Update on the Game Room Roof

Progress has been slow due to the weather, appointments, and the fact that we are rookie roof framers.  The weather is cooler colder but not too bad, but it is the rain that is the problem.  We worked on the roof one afternoon while the precipitation waffled back and forth between a mist and small rain drops.  We finally quit when the deck started getting slippery because all of the leaves that fell in just 2 days.

The photo below was taken several days ago (so we are further along) and we are ready to put plywood sheathing on the gable end.  We had to wait until we knew what our roof pitch would be before we could settle on a gable vent style.  The house has two styles of gable vents and one of the vent styles is in the photo below and at the top of the photo.  

Our roof pitch is one that doesn't have a ready made gable vent in this style so we are going with the style of gable vent in the photo below.

We can make the vent after we finish with the roof as long as we make the cut out for the vent before we sheath the roof.

So that is where we are with the roof but we are getting there.  We are getting burned out on this project so the day we put down the felt paper and nail the drip edge on can't happen soon enough.  The roof shingle part will be hired out.  

We removed all the plants from the window boxes and the bareness is killing me so my plan is to fill one window box a day with evergreen cuttings.  One year I waited too long and the soil was frozen solid so I had to use hot water to thaw it out.  That was both a hot and cold mess.

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Other Places to Use Solar Landscaping Lights

 Landscape lights can highlight a feature such as decorative brickwork or an ornamental tree.  It can lead your guests to the front door or keep away burglars. It can be very subtle or a flood light washing an entire wall with light.  The only limit is your imagination.

I really like landscape lighting but I don't like to pay for the electricity for those lights.  So I tried the regular solar lights several years ago and was not impressed.  Since then they have come out with solar LED lights and WOW what a difference.  BUT they were rather pricey BUT that has changed and now solar LED lights are not only brighter but less expensive.

 Right now is the time to buy your solar LED lights because most stores have them marked down on their summer clearances.  I picked up an assortment of sizes, styles, and lumens the other day while shopping for lily bulbs that were on sale.

Lumens?  Lumens equal light output.  The brighter the light, the higher the lumens.  The higher the lumens the higher the price will be for that solar LED light.

  

Sometimes you may not want to have a BRIGHT light such as in your flower pots or windows boxes.  I placed a small low lumen solar LED light ($2.59) in a potted geranium and love the slight glow that it emits when the sun went down.

See the solar light tucked in between the flowers.

So that got me thinking......why not put solar LED lights in my window boxes?  And so I did and loooovvveee it.  Window boxes are the perfect place for low lumen solar LED lights.  My house now has a little glow in front of each of the front windows.

I so need to dead head my flowers.

Does the light shine into the house? No, the lumens are low and I placed the light in front of the flowers so the light coming out of the back of the light is somewhat obscured by the flowers. The flowers also give the light a more dappled effect.

Tomorrow I am going to put a few higher lumen solar LED lights in the flower pots by my front door.  Those pots are larger so I can use the larger sized lights that have a higher lumen without the lights overpowering the flowers. You cannot even see the lights unless you know where to look.

Oh I just had a LED light bulb turn on over my head.  I usually add evergreen branches to my window boxes in the winter.  Wouldn't it look great with solar lights, evergreen branches, and snow?

Where would you put a solar LED light?

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More Hostas and Plants that Smell.....

.....like cola or popcorn.  

This plant smells exactly like a glass of Coca Cola.  

 This plant smells just like popcorn.  

 I wonder how they make that happen.

 The popcorn plant has a very interesting flower with the bright yellow flower than starts out as a dark bud.  Kind of like how popcorn looks before it pops.

And of course I found 4 more hostas that I didn't have along with a hosta that I already have but needed another one.

Left to right is Ivory Queen, Fire Island which is a bright yellow hosta with red petioles (stalks), Remember Me, Shadowland Autumn Frost, and Moonstruck.  Just in case you think that I have tweaked with the color by using a Photoshop app.....nope the colors are that bright and I don't Photoshop any of my photos.  I know a lot of bloggers and Instagram users do that but I don't.

I bet you are wondering why these hostas have such vivid color.  It is because they grow in the shade or only sun in the morning.  I know that the tag says part sun and some people believe full sun.  Yes, they will grow in those conditions but you won't see vivid colors.  Instead you will have bleached out leaves that by August will also be brown on the edges.  

Today I planted the window boxes on the house.  I used bright red geraniums and red, white, and dark purple petunias.  I also planted the pots on my front porch using the same flowers plus white petunias.

I still need to plant the pots and flower boxes on my deck and three hanging baskets.  The boxes will have the same flowers as the window boxes on the house and the hanging baskets will have just petunias. 

