Siding (South Wall) 5

I was expecting rain yesterday, so I decided to switch my attention to dealing with the shingle staples on the inside of the JayBee. This is what the inside of the sheathing looks like after I staple courses of shingles to the outside. My plan had been to bend over all the staples on the inside to ensure that shingles would not peel off the house if/when it travels down the road. I was hesitant to pound on the staples with a hammer because I worried that that might shatter some of the shingles. I briefly considered not bending the staples at all, just pressing the insulation onto the staple ends, but leaving all these staples protruding this far into the wall would make running the wiring a very hazardous job.

In the end, I remembered that I have a heavy, thick piece of metal left over from an office chair I disassembled awhile ago. I can use it to bend over the staples without pounding. Bending the staples this way keeps me from shattering the shingles, and also saves my hands and wrists from extra pounding vibration. I am happy with this solution! It takes time, of course, but that's not new; everything I do on this house takes me a lot of time.

I finished up the design in the seventh course of shingles.

Also see:
Siding (South Wall) 1
Siding (South Wall) 2
Siding (South Wall) 3
Siding (South Wall) 4
Siding (South Wall) 6
Siding (South Wall) 7
Siding (South Wall) 8
Siding (South Wall) 9
Siding (South Wall) 10
Siding (South Wall) 11
Siding (South Wall) 12
Siding (South Wall) 13
Siding (South Wall) 14
Siding (South Wall) 15
Siding (South Wall) 16
Siding (South Wall) 17
Siding (South Wall) 18

Siding (South Wall) 4

More progress on the cedar shingle siding before the rain moves in...

Also see:
Siding (South Wall) 1
Siding (South Wall) 2
Siding (South Wall) 3
Siding (South Wall) 5
Siding (South Wall) 6
Siding (South Wall) 7
Siding (South Wall) 8
Siding (South Wall) 9
Siding (South Wall) 10
Siding (South Wall) 11
Siding (South Wall) 12
Siding (South Wall) 13
Siding (South Wall) 14
Siding (South Wall) 15
Siding (South Wall) 16
Siding (South Wall) 17
Siding (South Wall) 18

Siding (South Wall) 3

Another course of shingles done.

Here's that element getting taller...

And here's a new piece I started...

Only the left portion is done on this additional course.

Just one more course and this piece will be done.

Also see:
Siding (South Wall) 1
Siding (South Wall) 2
Siding (South Wall) 4
Siding (South Wall) 5
Siding (South Wall) 6
Siding (South Wall) 7
Siding (South Wall) 8
Siding (South Wall) 9
Siding (South Wall) 10
Siding (South Wall) 11
Siding (South Wall) 12
Siding (South Wall) 13
Siding (South Wall) 14
Siding (South Wall) 15
Siding (South Wall) 16
Siding (South Wall) 17
Siding (South Wall) 18


George spends all day sleeping in various piles of hay all around the yard. In the spots where the hay is piled deep, he sometimes burrows underneath the hay to sleep.

Siding (South Wall) 2

To align the second course of shingles, I decided to try using tape. The wooden guide I built is a bit heavy, and hanging it puts a lot of holes in the housewrap and sheathing--necessary for the first course that hangs below the edge of the house, but shouldn't be necessary higher up. I know that some people snap a chalk line but, if I did that, I can imagine that I would end up with blue chalk lines under every course of shingles. And they could take a long time to wear or wash off because they would be protected underneath the shingle edges. Note that I filled all the screw holes (left over from hanging the wooden guide) and staple holes torn in the housewrap with caulk before proceeding.

Here is the second course done. It occurred to me while I was working that, although putting up individual shingles is time consuming, at least I can do it by myself. How would I put up long clapboards by myself?

The third course done and the line set for the next course.

Do you see a different/interesting element emerging?

Also see:
Siding (South Wall) 1
Siding (South Wall) 3
Siding (South Wall) 4
Siding (South Wall) 5
Siding (South Wall) 6
Siding (South Wall) 7
Siding (South Wall) 8
Siding (South Wall) 9
Siding (South Wall) 10
Siding (South Wall) 11
Siding (South Wall) 12
Siding (South Wall) 13
Siding (South Wall) 14
Siding (South Wall) 15
Siding (South Wall) 16
Siding (South Wall) 17
Siding (South Wall) 18


The first black flies of the season showed up today. Uh oh; black flies could make me pretty miserable over the next several weeks.

I have a friend a few miles from my home whose yard is full of blooming flowers. My yard, by contrast, had not a single flower until yesterday--when a few things finally popped.

