The skeleton of the original electrical system still runs along the walls in the garage – a stretch of individual wires held by knobs; passing though tubes as it goes between rooms. The garage has mostly stood dark for years after a previous owner had pulled the power out – I’m sure long after knob and tube wiring had faded from favor. A long extension cord could bring light temporarily into the structure, powered by an outlet on the side of the house.
Finally, light in the garage
Finally, over the past couple of weeks I brought light back into the garage. I’m not quite done, but it is there – controlled by a switch – not plugged into an extension cord.
This weekend brought outlets to the second floor. The lights there still need extension cords, but they are much shorter today – just running to the wall.
Hopefully the next couple of weeks will bring switched lights to the second floor.
This weekend was set aside for smaller projects. The weather today warmed up enough for Susanna to work on painting the trim around the sun-porch. I replaced a nearly broken flush switch on the toilet with a dual-flush system. I also cleared some items off the “honey do” list – okay, maybe only one item – I replaced the hinges on the kitchen cabinet door with self closing hinges. I had replaced all the other hinges on that cabinet years ago… I just had missed that one.
We moved the wicker chairs from their temporary home in the trailer under the garage to their final spots on the newly painted front porch. I also picked up a free end table to go next to the chairs (it just needs painting and good to go).
Yesterday afternoon I got estimates on getting a concrete slab poured for the entire garage floor – we decided to do two pours – one half of the garage in the fall, and the other half in the spring. Now I have to get started ripping out the old blacktop that is currently in the garage.
We finally had a Saturday where the weather was beautiful. At least it was beautiful until right before dinner time. The skies opened up in the evening. At least the boat seems to be keeping the rain out of the cabin – it is a small step – but having the top of the boat keep water out is not as important as the bottom keeping the water out. I’ll have to wait until next year to confirm that.
The boys had soccer in the morning. Will’s team played better than they have all season, and they tied 2-2. Ben’s team is improving as well, even though they lost – something like 4-0. Ben is showing promise as a goalie – he enjoys the position and is pretty aggressive.
After the game, the boys headed over to a village of inflatable bounce houses that had been set up adjacent to Ben’s soccer game as a fundraiser. It was $5 each play in the village, and they borrowed money to play. To pay off their debts, both boys spent over an hour in the afternoon helping Susanna paint trim on the porch. Hopefully the trim dried enough before the rain.
I did get a little work done on the boat – epoxy repairs prior to installing the deck hardware. I epoxied the holes and will drill them out – the epoxy will keep the balsa core from getting wet if the bedding compound leaks.
The holes filled with epoxy..The holes taped from below to keep the epoxy from draining out of the holes..
Ben, Tyler, and Will at Holmberg Orchard in Gales Ferry
Okay, I have to admit. I didn’t get everything done that I had planned. No real surprise to anyone that knows me. But I had a productive weekend even if I didn’t finish all my projects.
In the morning I helped Ben in the workshop. I hadn’t planned on doing any woodworking, but I would never turn down an opportunity to work with either of the boys. The two boys are working on building a gift, and there isn’t much time before it needs to be done. I cut the big boards up to size and helped Ben on the bandsaw (he is still a little timid with the bandsaw – rightfully so). Next, all three boys took turns using the hand saws to cut out notches needed in the project. Will and Ben even sanded for a bit (something no one likes doing -so good luck getting an 8 year old to do a good job sanding).
I didn’t skip apple picking. Will had a friend sleep over on Saturday night. He lives pretty close to the apple orchard, so when we all went apple picking on the way to dropping him off. After a quick stop by home to drop Ben off, Will and I headed up to Home Depot and Target. Will had to get a present for his brother’s birthday, and I needed to rent a jackhammer to smash up some ledge that was in the way of running power to the garage.
