A Visit with Ursula

This weekend I spent much of Saturday and Sunday working on the columns on the front porch. I covered the full-height end columns in plywood and built two half-height columns to flank the front stairs. The columns are square and tapered and when complete should enhance the overall Craftsman feel of the house. I’m pretty happy with them so far. The plywood is ¾” sheathing, which doesn’t look that good, but I’m hoping I can improve it with some wood-fill and paint. I’m also going to wrap the joints with some ½” molding that should give the columns a panel-and-frame look.

While working, Ursula, our neighbor two doors to the north who is also converting her house into a Craftsman, dropped by. I gave her a quick tour of the inside and she inviting me over to her place too. They have done and excellent job on her house! I’m especially impressed with the detail work on the rafter tails and the porch columns. Very nice! I think we are both happy that the other did the work they did. The two houses work to complement each other and have transformed our street from a row of very similar looking war era track houses into a street of unique and interesting homes.

I did talk to Dave late last week again. He said the plumber would be by this week to help install the tub. Surprisingly he said the plumber would also install the faucets in the shower stalls. I’m both happy and a little disappointed in this. I’m glad he will do this, but it means I don’t have much say in what the faucets will look like. Oh well. The main thing is that I want them to get the jetted tub mounted and the drain installed. I’m also hoping to talk them into install the faucet for the tub too. We’ll see. Dave also said the electricians will return this week to finish their job. I seriously hope so! We did finally get one order of light fixtures to show up. The Dolan Designs fixtures for the 2nd bedroom and 2nd bath arrived. Still waiting for EVERYTHING else… Gah!

This week I hope to get the molding put on the columns in front and get the front porch put back together (I had to remove a bunch of the decking where the half-height columns went). I think I’ll try and get the back porch columns finished before I try and build the railing. I need to have the columns finished before I contact the gutter guys. I expect they will want to attach the downspouts to one or more columns and I need them to be complete before they start. We’re going to see Jenn’s dad in Oakland this weekend so I won’t be able to work on the house then. Good thing too: I’m tired!

Going forward my highest priorities is the exterior. I want to get the porches done, the trim painted, and the gutters installed before the weather goes to hell. I also need to get a wood stove insert for the fireplace.