Pocket Door 6

I was going to call this post "Pocket Door Done!" but then I realized that I only have the actual door done, not the wall and not the pocket-door-hanger parts, so <sigh>, I guess it's not quite done.

Here is the door after one coat of finish.

After three coats of finish on top of the stain and the hardware installed. (Sorry it kind of blends in with the plywood behind it. The door really is pretty. Really.)

Unfortunately, I have already put a good, long scratch in the door while wrestling around with it. Aarghh!

Also see:
Pocket Door 1
Pocket Door 2
Pocket Door 3
Pocket Door 4
Pocket Door 5

Siding (South Wall) 1

With all the staining of cedar shingles I did this winter, you might imagine that I would have shingles ready to start siding the JayBee. Nice thought, but wrong. When I was staining shingles, I kept setting aside the more beat up shingles to use for the starter course because they will be completely covered with other shingles. So, yesterday, I cut those shingles down for the starter course, and I stained them.

Then I built a guide to use to help me place the starter course even and level.

Installing the guide by myself was a challenge but, eventually, I got it done.

When I started installing the starter course this morning, I was (briefly) zipping along. Then I encountered all the spots that needed special carving.

Like around the wheel well.

Every time I cut a shingle, I also have to stain the cut edges. Very slow going. I switched to the other end, but then had to cut every shingle that goes under and around the entryway step.

Eventually I finished the starter course.

Next, I lowered the guide by a half inch. By having the outer shingles hang down a half inch over the starter course, the shingles will drain water better.

I had to repeat all the individual cuts I made on the starter course on this set of shingles as well.

Finally, by the end of the day, the bottom row of shingles was done!

Also see:
Siding (South Wall) 2
Siding (South Wall) 3
Siding (South Wall) 4
Siding (South Wall) 5
Siding (South Wall) 6
Siding (South Wall) 7
Siding (South Wall) 8
Siding (South Wall) 9
Siding (South Wall) 10
Siding (South Wall) 11
Siding (South Wall) 12
Siding (South Wall) 13
Siding (South Wall) 14
Siding (South Wall) 15
Siding (South Wall) 16
Siding (South Wall) 17
Siding (South Wall) 18


First thing this morning, two deer were eating on the hillside directly behind the JayBee. One of the deer and I stared at each other without moving for quite awhile--until Bear came along and startled the deer. Here it is bounding up the hill.

Here's the culprit...with the deer watching us from on top of the hill.

It turns out there was a family of four deer hanging out behind the JayBee--a big mama and three adolescents. I didn't get any more photos, but I enjoyed watching them on and off for almost an hour.

Spinning My Wheels

Last week, especially the second half of the week, I felt a bit like I was spinning my wheels. It began with being stood up by two contractors in one day. No calls, just no shows. How do people run their businesses this way?

I did end up having a great meeting later in the week with a guy who can do the septic and water hookups for the JayBee. He was so great, in fact, that he creatively cooked up new possibilities. Sometimes numerous options are not freeing; for me, they often add more confusion and indecision. I stewed for days--writing pro-con lists, worrying, hemming and hawing. The issue is that I'm worried about the base the JayBee sits on. Here's a photo I took a few weeks ago. When the frost started coming out of the ground, this post went crazy tilted.

The post has since straightened itself out, but it was a dramatic reminder that I need to figure out a better base for the JayBee or I will be dealing with major problems every winter and spring. The contractor and I cooked up an option to move the JayBee out of its current spot and place it on a well-constructed pad. This is not the plan I've had in my mind for years, but I think it's a good option. In addition to giving the JayBee a better base to sit on, it will make the septic, water, electric, and propane hookups all better. The scary part is that it gives me a lot more work to do over the next few months than what I'd planned. I'll explain more about this as my plans coalesce over the next few weeks.

Even though I was stewing for days, I kept trying to get little things done. I installed trim and a base for an outdoor motion- and light-sensing light.

I started putting caulk around the window trim. (Sorry, no pictures of that.) What a tedious job that is! I added coats of poly to the pocket door. (I'll do a separate post about that soon.) I also did a bunch of setup for starting to install the shingle siding. (See my next post about that.) I met with a plumber, but it was a weird meeting; I think I have to keep looking.

In the meantime...

With the bamboo all knocked down, I can see the trunk of that tree that fell over onto my drain field last fall. It is huge--almost three feet in diameter!

Boat traffic is out on the river again.

The cats and I did a woods ramble the other day.