I didn’t get power to the garage. I did get the ledge out of the way. The next step is to run the wiring and cover the trench. I also got the big trench filled in. I will probably need another 1/2 yard of topsoil to level out the area, but otherwise it is done. I almost finished tying in the gutter downspout to the drain – but I needed another trip to Home Depot to get the right parts, and I wasn’t about to do a third trip today.
Ben checking his saw cut depth. The boys both use Japanese pull saws for hand work - they find them easier than western style saws.
And to finish off the busy day, Ben and I went for a short bike ride. Will decided to stay home and read.
Susanna split the day between doing homework and painting the house. The house is starting to look nice – our neighbors have been stopping by to tell us how much they like the new color scheme.
My house goals for the week are to finish the gutter downspout (tomorrow) and run power to the garage (maybe tomorrow and Tuesday). Tomorrow should also be the next step in the first batch of drunken cutting boards. Maybe I’ll be able to get the sailboat out of the garage this weekend – nothing like wishful thinking.
I’m taking a weekend away from the major renovations to work on some “quick” projects. Thankfully Susanna isn’t taking a break from the major house projects.
The morning was taken by the boys’ soccer games (they had fun, but were pretty well run over by the other teams).
This afternoon I continued troubleshooting the invisible fence. I had worked on it for a while yesterday and the day before, but couldn’t find the break. And the beagle refuses to stay in the yard without the fence. On a side note, don’t ever bring your young kids to the humane society to pick out a dog with you – but that is a story for another day.
I did get the fence working after a bit of work. Then it was off to the box store to get parts for a rainwater drain system. I had to connect into an existing system that (I am assuming) was installed when the house was built 120 years ago. I got all the parts back home, and then promptly back to the store to get the connector that I almost got, but then figured I didn’t need. After laying the pipe, the boys and I started filling the dirt back in the trench. A tractor would be nice right now. But I could use the exercise.
Tomorrow’s goal is to get power run to the garage, move more dirt back into the trench, and do a little painting. I’d also like to take the boys apple picking, and go for a walk. I’m pretty sure I can’t do all that in one day, so I’ll have to see what I can get done.
Today was a day to start projects. I know, I am ADHD. I like to start projects. Finishing is the trick.
I had two trenches dug today. The first was a trench to bring power to the garage. I need electrical on the garage for next summer – and cleaning up the garage this winter will be a lot easier with lights. The only problem with the trench is that there is ledge at the end of the trench, and I won’t be able to get the buried cable down 12″. I’m still trying to figure out what I will do, but will probably put a concrete pad in the opening to the last bay of the garage to cover the buried cable.
The second trench is to try to eliminate part of the water problem in the basement. Originally the house had a drainage system for the rainwater. However, in one corner the drainage system was clogged. I also think I am getting surface water draining down the hill and into the basement. I had a trench dug out along the foundation and will connect into the existing functioning rainwater collection system. Hopefully I can get both projects done this weekend. I may not get the power fully connected, but I want to get all the trenches filled back in by Monday. And we still have to paint the house in time for the wedding next summer.
Will inspecting the trench along the north foundation wall.
With the passing of Labor Day weekend the summer comes to an end. The sticky heat of the summer is pushed away with the brisk cool autumn breeze. We are adjusting to the school year routine. Soon the leaves will fall from the trees, and all my neighbors will spend their weekends clearing their yards of the leaves. I prefer to let nature take its course, and let the winter winds push the leaves around the yard until they settle either into the woods behind the house, a corner of the garage, or into my neighbor’s yard, where they will be collected and put in their proper place.
I like to think of it as being efficient. Some may call it lazy. But regardless of my future laziness, this weekend was anything but. Saturday we all made our final journey up to Six Flags amusement park. We even brought Will’s best friend, Tyler, with us (because it isn’t nearly exciting enough to keep track of just two boys running around a crowded park). The previous two trips made very long days – getting home well after the boys wanted to go to sleep. We learned this time. Once the boys started fighting on what ride to go to next – well fighting more than normal boys that age fight – we packed up and headed out to dinner. Instead of a 7:30pm departure (as in the past), we were at dinner by 5:30, and home by 7:30. Everyone was still exhausted, but it didn’t carry into the next day.
