friends. I have been to cookie exchanges around this time of year, but the soul purpose of this gathering was not to exchange cookies, it was to eat cookies. Each of ten of us picked a different recipe from the Delish Insane Sweets cookbook and tried it.  We had some meatballs in a slow cooker and some milk for a little protein to balance the fat and sweet from the cookies, but basically we just ate cookies for supper. We gave reports on what we thought of the recipes, but mostly we ate various delicious cookies to our hearts content. I can't wait until we try something like this again.

The week after that, I went with my book club to a one man performance of A Christmas Carol. It is a tradition in this area and remarkable to watch as this one man makes you forget that you are watching only one person play all of the parts. However, there was a glitch. The theater lost electricity twice during the second half. We heard an interesting question and answer period under the emergency lights while they were trying to fix things, but eventually we had to leave for safety reasons. Good thing I already knew how the story ended.



And back to cookies, I've been baking some the last couple of days to take to various events. And there's been a glitch with that, also. I inherited my mother's stand mixer and have happily used it several times. However, after last night's batch of chocolate chip cookies, the beaters were stuck in the mixer. It's down to the point that we are taking the mixer apart to see what we can see. So far, no luck. They're still stuck. Good thing I still have the hand mixer that my mother gave me 35 years ago and a strong stirring arm.

The beaters are stuck.

I count my blessings that a broken mixer is the biggest problem I have today. I hope the same for you.

Until next time...

Ornament Parade 3

It's that time of year again--time when I show you ornaments on my Christmas tree. I wasn't going to do it this year, but then I noticed a new one. That was enough of an excuse for me to do it again.  Here we go with today's features.

All Creatures Great and Small 

(or at least some of them).

Ornament Parade 2

It's that time of year again--time when I show you ornaments on my Christmas tree. I wasn't going to do it this year, but then I noticed a new one. That was enough of an excuse for me to do it again.  Here we go with today's features.

Stockings, Santa, and Rudolph

The Stockings were hung by the chimney with care...

In hopes that Saint Nick would soon be there.

And Santa said, "Rudolph with your nose so bright, won't you guide my sleigh tonight?"

Ornament Parade--1

It's that time of year again--time when I show you ornaments on my Christmas tree. I wasn't going to do it this year, but then I noticed a new one. That was enough of an excuse for me to do it again.  Here we go with today's features.

Angels and Snowmen

This angel is new to the tree this year. My sister made it for my parents and she specially put red hair on it because all of my sisters and I have red hair.

This angle was made by a friend years ago.

This angel is made of olivewood from Bethlehem and was given to me for being a Sunday School volunteer.

This angel adorned a package I got from a friend.

This one is made from a teacup and came from a book club friend.

This angel was given to me by my mother-in-law.

We have two of these snowmen on the tree--one for Wally and one for Theo.

This snowman is sitting on a branch and was made by my aunt. Early on, she gave us a box of ornaments of all kinds that she made. They were a welcome addition to our somewhat bare tree.

This book reading snowman was another gift from my book club friend.

Tune in tomorrow for a parade of Santas.

Porch Building, Weeks 4, 5, 6

There hasn't been an update for a while because there have been some delays with the mason, who is building the foundation. The contractor finally decided work could proceed and the mason could finish up what he needed at a later date.

And then boom! There has been an amazing amount of work done this past week through cold rain, ice, and snow. And during it all, the workmen have had a positive attitude (at least when we were around) and the quality of the work has remained high, or redone. It's all pretty remarkable to see. From six holes in the ground, we now have a porch that is almost framed.

Here are a few pictures of the progress.

The floor joists

The day before the workman worked in a cold rain all day. This morning they started with snow. You can see the blocking between the joists to help retain rigidity between them. The plywood is temporary as a work platform.

Each masonry pier has an 8" x 8" wooden post above it to help support the roof of the porch.

You can see how the posts intersect the floor and piers here.

The roof trusses were prefabricated...

...except for the last few that are tying into the existing roof. This is the one clear day the workers got. It was cold but dry. They were happy.

On top of the trusses goes a layer of sheathing. They are using ZIP brand that has a plastic coating that is waterproof. It's not necessary, but is an extra layer of protection under the roofing materials.

And while some were working on the roof, others were working on the side steps.

Meanwhile, the mason showed up and started bricking the piers. While the old brick and new don't match exactly in this picture, they should match much better when they are dry.

Notice between the brick and the wood is a sheet of copper that is a deterrent to termites. Supposedly, termites don't like pressure treated wood, but the copper is extra insurance against them.

The mason put plastic around the piers he had bricked to protect the mortar from the rain. Yes, rain and more rain (and maybe sleet or or snow) is coming. 

Until next time...