Porchsign

At last, the ghost of a front porch appears. The structural timbers are 4x4 Ipe, which is the same material we're using for the handrail posts on the rest of the deck.

Rear Deck Prep

The concrete footings for the back deck, poured yesterday, are hard to see in this photo. The pressure treated ledger went on today. The inside corners created by the stair tower have slowed things down from time to time, mostly because of runoff water management. We don't want water getting in the cracks and causing damage inside the structure or behind the siding, so getting the flashing cut right and in place correctly is somewhat tedious work.

Construction on the rear deck should begin on Friday or early next week.

The 90 Degree Shot

It reached (or got very close to) 90 degrees F today. Rachael brought in lemonade for the crew at 10:30 this morning to help cool things down. Despite the heat, more of the Tyvek wrap disappeared under the steadily growing field of cedar siding.

• 5/31 :: Daniel adds : That cedar siding is so good looking, are you going to paint it?

• 5/31 :: We add : It's paint-grade cedar, so because of the glue that helps keep it together, we're obligated to put some kind of protective coating on it. We were initially thinking we'd stain and seal it, but we think the UV will still pass through whatever clear sealer we use and compromise the glue. We've also been cutting and mounting it with gaps along trim to allow room for caulk, which we wouldn't do if we were hanging stain-grade cedar. This bare cedar does look good, but we're pretty confident we'll have an equally good look once the paint is on.
  

Kitchen Paint

The Jackson Tan is creeping into the kitchen from the hallway (at left behind ladders). Those are paint spots on the walls, not a dirty lens. Rachael and I did some finger painting this evening to color code the walls for the painters.

Red Room Reborn

Now that the carpet is in (thanks Dave!), the second floor bedroom is starting to look a lot like our bedroom at the Liebe Street house.