Exterior nears completion

This is our last day working for a little while since I’m heading back out to Pittsburgh for a few weeks. The east window awning was our last to put up, unfortunately it was also the most difficult because we only have about 1-foot of deck on that side so we needed to rely more heavily on ladders for this one. Working with ladders is also a little precarious since we have to be cautious not to accidentally put the ladder through a window.

Unfortunately, many of the barn boards had significant cracking and rotting, but dad did a good job of trimming off the bad parts and selecting suitable lengths that we could work around. The barn boards may not hold up forever, but they sure are nice looking, and at least they’re not just getting eaten by bugs in the garage.

Maybe I’m getting a little excessively meticulous with the jigsaw?

All in all, everything went pretty smoothly today. We managed to get the rest of the barn board siding up. The north side is still just house wrap, but we’re planning on siding that with corrugated steel paneling. It’s not as pretty as the barn boards, but it’s very lightweight and should more effectively mitigate potential moisture issues related to being on the shady side.

The little bench grandpa built fits nicely on the porch.

Now we’ll take a break for a few weeks. When I return, we’ll probably add railings and maybe start on the crow’s nest? Time will tell!