Petunias need a couple of weeks to grow before they are photo ready. My mother was always diligent about pinching off dead flowers or long stems.  Because of this, her petunias were always very full and lush.  I am going to try and be more diligent about that and hopefully mine will still look good by August. 

We have had great weather the last couple of days but the forecast is for a couple of days of rain.  

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1960's Craftsman Table Saw Refurbish Part 7

You can catch up by clicking on the links below if you are new to this project.

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Part 5

Part 6

Brrrr it was cold outside today.  It was actually deceiving from inside the house.  All bright and sunny and then you step outside and get hit with a blast of 38 degree wind in your face.  The wind was coming out of the north and I really thought that the deck would be warmer because it faces south and is protected from the north.  But it was windy on the deck, too.  It is March and I have to keep telling myself  "it's March, slow your roll because it will be 80 degrees before you know it." 

R worked on sanding the 2 window boxes that my dad had built for my mother.  They are painted black and had some peeling paint so he hit them with the belt sander because I want to paint them white.  Then he decided to replace one little end piece that had some rot....then he decided to replace the bottom as well.  

Before cleaning

After

I worked on cleaning the table saw.  I used a little brass bristle brush on the inside to loosen dirt that looked like old saw dust mixed with oil.  Then I used a little lacquer thinner to wipe down the outside of the saw and it really brightened up the front of the saw and now you can see the design in the metal.  It ruined my manicure but the saw looks better.  I also removed the two adjusting wheels because the gunk just wasn't coming off.  Easy peasy...two set screws per handle holds the handle on.  Good news...didn't drop any of them and all 4 are in the handles and accounted for.

This is the nasty gunk that I'm going to work on getting rid of tonight.

Out in the bright sun the paint color on the outside of the saw, looked like it was dark grey in some areas, then teal grey in other areas, and finally there was a small area of actual teal color.   We decided that we will paint the outside dark grey.  

 It's going to be a little tricky taping up this label before I paint.  I could always drill out those rivets and then replace with small screws....hmmmm,  I think I will try to tape first, then see what happens. Trying not to let this project spin out of control.  We just want a nice old working table saw, not a museum piece. 

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Flower Box Tune up

Years ago I ordered windows boxes to sit in front of the upstairs windows in the shed dormers.  They looked great but they were so difficult to water and the extreme heat from the roof made it impossible to keep anything alive.  After a couple of years I quit planting them and they just stayed empty until one day I thought about buying those same window boxes to sit on my deck railing.  Then the light bulb above my head finally went on and I brought the window boxes down from their rooftop inferno and placed them on the deck railing.  All was good.......

.....until we had to look at the back of them.  

Since these are actually window boxes and not flower boxes, the back is plain because it is meant not to be seen, but seen they are and they looked awful. There is a little rot from leaves getting behind the box and then decomposing.  But it is just surface rot and will be covered up by the new trim pieces. 

The back of the flower box was finished off with the same simple design as the front of the box. We used 7/16 x 1 5/8 clear pine at a cost of $1.74 a foot.  We used our small pneumatic brad nailer to attach the pieces along with a little exterior wood glue.  The boxes are already for a little caulk, primer, and paint when the weather warms up.

R and I are chomping at the bit to get started on the back of the house but we have to keep telling ourselves that it is still the end of February/beginning of March.  We have completed a few projects like repurposing the broken work mate style table into a longer/wider saw table AND we made all the remaining board and batten shutters for the house except for one window on the second floor.  I'll do a detailed post on how to make them and where we buy the decorative hardware for the shutters.

http://www.cilibertoswoodworking.com/index.html  

Dave has made all of my window boxes and brackets.  They always arrive safely and in perfect condition.  He does very nice work and he does custom sizes, too. 

Free shipping!!!!! 

I see that he has a spring sale going for 20% off.

I think I will order the rest of my boxes for the deck!

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I painted the house today!!!!!

I painted the house today!!! On the computer, that is. I only wish it was as easy as a click here, click there. The bonus part is absolutely "NO" scraping involved.



Here's my feeble attempt at computer painting my house. I still need to "paint" 2 of the dormers.....but my arm was tired.

The house looks better dark grey than the light yellow with pale yellow trim. I love the contrast of the dark grey and crisp white.

The shutters that I am installing were built last summer by my father and I. Thanks to eBay I purchased black hinges and scroll shaped shutter dogs. The dogs are vintage, the hinges are new.

My window boxes and brackets were purchased from Dave Ciliberto in Vermont. I've been very please with the quality, packaging, and swiftness of delivery. He also makes planters and shutters.

Roger doesn't paint....so I guess I can't say...Roger, you missed a spot!!!!!