I finished digging out our rain garden along the street and then it rained. It washed out part of the barrier along the street and filled completely. Lipstick plant is planted in a back corner.
It was too deep so, after it drained, I added fill and rocks along the street.
A neighbor (from across the street) surprised us with this lovely pot of flowers! She expressed appreciation for the work we were doing, knew we had many delays from rain and hoped that we would get our painting done before it rained again (I did get the painting done!) She said she hoped it would brighten our day for us! So kind and thoughtful! It definitely did brighten our day!
Rain has delayed us many times. We are almost ready to put on the sheathing but took a break for my high school reunion and a visit to my sister and brother-in-law. The 2×4 overhangs and 2×4 side fascia are painted and installed. The 2×6 gable fascias are painted and ready for installation.
The 1900 house was built with boards on the roof instead of OSB or plywood and the lines of joining show below the exterior exposed truss extensions. We wanted that look for the garage so Steven routed ‘grooves’ in sheets of plywood to give the look of boards in the exposed soffit area. He routed 11 sheets of 4 X 8 plywood.
I started painting the back of the house the light rose color. The middle section was a bit scary as I was painting around high voltage wire using a metal ladder. I wasn’t able to finish as I am running out of paint. We used flat paint. Steven wants us to experiment with satin/semi-gloss to see if it looks better. I am still debating what color to paint the basement cement. I think the darkest color to ground the house.
I finished laying the flagstone to a few feet from the street pavement. We will finish that area with stained cement to the street so snow plows in the winter will not disturb the pavers. We have gotten many complements from passers-by. Steven finished installing the sheathing on the gable ends.
Dirt was removed from the front garden so the flagstone pavers could be continued for the sidewalk. The garden was extended, first by laying layers of newspaper onto of the grass and placing the dirt on top of the newspapers. A brick sidewalk that had previously been laid was removed & the bricks lined the edge of the new garden.
We got all 13 trusses in place! Definitely a learning experience but it definitely can be done by 2 people with ingenuity.
The first day we put up one end truss, today we installed 4 of 11 middle trusses. We have our technique down so we hope to get the last 8 trusses up tomorrow.
Steven trimmed the truss to fit the top plate and we now have one truss in place. Then we went to a potluck picnic where only three other people other than us showed up!
