Sunday, April 29, 2018

Small Shutters and Raking...

...so much raking.
 All the shutters are hung on the garden shed.  I even painted the frames of the 3 screens.  We need to build a 4th screen for the last window and when we get caught up with all the spring raking we will make one.
Today we discussed that we need storm windows for the shed to keep out the cold wind in the winter. This is more than a garden shed.  In the basement of this shed is the pressure tank for our well.  Because it is below grade it stays above 32 degrees unless the weather is brutal.  So we figure that if we have spray foam insulation in the walls and storms on the windows we should be fine with just heat tape on the pipes.  Normally the heat tape doesn't kick on until the pipes are close to 32 degrees.  If we can keep it at 40 degrees then the heat tape will never come on and will not use any electricity.

We also replaced two broken panes.  All 4 windows need to be reglazed and the paint stripped off the wood parts and repainted.  This is something that I can do one window at a time during the summer while we hang cedar shingles.

The trash pick up guys will probably not be happy with us tomorrow.  We put out 20 trash cans full of leaves.  We need to blow the leaves out from around the lilac bushes out by the street and then we will be done with that area.  R fertilized because it started to sprinkle and rain was in the forecast.  So far....no rain.

Spring clean up is one of my least favorite chores that we do.  But one of my favorite chores is mowing the yard for the first time every year.  Something about the smell of the cut grass and turning the semi green lawn scattered with leaves and dead grass into a nice green lawn is so rewarding.

But by the end of June, lawn mowing has lost most of it's luster and it is just another weekly chore.  Really it is just like any other task that you do that is the same day in and day out.  Like painting your entire house....by the third gallon of the same color it becomes monotonous.  

Some people do one job at a time rather than multiple tasks at various levels of completion all going at the same time.  We are of the latter because we have to work around the weather, finding parts for various projects, and working around the budget. 

So here is what is currently happening or going to happen in the near future. 

Finish the raking
Buy plants for the pots and window boxes
Take the outdoor furniture cushions to upholsterer for new fabric
Build a peaked roof on the almost flat roof on the back of the house (probably hire this out)
Remove third chimney (not in use) need space and don't need the chance of a roof leak
Have chimney repair guy rebuild or repoint the two chimneys that are for the three fireplaces
Power wash the two chimneys to remove the pale yellow paint
Have retaining wall built and patio pored with exposed aggregate 
Remove old cedar shingles off the back of the house
Strip old paint from windows and trim on the back of the house
Fix any broken or missing sheathing
Install new cedar shingles
Order and install the last two windows that need replacing with restoration windows
Order custom sized exterior french doors for the master bedroom  
Build Juliet balcony off of master bedroom
Remove old garage door under the deck and close it off
Move basement door to where garage door was & install original house window where the door was
Paint house and barn
Work on two secret projects 

Whoa....I need a nap after reading that list.  But like everything else that we do, we will do it one step at a time and make sure we do it right so we don't have to re do it in 5 years.

Reuse Repurpose Recycle

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