We decided on Sunday to not rest. The weather was pleasant. It seemed a perfect day to work on painting the porch. It would have been a perfect day to finish painting the porch, but there was too much left to easily finish, and we didn’t want to work that hard. The boys worked on painting their part of the project, with a little help from Susanna and me. They decided the paint rollers were much better than using the brushes. I decided that it was okay that we would have to use two coats on the porch floor to cover up all the white paint they dripped on it. Don’t worry, I’m not perfect. I only decided it was okay to use two coats on the porch floor after getting very frustrated with Will and Ben several times about how much paint they put on the rollers each time.
Will painting the front porch
I started painting the trim around Will’s window (Susanna argued that it would look better to have all three windows on that side of the house with trim painted vice just having the two bottom ones). On Sunday I painted the right half of the trim, then supervised the boys as they tried to see how brave they were climbing up the ladder. Neither made it half way up.
Today I was going to finish painting the left half of the window trim (and no – I didn’t need Susanna to point out that having the entire window painted looked better than just half of a window – I figured that one out on my own). Of course, when I got up there, the scroll-work around the trim was falling apart and needed some epoxy repair. So, no painting the left half of the window today – and we will have to live with a goofy looking window until the weather allows us to paint again.
Today’s plans (in addition to the failed plans to finish painting the trim) were to get the boat out of the garage. The first step was to get the boat back on the trailer. It took nearly a whole day of work to get the trailer out from under the boat. I figured that now that I had experience getting the boat off the trailer, getting it back on would be simple. It wasn’t. But it wasn’t as bad as getting the trailer out. The most difficult part of getting the trailer out was moving the trailer with a flat tire. But I had fixed the trailer, and a trailer with two inflated tires is much easier move than one with only one inflated tire.
With a lot of work we got the trailer back under the boat, and slowly lowered the boat onto the trailer. And the tire that I had repaired promptly went flat with the weight of the trailer on it. Needless to say, the boat is still in the garage.
After lunch the boys and I went out and got a new wheel for the trailer. This week, my goal is to replace the flat tire on the trailer with the new wheel. My goal is to get the trailer out of the garage sometime this month.
Today is the last day of summer break from school. At least for me. Susanna has school today, so yesterday was her last day of summer. The boys start on Wednesday, so they get one more day. But they go to their mother’s house tomorrow – so for me the school year routine starts tomorrow.
Summer break is fun. No school. The beach. Long family vacations. Yet, This summer was a little too crazy, and I’m ready for fall. I think the boys are as well. I’m guessing Susanna would be happy for a couple more weeks of summer; I don’t think she is looking forward to the cool weather (I know, crazy – a Swede that can’t stand the cold).
I took today off of work to watch the boys. We worked on scraping and painting the bottom part of the front porch. I’m very pleased at how the house colors are turning out. It is a little depressing to think that we won’t be able to finish the painting until next summer.
The trailer parts I ordered two weeks ago arrived today. I need two u-bolts to complete the structural work. They sent the wrong size. The invoice had the correct size, but the box had the wrong parts. A little frustrating, but after a quick phone call, the company is sending the right parts. Hopefully they will arrive before next weekend, but I’m not expecting it.
Will has his friend Tyler over today, so the boys are pretty occupied. The weather threatens rain, so no more painting. I took the opportunity to organize the workshop a bit.
It has been a crazy busy summer. One of the big family projects this summer has been to paint the front porch. Susanna has been doing most of the work on the painting. Her sisters (Sofia and Rebecka) and friend (Linda) helped kick off the project, but I think it turned out to be more work than any of them expected.
