Somethings Rotten ..
In the state of Xanadu. I finished painting and installing the ceiling panels. Installed a new porch light ( waiting for another one to arrive) Even hung the horse shoe, after painting it gold. Sharpens up the old Front porch:
Ah, lovely. Some porch and floor enamal and then paint the grate at the top of the stairs. Oh Well the best laid plans.. of course when I removed the grate I found that there was dry rot on the landing, the part that holds the grate, and sometimes a couple of people laden with supplies:
And where there is a little dry rot there is usually a lot. Here is what 20 penny nails look like when they have absorbed water for 20 years or more. And these nails were holding up the entire grate.
The wood wasn't preserved in any way. The uprights had endgrain exposed to water. Where the two by material was joined to the side pieces a natural water trap formed. Bad design, faulty construction. Not good for wood.
As Mike Holmes says: " I decided to take the whole thing down." Well, just the top landing. I have a great sawzall and it made short work of the deconstruction.
Of course I had to build support scaffolding to keep the porch from falling away from the house.. This project just keeps getting bigger. The thing is: I want it right, not hoojeeballed in any way. Hoojeeballed is a word we've coined for banging things together without regard for doing it the right way. The good enough for now mindset. Think of the "Canada's Worst Handyman' T.V. show. I want it done right the first time. The learning here, for me, is always check the basic structure, before doing any upgrades. Paint is nice but it won't hold the structure up. I suppose the life lesson is that the basics need to be covered. Don't know why I have to keep having that lesson. Maybe because I keep needing to?
Ah, lovely. Some porch and floor enamal and then paint the grate at the top of the stairs. Oh Well the best laid plans.. of course when I removed the grate I found that there was dry rot on the landing, the part that holds the grate, and sometimes a couple of people laden with supplies:And where there is a little dry rot there is usually a lot. Here is what 20 penny nails look like when they have absorbed water for 20 years or more. And these nails were holding up the entire grate.The wood wasn't preserved in any way. The uprights had endgrain exposed to water. Where the two by material was joined to the side pieces a natural water trap formed. Bad design, faulty construction. Not good for wood.
As Mike Holmes says: " I decided to take the whole thing down." Well, just the top landing. I have a great sawzall and it made short work of the deconstruction.
Of course I had to build support scaffolding to keep the porch from falling away from the house.. This project just keeps getting bigger. The thing is: I want it right, not hoojeeballed in any way. Hoojeeballed is a word we've coined for banging things together without regard for doing it the right way. The good enough for now mindset. Think of the "Canada's Worst Handyman' T.V. show. I want it done right the first time. The learning here, for me, is always check the basic structure, before doing any upgrades. Paint is nice but it won't hold the structure up. I suppose the life lesson is that the basics need to be covered. Don't know why I have to keep having that lesson. Maybe because I keep needing to?
Comments