The back wall is all done.  Siding went well and looks nice,  I used Hardieplank cedarmill and  we overlapped it at 5 1/2 inches to replicate the cedar wood that had been there.

We also got the soffit in at the rear eve.  And yes Mike, it was difficult like you said, but it wasn't impossible. I originally tried sliding it it from the end, but that wasn't happening, so I perfected a method where I flexed it in an arch and popped one end at a time into its channel.

The finished  product looks good too.

When you look at a before and after shot, it really is impressive how much we accomplished in 4 months of only working weekends

With the exception of paint on the front and sides of the house, I'm done for this season.  The money I set aside for 2017 is all gone and its time to start saving for school & property taxes. Updates to this blog will slow down for a while until some bills get paid.

 Thanks for following along, and check in from time to time, as the next big project will be new floors and drywall inside.

Fritz

 

Wall progress:

We should have it all finished next week.

The rear wall is framed out and plywood has been nailed up.
We forgot the stapler, otherwise we would have put the housewrap on too.

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Windows and siding next week.

Rob and I decided to rebuild the entire rear wall due to the extent of water damage.  Doing it in thirds seemed like a reasonable plan so as not to risk a collapse of the roof we had just completed.

The middle third was framed out yesterday, and plywood sheathing installed. Concrete was poured on the last third( to the right and up to the corner).

Next week we should be able to finish framing and plywood, then windows go in and siding goes up.

The concrete was cured and ready to build a new wall on today. So that's what we did.

We poured more concrete under the next set of widows and will probably totally rebuild the entire wall back there next week.

Holy Crap!  What's holding up that wall?

The sill plate which connected the studs to the foundation was completely gone.  The wall is literally floating in air as there is a 3" - 6" gap under every stud along the back.

Fortunately we were expecting this, as the rainwater was splashing against this wall for decades without an overhang or gutters.  So we had the supplies on hand:

Rob built a wooden form and we poured 18 bags of concrete to create an 8" foundation wall on top of the original stone foundation.  We will frame out a new pressure treated sill plate and studs next week once it is all cured.

Siding happened.

First we installed a bit of flashing in the corner where the roof met the wall

Then siding

What's next you ask?
The windows and rear wall in the last photo above were damaged and will receive a little TLC.
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