42. Lots of Progress

I had a great title picked out on the way home, but at this hour it escapes me.  I was going to wait until tomorrow to post these, but since my neighbor decided to serenade me with Mexican music at 3am I decided "what better time to update my blog?"

Don is almost finished with the wall construction.  Here he is using the skid-steer loader to put dirt back inside the wall.  It's important to let the concrete cure before you do this - for obvious reasons.  That wall is solid - I don't know all the lingo but there is concrete going up, down and all the way around the top.  I may have them help with the driveway, asbestos removal and painting of the house when I apply for that City grant I mentioned way back when.

Here's the view from the top - there is a little bit of the wall left  - and then the fence can go on top.  It's turned out to be a nice sized back yard for the dogs and barbecues and a swimming pool - well, probably not the swimming pool.  Wouldn't mind having a hot tub out there though... just a thought.

Now for the part you've been waiting for:  today was the day the siding goes up!  Here we have the front door removed, a couple of studs added in it's place.  The wiring for the front porch light, foyer light and ceiling fans is complete.  You can see the first board in place on the bottom - and Roscoe is officially the last one in 100 years to ever use that opening as a doorway.

And yes, my mystery guest did show up - this is Dave.  If you remember a few weeks ago I mentioned him a few times, he's the one at Superior Trim and Door that helped me locate a supplier for the siding.  It just so happens that he started out in his business as a trim carpenter, and ran a crew for many years.  When I heard that, how could I help but ask?  He was happy to volunteer and we had a fun time working together - an 11 hour day!  He is earning a free room if he wants it for bike week and speed week, which he attends every year.  It's a win-win situation.

Of course Roscoe wanted to be right in the middle of everything - all covered with saw dust and taking a nap on the chop saw.

I still have to finish the trim on the window - I'm actually going to repair the sash cords first, and get as much of the paint off of it as possible.  Then do the same for the trim - I may break out the heat gun in one of the upcoming episodes to get the old paint off.  I just love it.

Thanks to Dave I didn't even have to lift the framing nail gun I rented at Home Depot for this project - I would probably have my arm in a sling by now if I had to do it all myself.  I actually had a good laugh thinking about the fact that I had planned to do this project without any help - once we got going I saw how ridiculous that would have been.  I made Dave the boss for the day and I was the assistant.  I have been so excited to get to this point - to see the front finished like this.  Sometimes I am amazed at how well things work out - all in their own time.

The Mexican music just shut off so I'm going to try to go back to bed.  I'll leave you with this parting shot.