scaffolding

I took yesterday off, so that I could be home to work with my helper.  He was able to put in a rare full weekday day, and I wanted to stay enough ahead of him to keep him busy.  Although the picture doesn’t look that much different than the last shot of this side, we got a ton done yesterday.  All the areas have been prepped, and much of it has been painted.  After we work again on Saturday, we will be able to move the scaffolding into its next-to-last position!

Subtly better

Things are really feeling good.  Three of the dormers are done, sans touch-ups, and we have moved the scaffold over to the other side of the house.  The end is clearly in sight now!

Dormer #3...check.

Cheap labor

Primed jambs and sidelights

Completed west side

The tallest platform shoes ever

After another full week, things are looking much, much better.  The front is almost completely done, as is the west side.  We finally picked the accent color, and the front dormer is the first area to have all the colors together in one place.  I stripped down the peeling paint around the front door and even started the door itself.  Ultimately, we plan on staining the door and sidelights.

Porch ceiling, with only a few touch-ups left

Front window trim painted

Remember how the front windows used to look? Not to mention Chloe...

A full-day project! (trim not painted here yet, but note the accent color above)

The old purple door

A complete paint job! (at least what you can see...)

And the scaffolding has been moved around the corner for more rafter tails

Now it's hard to believe we lived with this color for so long...

This is getting ridiculous.  The scaffolding moved over to the edge of the garage, straddled the stairs, grew one leg to reach a lower stair, angle-braced itself against a concrete wall and extended itself by 8 feet…all to reach the front of the porch gable.  Given that the bottom of the scaffold is a good 7′ above sidewalk level, it made much more sense than trying to do this with a ladder.  Not good for those afraid of heights!  (the careful observer will notice that I also ripped out one of the rotten posts to make way for the structure.)

Crazy, growing scaffolding

Today I built the much-needed scaffolding, which will really help me (safely) get up under the eaves to finish up the rafter tails.  I was able to build the entire deck from the pallet that our clawfoot tub shipped in, thereby justifying it taking up space in the garage for the last 5 years.  Combined with low lumber prices, I was able to build the entire thing for about $18!

I used bolts to attach the deck and angled support, so that I can break it down as necessary to move it around the different sides of the house.  This was so much cheaper than renting scaffolding the rest of the summer.  I think the pictures don’t give a sense of the scale, as it’s 10′ wide and a full 8′ tall.  The last picture is the scaffolding that my dad and I built 9 years ago when he helped us paint our old house.  I simply made it a little bigger to reach this house’s eaves.

View from inside the house

Beautiful, beautiful scaffolding

As seen from the porch

The inspiration

I decided today that it would be wise to rent some scaffolding as I get more into the details of this paint job.  I had Stephanie snap a few photos to demonstrate the nightmare of our west side lot line.  Not only there only about 10 feet between houses, there is a substantial elevation difference that makes ladder placement difficult.  And I haven’t even said anything about the vegetation, either.

Painting the eaves

Getting that last bit of siding