Siding Completed

The last piece of siding went on the wall shortly after 1:00 this afternoon.  The 4x8 panels at the back of the house still need a little work as I didn't caulk any of the joints or trim boards, and a handful of locations need to be nailed off, but it's sweet relief to have the place buttoned up.

My secondary objective has been to preserve the plants and bushes along the way.  So far, so good.

I would love to get rid of the ugly utility meters.  Alas.  The Orange tree helps.

OK, so technically there is the water heater closet door , and a small transition gable on the roof which are "siding."  The door should be installed Monday and the transition gable has to integrate with the roof - so I'm still considering the siding "done."

I love how these corners turned out - they are a compromise that Bec and I came to.  They are certainly worth the immense effort that went into them.

Not much will get done next week with a backpacking trip at the end of the week.  I'm relying on the preparation of years past to make this trip possible.  Ella comes along this year, so all of the preparation that has taken place over the past weeks has been aimed her direction.

So in brief I've met my objectives for 2 months running.
Preparation for siding in June - Done.
Started installing siding on July 4th.
Siding completed by end of July - Done-ish. (I've got a few days to make that reality)

Moving forward...
August:
Strip roof, repair roof plywood, repair rafters, create gable soffits, and in a word - prepare for shingles.

September:
Gutters, shingles, soffits, paint.

October:
Details, details, details, and whatever didn't get done in September.

November:
Rain.

Death Ride - House Project Update

Tour of the California Alps Death Ride 2013 is in the bag.
I finished with a decent time and am pleased to have it behind me.  What's odd is that I've basically decided that it will be my last DR.  Of course my resolve and desire may change over time, but frankly I think 4 times over those particular mountain passes is enough.  My cycling for the season may also be nearly at an end.

I've been hanging in there with my training - but just barely.  I wanted to enjoy my DR experience so I've maintained a modicum of training.  But the consummation of the event means my cycling training for the year is officially over.  I will be running more, and working even more.

And yes, much of that work will be on my own house.

Following are updated pictures of my progress.

Some window trim goes on the new Hardi Panel siding - still need to figure out that threshold trim...

New rear windows trimmed out and gable siding installed.

Laundry room wall and gable 

Front trim nearly completed - ready to start hanging the lap and shake siding.

Sketched out the soffit lines in order to set the front corner trim - Can't wait to get rid of some of those rotting rafter tails.

Forgot 1 phone line - We'll run that one through the new soffit.

Mock up of the "ledge" going around the front of the house - will divide the lower lap siding from the upper shake siding.

Should get a lot of this siding up on Saturday - if God wills.

Summer Project Update

Getting down to bear bones

Some new color options...

A side project.  We were given the flagstones and I couldn't wait to create the path.  Even the girls helped with the layout and stones.

The house is feeling more snug already

Some old siding, some new siding, and some no siding yet.

New siding and flashing.  Still need trim, caulk, paint, putty...