Windows and siding

We have been putting in windows (most went in in June, but 3 had to be reordered, as the plans and the framing and the order didn't all agree; we're still waiting on a tempered glass window by the front door that has been wrong twice. Tempered glass is stronger so bad guys can't break the window, reach in and open the door). We hired the framers (Dean and his helper Ryan) to put the windows in: they work fast and do good work, and James especially wanted someone else to do the upstairs windows since he doesn't like heights. The windows in the first picture are the home office and master bedroom; they face south, and are at least 15 feet up in the air, as this is the downhill end of the house that sits above 12 feet of foundation. This is the only part of the house that does not have a porch or deck; it's a LONG way down from those windows, we had to rent extra-long ladders to do that stretch.

Picture #2 is Patrick being put to work. The siding is Certain-Teed (off brand of Hardy Plank, made of cement, and comes preprimed on the outside). For the south-facing wall of the house, which gets the worst weather exposure and is the only side of the house without a porch to protect it, we primed the back of the siding as well as the side that faces out. Patrick managed to not get the primer paint on his clothes! (Can't say that about Boy Scout camp, when he came home with green paint on his scout pants..)

Patrick has spent most of his summer vacation working on the house with James - doing lots of site cleanup, and helping build the deck (that'll be another post). The two of them have loaded up several trailers full of debris to go to the dump. Patrick gets a break from construction during Boy Scout National Jamboree in late July (he left on July 21st, on a plane full of 120 scouts)

Picture #3 shows siding on the upstairs gable, done by the framers (remember James doesn't like heights...) and picture #4 shows them working on the front of the garage. By now all the upstairs siding is on, and the downstairs siding should get finished this week.