Friday, June 22, 2018
Getting thrashed like a rented mule in the hot sun
A project came to me recently that apparently no one else would tackle .
The cedar clapboards on south facing wall of this house built in the early nineties were having some issues . A lot of the siding was curling off the wall , and needed replacing . Seems that the original builder did not bother to nail the siding in to the studs , and most of the nails were simply in the sheathing . So twenty five years of weather were taking their toll on it . So after coming up with a price estimate , I got roped in to doing the job . So last Monday I bought and delivered eighteen hundred dollars worth of new premium grade pre-primed cedar clapboards .
By the Tuesday we had the bottom stripped off and resided . It was about ninety degrees and about sixty five percent humidity. Not fun at all . Got burned to a crisp too , as I forgot to bring any suntan lotion .
Wednesday was also a slow going and we did not get that far . Got the pump staging set up and made it to just above the first story windows .
By Thursday afternoon we got above the second story windows .
Friday we got beyond the use of the pump staging , so I took it down first thing in the morning , and used the ladders instead . By noontime I got the peak on the gable end done . That's my friend and helper for the week , Jonathan filling in a clapboard we had left out for the pump staging braces .
Friday afternoon we tackled the dormer side . Did I mention I hate heights ? That's me about twenty eight feet in the air . I had to struggle real hard to overcome my sense of vertigo and keep pounding away in the blazing sun while the occasional horse fly tried to bore a hole in my leg .
It don't seem that high from down below , but I can assure you , from up above , it looks like a long way down to the ground .
By four thirty we had it all done and cleaned up . Someone please kick some sense in to me the next time I agree to take on such a project . I am way too old for this sort of monkey business . And right now I am sore all over and my body aches like a thrashed rented mule .
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Old or not, it seems you are an efficient monkey.
ReplyDeleteIt all seemed like one of those nightmares where you try to run but your feet are caught in mud .
Deletea pefect job... again!
ReplyDeleteIt was a job well done , and I think the customer is getting a good deal . A perfect job would be siting in an easy chair in an airconditioned room .
DeleteHaha! - Some things we have to learn the hard way!
ReplyDeleteI guess I am a slow learner . I've been swinging a hammer for over thirty five years and keep falling for these brutal jobs.
Deletetry to get the price to include some agony pay. especially in hot weather.
ReplyDeletecedar oil spray for legs to fend off bugs. test first to see if you are allergic.
Hi Deb, Agony pay, I shall have to remember that next time. As for cedar oil I am allergic to cedar sawdust. Thirty five years of exposure to it have done me in. That is why I had to get my friend Jonathan to be my saw man on this project and I was up on the ladder swinging the hammer. The worst of it is over for now. I need to do some minor repairs on a few spots around the rest of the house, but nothing major.
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