Office Update

The front porch is 90% (or so) complete. We're pausing on some of the finishing work because some bits of the repair will be handled when the gutters and shingles are torn off for the reroofing. (Basically, we discovered more extensive damage to the wood at the squirrels' and racoons' entry point, and replacing that makes more sense to handle as part of the reroofing.)

We haven't figured out where we'll put back up the house numbers, and we are waiting for new brackets to see if the iron handrails can be more stable (if not, we'll probably have the carpenter make new wood handrails for the steps up to the porch). Evelin also is thinking about adding a façade-beam across the front to give the look of an arch across the front from the street. It would mimic some of the Craftsman houses on the block as well as the arch inside between the living and dining rooms.

But the posts and some trim have been replaced, along with a few other touchups. Everything's been painted, and since an engineered wood product and pressure treated beams were used, hopefully things will stay looking nicer and stronger for a long, long time. We also got a much nicer, free-standing gate to keep Lucy dog contained.

As for the roofing work, the contract's been signed and we're just waiting to hear with the weather and their schedule align to get the work done. (And, yes, the siding needs to be replaced too or at least cleaned well. The later will probably happen first, but the former is in the cards too. The shutters too.)

The Office Remodel

COVID changed a lot, including Evelin's job going all virtual. Even before the pandemic, Evelin enjoyed working on the front porch on her telecommute days. Now, she's out there more often than not in her open-air office. But not this week.

For years we've had trouble keeping squirrels out of the porch roof, but despite our best (admittedly not effective) efforts, the accumulation of squirrel damage and water damage from where they kept reopening an access point had noticeably rotted some of the wood. Other parts of the porch were also looking rough — both things like needing paint and other areas where wood needed replacing.

Back in 2009, we had work done to replace the decking and railings. As part of that, the posts were also partially replaced, but it turns out that job was more a patch than a longer-lasting repair.

So here's the situation as of Monday. The corner posts were completely removed; well, sort of. There weren't actual posts there, just boxes built from untreated wood. It's no surprise we had continuing problems with rot. Luke (the carpenter) braced everything and demo'd the posts and is replacing them with 8×8 posts that will be clad with weather-resistant material. The one on the right had the added complication of acting as the channel for the porch light's wiring, but he figured it out.

The old railings will be put back in place (those were built new in 2009 and mimic some other porch railings in the neighborhood and still look decent and work well. We don't know yet about the iron handrails flanking the stairs. If there's a way to make them more stable/sturdy, we'll probably keep them, but we may end up having new, wooden ones built for it. Oh, and there's still the issue of the rotten wood at the upper left (partially visible in the image). That's being cut out and replaced.

So what about the squirrels? Luke isn't doing anything about their access point because we're getting the roof replaced. Just waiting on word as to whether or not a permit will be required before we sign the contract.

I'll put more details once things are set, but the plan is to fully reshingle and do something to extend the eaves a bit so that the house has a little overhang. With some of the more torrential rain we've had over the past few years (<sarcasm>thanks, climate change!</sarcasm>), we've had issues with the gutters being overwhelmed, rain sheeting down the house and getting into the basement. Tweaking the roofline (along with higher-capacity gutters and gutter guards) should address the issue. We'll also add in a better way of venting thorough the roof the bathroom exhaust fan among a few other improvements.

More to come.

Sidewalk Games

Back in 2021, when my parents visited after COVID restrictions loosened, my father and Evelin had a conversation about the deck. He's a firm believer in power washing, and we'd been letting the deck weather naturally. I wasn't there for it, but shortly after the 'rents returned to Louisiana, an Amazon driver dropped off a Kärcher K1700 power washer (along with the 11-inch surface cleaner attachment).

So the deck was cleaned, along with the front porch and stairs and more.

Celeste and Evelin quickly had the idea of using the pressure washer to add some fun to the sidewalk in the form of a hopscotch grid.^* It was great seeing kids of all ages stop on their way to/from school to hop through the course, but dirt and grime build up and the 2021 hopscotch grid was pretty faded.

So today, they were back at it. Replacing the hopscotch grid and adding more elements of whimsy: sasquatch footprints, a sea monster, various stars and squiggles.

  

^* I'm not sure if that's the best word. Is it a grid? a course? a field? a board?