Tag Archives: Siding

Family and Friends, The Adventure, The Cabin

Real Time Update (RTU) – Siding!

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Since we picked up the siding for the treehouse from our friends who have a small sawmill on Saturday,
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and we had an extra set of hands today (Lynne, my cohort in the Mother’s Day ice cream treat)
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it only seemed right that we get started on the treehouse siding!
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The tricky part of putting siding on a treehouse is that it is HIGH!! Gary was on the scaffolding (and then on the ladder on the scaffolding) and I was way higher than my comfort zone high on the ladder, making sure the board was lined up with ‘the mark’. And then holding it there while he screwed it into the wall.
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(Lynne was my most excellent ladder holder and she only walked away to take this picture. Can you see how I’m hugging that tree???)
It was quite the day to be sure. Although you might consider that tree to be in the way, but for me it was just a little bit of extra security! Yes, I was a tree-hugger today!
Thankfully we got the first side done not too long after lunch.
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Looks pretty cool, right?
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Tomorrow he’ll move the scaffolding around to do the back. There’s a window there, so that will make it a little bit more tricky. And my ladder-holder is leaving tomorrow morning, so that could be a complication too! We’ll see how it all works out!
Trust me, it may look precarious, but I’m a pretty big chicken if it doesn’t feel safe.  Gary is very careful to make sure the ladder is secure before I head up it! Since he likes me and everything!

We’ll have to see just how far we get tomorrow!

Steph

 

Pictures of the Adventure, RV Life, SOWER Projects 2020, The Adventure

Turning the Corner

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We’ve turned the corner to the last week of this month’s SOWER project. Man, these go fast! But we’ve turned the corner on our siding job too!
By the end of last week the entire back of the building was complete. I’m really glad that we started on a relatively easy stretch of siding (as Gary was training his trusty assistant (me)) because the last part of the job had some major challenges.
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See all those things coming out of the wall??? Yikes! Measure twice, cut once (worked most of the time), and don’t forget you have to lace the boards behind the pipes!
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Oy! What a time we had! But by the end of the week – with a little help from some of the boys with getting the top boards up – the back side of the building was complete, the windows and doors were trimmed out and we were ready to move on!
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It was time for us to turn the corner. Actually we turned two corners!
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Gary took a little time over the weekend to get the siding off the first section of the front, so once we got our supplies moved around to our work area, we were able to get right to work this morning!
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(Are you coughing yet, just looking at that dust??)

UntitledRemember that picture of me grimacing as I was holding up a board? That prompted a sweet text from a SOWER friend alerting us to a TOOL that is actually designed to not only hold up the board, but also keep the reveal constant. We did a little more research and found just the thing at a local Lowes, so we were able to test it out today.
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Thanks, Larry – that set of Gecko Gauges has made all the difference in the world!! Especially on those 12 foot boards. They haven’t replaced me completely, but they have certainly made things move much more quickly! And with much less drama on my part! =)
It was a good start to our last week (and made being able to complete at least this section of siding more likely!).  And that’s a very good thing!

Since it’s Monday, if you’d like to check out a “Mondays are for Memories” post, HERE is one from the last time we were here, back in 2008!

As always, thanks for stoppin’ by!

Steph

Pictures of the Adventure, RV Life, SOWER Projects, SOWER Projects 2020, The Adventure

Your mission, if you choose to accept it…

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is to finish installing the Hardie Board siding on the Gateway Academy education building.
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Gary is always up to a good challenge, and with me as his trusty helper, we got right to work!
First, you have to remove the old siding.
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and hammer in any renegade nails, etc. that would get in the way of the new siding.
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That went pretty quickly, and by the end of the work day, the first section was ready for its new siding!
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Of course, Gary handled all the power tools (I can use a power drill, just not through concrete Hardie board), but I was still pretty useful as an extra pair of hands, tool fetcher, level looker, ladder holder,  and general go-fer girl.
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Tuesday went well, and when we woke up Wednesday morning to this view out the front window
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we decided to shift our work hours to a little later in the morning. Brrrrrr…. We’re working on the north side if the building so it’s never going to be in full sun, but we thought it would be good to let it warm up a bit. At least our saw horses could (mostly) be in the sun!
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It was a beautiful and bright day, and even with the chill in the air we still got a fair bit accomplished.
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Since getting the boards up is really a two person job (three person if it’s one of the 12 ft. boards), Gary’s been cutting the pieces to the correct size in the afternoons (when I’m not working), and then when we start in the morning we can get right in to putting up the siding.
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Here I am holding up my side of the board (with some extra grimace for the camera!)
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And then there’s the great Ladder Straddle that happens sometimes….
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By the end of this morning, we had finished up to the doorway, except for the very top row.
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After lunch, (so I’ve been told) Gary ripped off the next section of old siding, pre-cut some boards for next week, and even got some of the students here to help him with those long 12 ft. boards on the top row. I’ll verify that tomorrow!

It was a good first week. Oh, it was a little colder than we had expected, but then again, that was frost on the grass, and not snow! We dug out our hats and gloves and dressed in layers. Lots of layers! And we were please to ‘accept our mission’!

Thanks for stopping by!
Steph