The Reno train keeps moving along!

The renovation work has continued since Covid-19 still keeps us socially distanced from those we love and many of the things we do.  We find joy in working on and around the house.  This shot is of Chet washing siding. This is something he does well as long as I have the time to stand there with him.

Another big project has been painting all the white trim on the house.  It has been labor intensive--lots of scraping and prep is needed before the paint actually goes on.  A good paint job is 90 percent prep and when one is dealing with areas that have not been painted for many years this is especially true.  On the upside, it was a good reason to buy a small orbital hand sander for myself!  The trim looks fresh and crisp now. The only trim that remains I have to rent a big ladder for as it is under those windows at the very top in the picture above.

I have now also begun work on the porch interior.  That space you see in the picture will someday have screens that my wife and I want to make. Today I sanded the floor. It has been covered for 40 years by that fake grass stuff.  It is now sanded and it appears there is only one area that really requires some attention.  I think there is a rotted joist that we will have to sister a board to and then put a patch of new tongue and groove there.  Can you tell I amuse myself watching DIY youtube videos?

The floor will eventually be painted with gray enamel.  Then we will put an indoor outdoor area rug down and my wife will have a nearby little oasis when she has a few minutes to relax.

Home Inprovement with Chet

Another weekend in quarentine, another weekend of house projects.  Saturday the weather was damp and threatening most of the day. So the day of painting that I had planned could not happen.  However it was warm enough that Chet could start washing the siding of the house.  This is how we spent Saturday morning, he and I. He can't do the job without active supervision but if I am there to keep him focussed, he does very well and is always very proud of his efforts.  We got one and a half sides of the house washed and he got to stand on our new 6 foot step ladder (successfully with no forays to urgent care needed!) He was extra excited and proud of that.  Finding ways Chet can help without injuring himself or someone else is often a challenge.  This is a job that will keep him busy for a while as our house is really big.  We can't get up to the very top of our house but we can get way up past the average sight line and the lower areas are the areas with the most dust and dirt anyway!

Rain came in during the afternoon and prevented our Saturday fire pit gathering.  Actually we got in about 20 or 30 minutes before the rain came back and chased us inside.  Today K and I were able to start painting our front porch.  We have decided we don't like the way the columns came out and I went out and purchased a small orbital sander to take down the paint more on those and get a better smoother coverage.  We painted the walls on the inside of the front porch as well and those look good.  Tomorrow I will test out the sander and hopefully have a smoother surface for a more even coverage.  I am picky about things like that.  It is better to take the time and get the job done correctly.  

We also planted potatos and onions at our community garden plot.  And because summer should always have some silliness-even in times like this--we had ice cream for supper from one of the best local ice cream stands around.  You can't get cones and only one person can pick up the order and you can't eat (even outside) on the premises, but it was still fresh home made ice cream and sooooo delicious.

I thought I would be sanding the porch and hall floors this weekend but unless i have time to sand and paint after work that may be another week out. We shall see!