A few Scrapes and a Good Washing

Yesterday (appropriately enough, Labor Day!) Karren and I power washed and scraped the entire exterior of the house, except for those portions of the wall that are on/above the roof. I plan on pulling the sidewalls off above the roof to run the trim flashing under them, so no reason to do anything to the siding there when I can paint them on the ground later.

Scraping paint is what I would suggest for the dudes being kept at Gitmo, more or less severe and distasteful. The relief felt when finished is palpable. Now I will caulk and putty the voids and seams before painting. I will also caulk after priming as well. A good paintable latex-silicone hybrid caulk is called for in this application. This will be the last paint job this house ever gets if we are still living in it. Eight years from now it will receive a metal covering and all trim will be covered as well.

Here is a view of the front right corner of the house. This place needed paint about 5-10 years ago. Don't let your place get like this! If this had been located in Virginia it would be rotted away in places. As it is I will only need to replace one piece of window trim that trapped water and has about 2 inches of soft wood. The window trim is redwood and is remarkably resistant to deterioration.

Front right:

Rear south (the same end but rear view):

Karren proved her mettle by removing the "swamp cooler" from the rear of the house. She likes doing demo work and has a real talent for it! "Bust it up, girl!" I have to keep an eye on her when she is in the throes of the destruction so that there is some house left.

We are now debating the removal of the cinderblock chimney due to some"issues" it has. Some of the blocks have been shifting over the years and based on the rest of the dwelling I don't trust that it has been inspected or maintained either. Another benefit is that the new roof will not need a "cricket," or water diverter upstream of the chimney penetration. We plan on a modern, stainless steel chimney that will heat and draw more efficiently for our stove.

Gotta get going on the work. The Rocky Mountain Power meter-reader was just here and he said freezing temps at night are just around the corner. See ya' later!

Gearing up for the Paint Job

Today Karren pulled half the gutters and all three satellite dishes off the house while I got self absorbed in trying to straighten out the garage. She fought with the bees that were nested in the dishes and I fought the never ending fight with gravity, keeping boxes from falling down off the stack (I always seem to lose fights with gravity). The Big G is my nemesis.

We are going to remove the rest of the guttering tomorrow and get started powerwashing the house in preparation for the painting. Yesterday we removed the rest of the HATEFUL juniper bushes and drug them into the field out back. the house is beginning to look much better even without the new paint.

For those who would like to know, I ordered the paint from our local Ace Hardware dealer, who happens to be the only Benjamin Moore dealer in this area. I have painted lots of things in my day and I have settled on Ben Moore paints as being the best on the market. If you are going to pay over $35 a gallon for premium paint anyway, you might as well get Ben Moore paint. It is the best looking and has the best longevity of any paint I have used. I've tried Duron, Sherwin Williams, Porter, Behr, and Olympic, and rate them in order of preference, best to worst. Ben Moore's premium house paint is called "Ben" and is really good stuff. If you are in a more developed area you can also use their commercial grade, "Super Spec," which is almost as good and is slightly cheaper.

The house must be primed because I am changing the color from gray to a dark brown. There is also some spot priming to be done because there is a lot of bare wood showing due to plants rubbing and such. Lots of flaking as well and this will require steel brushing and scraping. There is virtually no paint left under the gutters which necessitated their removal, but they were rusting through so no loss there.

The roof is going to be replaced but I have not gotten firm bids on material for a standing seam metal panel roof yet. This will be interesting as I have never installed one of those yet, but am willing to give it a go! The only thing that has me scratching my head is how to do the cricket for the chimney?

I'll post a pic of the place before and after the paint. Be sure to check back!

Marsh Creek

This valley is a beautiful compromise between having a mountain view and NOT having a steep, winding road to navigate during the snowy season. Yes, we own all the way down to the creek and it is fenced because there are horses an either side of us. Don't feel the need to have any myself, but it is fun to look at other people's critters. The valley is about five miles wide at our location and it opens up wider as it runs to the south. There is no real elevation change as you drive from the house into Pocatello on the interstate so Karren will have a minimal hassle with driving during the snow season - at least that's the plan!

Stay tuned for more pictorial updates from the land of the potato and beef cattle. And by the way, the steaks out here are AWESOME!!! Haven't found a single jazz group yet, though there is hope springing eternal...

New Era for Astronomy!

Yes, I have been chomping at the bit to get out and do some astronomy. The fires and smoke have begun to abate so it is gong to happen in the next few days. Here is a shot of my view facing south - stunningly open and no light domes! This spot seems like a good place to start the astronomy  trailer off. I'll probably drag it all over the place until I find the right spot for an observatory. I do know now that it will be a dome. Wind here is obviously a real problem so a roll-off roof will not be as effective at shielding equipment from wind as a dome. Local astro dudes have confirmed this as well. Look for some additions to my astro blog in a couple of weeks after this full moon is past.

Barn Boy Tim

I have always wanted an old barn to call my own. Now that I have one I'm kind of scared to go in the darn thing. It needs a good mucking out but the timbers and rafters are all solid. It is beginning to lose shingles so we will probably bite the bullet and have a metal roof done on it as well. Lots of storage in this thing and if we ever decide to sell it will make a big difference to horsey type people. Love the lean-to on the downhill side of it. Lots of old barn type crap left over too (not such a good thing), but nothing that a couple of hours with a backhoe won't cure. In the pic is the rear of the garage as well. It came with a cat and it has eaten one bowl of food so far. Haven't got a good look at it yet, just the ears. Good mouse protection.

The Man Cave!

The garage is fairly new and needs no attention other than some additional electrical updates for large stationary power tools. I'll probably update to a separate service for this building and the barn/well. One door has an opener and the middle bay is tall enough for the F350 truck. It will be nice to have all our vehicles under cover during the snow season. There is enough room in this garage for one bay to be a nice sized workshop, especially if the big tools are wheeled. Got to get some of the trees cut back though. They are in need of judicious pruning.

Refugee House

The house looks like refugees live in it because the paint is in such bad shape and the roof is furry. The siding and trim are okay but the junipers in the front have rubbed much of the paint away. We have removed them from the right side but the left side is still overgrown. That will change later this week. The roof is old cedar shakes and has needed to be replaced for the last five years at least. This roof could have been in good shape if it had been maintained. I'd still want to replace it though to get better fire resistance. I'm planning to go with metal roofing if the price is right. Shingles are not as cost effective and will not give the fire rating of metal.

Note the large fir trees on the other end of the house. They are right up on it and several are going to come down immediately so I can gain good painting and roofing access, not to mention they are a fire hazard. Hate to lose the wind/snow break but they must go. Timmmberrrrr!

We like the automatic garage door on the house and it will become the girl's garage as soon as the debris stops accumulating in there. This will be a nice feature for Karren in the cold of winter when she climbs into a warm car to go to work.

Next time you see this house it will have a dark green paint job and a light brown roof. A bright red door will be Karren's mandate I'm sure!