Whiter Than White

Work on the gable has progressed. In fact, my pictures are sadly over-exposed, so bright is the repaired and painted woodwork.

Even the nasty plywood plug where the broken window used to be looks acceptable. Also, Billy made me two new knobs for the ornamental inverted railing.

I'm working my way back down to the ground, taking down scaffolding frames as I descend, because I will need them for another long-deferred project--to be discussed in the next post.

This Old House: July

The south face--the front--was the first to be renovated, though you wouldn't know it to look at it now. The gable face is peeling, one long stretch of crown moulding is too far gone to salvage, and all the paint on the eaves has vanished. Time flies; nothing is constant but decay. I think we will have to replace the shingles below the upper bay window--I'm pretty sure they are poorly sealed; there's no sign of flashing at the panel edges and I think the underlay of tar paper has gone to dust. I started by installing a new double-hung window on the ground floor, and then put in new casements in the second floor bay using triangular platforms supported partly by the scaffolding and partly by posts descending to the ground. They seemed fairly stable. One window proved a disappointment: it does not quite close by the crank, which is either installed incorrectly or adjusted badly. I am growing disenchanted with Global and Target.

We have had a few big storms since I set up the scaffolding, but happily it didn't go anywhere--it's pegged directly to the building at three points. Eventually I went one frame higher, so I could fasten the roof directly to the new crown moulding I installed on the right hand side. Birds had pecked themselves little hollows in the wood so they could squeeze into the cosy nests they had build in the eaves. That would explain the sudden popularity of the front gable with all those pigeons. I can see I will finally have to replace the moulding on the right hand side of the broken cornice--it's been a mass of old finishing nails and new air nails for years. I think I can revitalize the top plate above the cornice board with some primer and paint. The real trick is going to be getting in to paint the little false roof above the upper bay. I will probably have to build secondary platforms on the triangular platforms to get enough height to reach in. What was Howard thinking (WWHT?)?

Even at this stage, it begins to look much better. Getting paint on is such a relief (the improved version will be featured in the next post). I must say, though, you do get a nice view from the scaffolding, peeling paint aside. At such moments the slightly mad gallery idea really fires my imagination. With so much left to do at the foundation level, should I really be reaching for the sky?