The porch trim had been painted white, with the floor and ceiling (and base of the house) painted green. We decided to paint the trim to highlight the Victorian details in the house trim. I picked colors from the Sherwin-Williams historic color collection. The trim color is Rookwood Dark Green, with the accent color being Rookwood Dark Brown. Our plans are to paint the exterior of the house Concord Buff next summer, so the parts of the porch that are going to match the house color are being painted as well. So, for a couple of months the porch will standout from the rest of the house.
We have been getting comments about how nice the new paint job is turning out. Several people have stopped while driving or walking by to tell us how much better the house is looking. I can’t wait to see how the house looks when we are finished with all the painting.
The porch trim painted. The ceiling on the porch still has to be painted Concord Buff
We still have some work to do on the porch. It has only been painted down to the railings. I had talked to Will and Ben, and offered them each money to paint the bottom of the porch. Ben readily agreed. Will didn’t really want to paint, but then he decided he didn’t want Ben to get all the money, and agreed to paint.
With all the detail work on the porch, I suspect that painting the porch itself is about 1/2 of the entire house painting effort. We will attempt to finish painting as much of the trim as possible this year, and start with the walls early next year.
We have a couple house renovation projects in the wings to be started this winter – with the biggest being renovating the mud room and laundry room (which requires removing a chimney). I have also been making (slow) progress on the sailboat and in the workshop – I’ll write about that later. We also have some big events (personal) planned for next summer, but more on that later as well.
Will taking a break from scraping the porch. The walls below the railing will be Concord Buff and the floor will be painted Rookwood Dark Green.Ben working on scraping the peeling paint from the front porch. After scraping the loose paint off, we will wash the prepared area with TSP and let dry prior to painting.
Today was the big day for workshop projects. I had the window painted and ready to go this morning. I didn’t find time to work on the workshop yesterday, so I set aside today to install the new window.
The window is big, 4 feet by 5 feet. This morning I cut out the appropriate studs on the south side barn wall, and added a 2×6 header to support the wall. Then I took the big plunge, cutting the hole in the wall. There was no turning back at that point. I had to finish the project today or leave a big hole in the side of the barn.
It was a hot day to be working in the workshop, but I got the new window installed. It adds a lot of light to the barn, and when open it allows a huge cross breeze. However, I am not totally finished. I need to add hinges and trim out the inside of the window.
Overall, I’m pretty happy with how the project turned out. I made the sill from a piece of white oak I had beneath the barn. The rest of the framing was mostly pine. I was even able to get the trim installed and painted this evening.
The inside view of the new window
I’m not sure how it looks. That wall of the barn is leaning a little bit; I installed the window level (so it would open/close easily). It is pretty obvious from both sides that the window isn’t square with the wall (the un-square wall). I think if I ever reside the workshop, I’ll try to make the window less obviously out of line with the rest of the barn. Of course I’m at a loss on how to do that, so if anyone has any ideas, I’d love to hear them. Maybe next time I should add the windows so they line up with the unlevelness of the building.
I also added a curtain inside (I had a curtain laying around). It is a south facing window, so I want to try to minimize how much sun I get in the summer. I love how much light it brings into the workshop. That corner of the shop had been pretty dark. And yes, as you can tell from the top picture, I still need to paint and trim the two top windows on that wall.
I painted the trim around the window “Concord Buff” from Sherwin-Williams. I’m thinking about painting the house that color, and I wanted to see how it matched up with the brown (the window is painted the same color as the accent color on the house trim – “Rookwood Dark Brown”). I don’t think the green shingles on the side are the nicest looking, but they work and residing the workshop isn’t in the plans for this summer.
I had a pretty good weekend in the workshop. Will and Ben accused me of being boring (spending too much time in the workshop – so I spend more time with them on Sunday). It feels like there is a lot more room now that I am cleaning up the shop. One more set of shelves and I will be done with the organization on the fist floor. As promised here are pictures.
The new stairs (from the first floor)Completed Stairs from the top. Missing hand rails (but if you look closely, you can see Tucker in front of the shop vac).
