  It was a much longer saga than we were expecting, but our final piece of siding was hung yesterday. What the home inspectors thought would be an easy fix back when we were buying the house ended up being a major project, spanning three years. I typed in "siding" into my blog search bar and was amazed at just how many times I've mentioned it. Part of the reason it took so long was finances. Each board costs around $75. Then there's the timing -- it had to be done when the weather was good and on a weekend, since hanging each piece requires two people. They're heavy, four feet by nine feet of back-straining, shift a quarter-of-an-inch-to make-it-level-now-back-this-way-just-a-tiny-bit plywood. (As a now-you-know, most t1-11 siding is 4X8, but our house was built with 4X9, so that's what we used for replacement. Knowing is half the battle, after all.) Then there's life. Between extra needs at work and family illness, our weekends were often filled with other important requirements.  As I braced the final board and my Charles secured it to the house, I began to feel rather giddy.
"We did it! The final board is up. Aren't you stoked?" I cried. "Yes. I'm happy it's up." said Charles, a tired smile spreading across his face. And then we both breathed gigantic sighs of relief, and also probably, exhaustion. The sun sank behind the hills as my Charles finished driving in the last of the screws, and the evil dry rot, at least on this side of the house, was no more. |