Here’s some pics of the deck all finished banister and all…
Archive for August, 2007
So Chris and I made some significant headway on the side yard fence this weekend. We have the free standing corner up and the main panel section. Overall the look is good and the neighbors can’t be happier that we’re getting rid of the awful eye-sore of a fence that was there.
So after a few fits and fights, we finally got in a groove and got it up. The basic design is one that I came up with, and Chris then had his input into. The result is something we’re both happy with, and can’t wait to finish.
<Design Image Comming soon>
Since we moved in It’s seemed like the backyard was this thing that we really didn’t want to go into. On one hand, getting there was an extreme hassle - having to go from either the front, and around on the street to access it through the gate, or go through the front bedroom and access from the other side.
Now thanks to having a deck, and a fence, I can see we’re going to be using the backyard a lot. It’s actually a good bit of space, even though the garage is there taking a chunk out of it.
So what’s left to do:
- Finish panel installation: We have two more panels to put up - though these are customized panels to fit into the small area by the gate, and at the end of the one long run.
- Acquire material for side-gate archway and gate: The plan is to have a custom gate and 8 ft high arch that reflects the same style of the house. My design for the arch calls for cladding the 4×6 posts on each side in a redwood 2×8 on the face and back, with redwood 2×4s making up the interior space. This will dress up the face of each post, and make it look like a massive redwood post holding up a true 6 x 8 redwood beam. I know it’s going to be costly for the beam, but I want to make a statement with it. Also, there will be a corbel treatment on each side of the arch to mimic the corbels on the house.
- Clad Fence Posts: Besides the arch, each of the pressure treated posts will also be clad with a redwood venieer. These will be 2×6 redwood planks except for each corner, where we’ll one 2×8 on the monterey side, and a 2×6 on the side-yard facing side.
- Put on a pretty face: We both really like the look of the redwood, and want to keep it lookin like natural. The plan is to have both the deck and the fence in natural colors. Contractor extrodinairre, Jeff has said that we should use a product called Pro-Deck. This will give us the protection and no stain will be required. I need to find out if we can use any kind of varnish on the fence to make cleaning grafitti off easier and less damaging. I know a brand new fence will be too much of temptation for taggers.
Here’s some pics from this weekend’s activities….. (Most Photos Taken by Helen Randles)
- Fence Weekend Pic - 1
I’ve got a few more pics I’ll upload to this post of the overall fence. These were taken yesterday in the cold gray light of morning.
Here’s some more pictures of the fence.
So after talking it over with Chris and good friend Al, we’ve decided to continue with the plan of installing the and gassing up the fireplaces.
Now the big decision is to find a style for both that we like. Luckily we don’t need this right now, but as we get to our rainy season we’ll want to get something done.
I’ve found some good resources and retailers of stuff we’ll need -
- Gas Log inserts
- Top-mounted Damper (only on two)
- Chimney Caps (on all three)
- Seal Chimneys
Yesterday, Plumber Extraordinaire - Phil came and ran the lines, but couldn’t finish up due to some issue. He’ll be back.
So I’ve gotten myself into quite a quandry - My plumber is coming over on friday to install the gas lines for gas log inserts into the fireplaces. We have two - one in the library, and one in the living room.
Chris and I have wanted these because we want to be green with the house (as much as possible) and a severe allergies, and smoke is no frind of mine.
The libarary fireplace is wonderful and original to the house. When I saw that fireplace, I knew I had to have the house.
The living room fireplace isn’t original - and must have been replaced at some point by someone who has no since of what’s right. Our plans are to rework the face of it and add builtin benches on each side.
Now - the real quandry is do we continue with the plan - gas inserts, or do we get the chimney’s fixed to have damper’s put in, and use real wood?
If we go with the inserts, which ones?
I’ll keep you posted.
So we tried to install the fence this weekend. Rented the two-man auger from All Star Rents to help in digging the holes.
So, Sunday, after trying to get the thing to dig into the hard clay that is Vallejo soil, we took it back. We did discover that we should have soaked the ground first. . .
Salli, neighbor across from the front of the house offered these sage words of wisdom after we tried for two hours to use the auger, and after we had discovered (like cavemen making fire) the trick ourselves.
LESSON to anyone putting up a fence in Vallejo - soak the subject ground prior trying to dig. Otherwise you’ll endup with a six-inch deep hole, and LOTS of frustration.
Pics to come.
I don’t have any pics to post just yet, but the deck is almost complete.
Items that remain to be finished - railing, and facia. We really enjoyed having use of the back door this weekend.
Another good thing happened this weekend, I found some pics I had daken during the property inspection on a seldom used memory card. So now I have plenty of before pics, that include the deck and stairs.
Tom
So on July 4th, I took initiative and started demolition work on the rotten back deck. The thing had been built with left over building scraps (inside flooring, stairs for the inside, etc.). So over the life of the home it had been painted, patched, and fixed, but never properly replaced. It was barely larger than a stoop, and was just rotten enough to be dangerous.
At first I thought I could simply repair the deck and make it sound again, saving us some money too. However, I progressed, I saw that every board had rotten parts in it, enough so that it couldn’t be saved. When it got down to it, the whole thing was torne off, and we began to plan what the new deck would look like
Bow Contractor- extraordinare, Jeff and Crew, Have the thing built with all but the banisters in three days!
I ‘ll post more detail tomorrow - I’m beat.
I just got finished reading a great article (SFGate: Garden walks a world apart: Buffalo, N.Y.) in the San Francisco Chronicle about Garden Walks in other parts of the country. These are different from Garden Tours - in that there’s no elitest aspect to the whole thing. Basically, if you like to garden, and you’re on the route, you’re on the walk. What drives “membership” is location, and desire to participate.
This got me to thinking, so many community / home events in Vallejo has been touted in the “Heritage” or “Vista” districts. What about a particular style of home, no matter the location? I wonder if Vallejo Bungalow dwellers (owners and renters) that have a green thumb, and live in a small group could pull together to organize something like this?
Currently Casa De Kitty is in no shape to be on any kind of tour other than the biggest eye-sore on the block. Chris and I are both hoping that come next year we’ll have the garden under control. It’s currently looking 100% better than when we moved in - but coming from 0% to something isn’t saying much.
So, one of the big issues we’re facing at Casa De Kitty is that the roof is in need of repair if not replacement. The home inspector said that he felt the roof was at the end of it’s life, and needed to be replaced. He also noted that the roof was made up of concrete and asbestos tile (EEK).
During the inspection period, I had two roofers come out to give me estimates of how much the roof would cost to replace. At the time, the lowest, ($23,000 - EEEEEEEEEEEK) was just too much to think about. The contractor that gave me that price also said he could repair the roof for under $1,000 and give us another 2-3 years, if not more. The price for a total roof replacement is high because of the abatement of the asbestos - about 10K for that alone!
At the time, we decided to put the roof on the back burner until after the electric and plumbing was fixed up, and we were moved in. Well back then (end of June) I made a post to a website forum Slate Central (http://www.jenkinsslate.com/messages/) asking if there were any contractors in the area that repaired these roofs.
Today I checked that board again and found that someone had responded back in June! I called him up and next Friday he’s coming out to look at the roof and tell me what he can do. He said that typically a roof like this can last up to a hundred years if maintained. He also said his company (Ryder Roofing) has been working with them for a long time.
I’ll report back on findings…..
Another of the reasons for not replacing the roof right now, is that a planned remodle of the back bedroom area will alter the roofline significantly. That said, there’s no need to go to the expense of re-roofing the house, only to do major alterations later.
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