Rain, Head Cold, Dead Battery

Really...what more could go wrong.

So much to do. So little time.

But before everything stopped dead in the water, we did finish installing the risers and railings by the staircase to the barn loft.
We also biscuit joined, glued, and assembled the railing cap for the railing by the kitchen door. Unfortunately the rain made installation impossible today.

Bits and Pieces of Deck

This photo is for my cousin, Judy.
We ran out of steam and lumber at this point.
I found a piece of 2 X 8 that was in good condition so I worked on this little piece of cap. It still needs cutting to the correct length.
The deck is almost done for the winter. We are really pleased with how sturdy it feels. But we will not be happy until we have the cap on all the railings. It appears too modern for house without the cap.

Vintage Lighting and Hardware For Sale

I listed for sale some of the items that I am not using in our house restoration. You can view them by clicking on my Etsy shop that is located on the right side of the screen. Make sure you contact me through Etsy before you purchase and I will deduct 10% off the listing price because you are a reader of this blog.

I also have several other items that I did not list on Etsy.

One pink and one mint green bathroom sink. Wall mount. American Standard.

One very large rad cover. I don't have the measurements right now but it is double wide and has a lid that can be lifted to expose a tray that you fill with water to add humidity to the air.

One solid fir entry door. Mortised for a large lock set with a cylinder lock. The door has 4 recessed panels and 4 small windows at the top. The large brass thumb latch entry handles would work perfect with this door. This door came off a 1920-1930 house. Door is currently painted but appears to be in very good condition and would look fabulous stripped and stained.
Door is 1 3/4 inches thick and 36 inches wide X 79.5 tall.

If any of these items interest you, just ask and I will send photos and dimensions.

When I ship, I always try and recycle packing materials to keep cost down and to keep stuff out of the land fills.

Making Progress

The lumber pile is gone. Yippee!We installed two risers and one post today. Doesn't seem like a lot but the treads were slow go on the removal and the risers needed to be cut to fit.
The forecast for tomorrow is sun and 60 degrees!!!! Lets hope it really does warm up because I drained all the garden hoses the other day but they still need to be rolled up. The sun really helps when it comes to rolling up the hoses for the winter.

Plus, I want to gather some of the thousands of black walnuts we have laying around. Last year I purchased 4 ozs of crushed black walnuts for a recipe and I had to pay 6 bucks. I understand the shells are very hard but we have several vises (not bad habits that vices not vises) and it's not like I will be crushing hundreds of black walnuts or will I? I have no idea how many black walnuts it takes to make an ounce. Every time a walnut falls from the tree...R says..."there goes another 10 cents!!!"

Tomorrow night I will be listing vintage hardware and lighting on my Etsy shop (located on the right side of my blog). I will post when they become available. If you are interested in something let me know before you buy and I will adjust the price down by 10%. OR maybe you have something you want to trade. Let me know what you have and maybe we can work something out.

I do have a thick solid fir entry door taken from a late 20's early 30's Cape Cod style house that I would like to trade or sell. The door is a traditional 6 panel style with 4 small windows at the top. Door is in very good condition and is mortised for a large lock set and cylinder lock. I also have a great solid brass thumb latch entry set (ext and interior) that would look great on this door. I will post a photo of the door tomorrow. I believe the door is 36 inches wide but I will measure tomorrow.

Winding down the summer projects

Once the rain stops we will try and finish up the last few deck details that need to be attended to before the long cold winter sets in here in Michigan.

In the last couple of days we have installed the last of the balusters. I am glad that that particular job is over. Each baluster needed cutting, sanding (from extreme sanding to light sanding), and drilling (both a pilot hole and countersunk hole for wood button).On the TBCBW list (to be completed before winter) are install riser boards on the two old staircases, install 4 remaining posts near the old staircases, and install two small pieces of the 2 X 10 that we used to wrap the old rim joist. When this is completed we can install two small sections of railing that connect the two staircases. I estimate that each section will only require 2 balusters each. I saved the least desirable balusters for this small project because they will be hidden out of sight.Looks like the next available outside work day will be on Friday.

Windy

Nearly blew me off the deck today.We installed the posts across the back of the deck and added the top 2 X 4 which the balusters will be screwed to.

Brrrrr...winter is around the corner and I have so much yard work yet to do this year.

In between the rain drops...

.....we installed several more posts on the deck.We had two saws and 1 compressor running at the same time. I'm surprised that the electric meter didn't spin off the side of the house. R was using the circular saw, I was using the chop saw, and the compressor was running because we were using a pneumatic disk sander/grinder.

Tomorrow's weather forecast is for cold, windy, but sunny. We'll take it! Anything but rain.

Deck progress is heading toward the barn and the stair cases. The plan is for the stairs and the little deck by the loft door to be left until spring time. We have 6 more posts to install and a bazillion balusters.
Our deck lumber pile is getting smaller and smaller......yea!!!!I will be very happy when the pile is GONE!

We found ourselves in the Home Depot parking lot.

That is how you know that you are going to Home Depot too often.

R and I needed to go to Tractor Supply Company for carriage bolts. We got in the SUV and drove to Home Depot, got out, started walking to the door, when I turned to R and said, "I forgot....what do we have to get here?" R stopped and said "I don't know."

Down to Balusters and Posts

The last two days have been perfect working weather. Not too hot and not too cold. Sunny and not windy. Lets hope it continues for another couple of days.

We are FINALLY down to balusters and posts. We will wait to put on the 2X8 railing cap unless Home Depot and Lowe's receive new loads of pressure treated lumber. The lumber picking has been dismal especially in the baluster category where all that is left is curved and split balusters. I think they might have better looking lumber in the spring.

Tomorrow should be a lot of fun.

The Last 2 X 12......hoorah!!!!!

We are so happy to be done with the 2 X 12's. They are so difficult to handle and even more of a hassle when trying to find a good one at Home Depot or where ever we are trying to score some good looking lumber.The deck is moving along nicely but slowly. We have been enjoying this pleasant weather which makes deck building soooo much easier. Last week was cold and rainy and windy...lets not forget the wind.

I have a terrible feeling that winter will come early this year. So to try and counteract that from occurring, I will prepare for winter early. Starting tomorrow I will start to put away summer items in the yard and cut back my perennials.

A lot of my annuals are almost dead due to the unbearable hot stretch of weather we had in July and August. I kept them watered but the heat was too much for them. My flowerbeds and pots will look better empty.

I' try and take some better photos tomorrow. It seems like every time I think to take photos, it's already too late in the evening.

Back at it....

Back to deck building. Today we were able to install 2 sections of the 2 X 12 that we are using to wrap the old rim joist. We were also able to cut two posts and all they need is a good sanding and they will be ready to install.I will be so happy when I can either put away or throw away all the piles of scrap lumber that we have laying around. I'd throw some of the pieces away right now but the minute you toss a piece in the fire or trash, we'll need it 10 minutes later.