The Kirkpatrick's D.I.Y. Project 2006 (Year Two)
The Siding Installation is Complete
November 17 - 19, 2006
We still have some metal stuff to install over the fascia board,
but as far as the actual vinyl siding goes, it is finished.
My Mom bought us a cool, new plaque for our little house.
It pretty much sums things up, so of course I had to hang it.
One day there will actually be a wall behind the plaque.
Both the front and back of the house were a blank canvas.
Mike started first installing the starter strip (that's the
stuff the siding fastens to on the bottom) and the J-channel
(stuff on the sides that the ends of the siding tuck into).
Then Dad and I hung siding.
It went pretty fast since we didn't have nearly as much to cut around.
We had the front wall finished in no time. Mike did help. It was
his job to make the cuts required to fit the siding around the windows
and any other obstacles. Siding is easy, it just takes time.
Here's an example of the very time-consuming tasks Mike was responsible for.
I had to drive into town to buy some more nails. This is one of many deer
I saw on the way. There is no hunting allowed in our community, so there are
quite a few deer that live there. This one was with about seven others.
Dad installs some short pieces.
Here's one of those pesky obstacles that had to be cut around. In this case, it
is the dryer vent. That gray stuff running across the bottom is the starter strip.
Mike uses his Dremel rotary tool to make some of the cuts.
Dad and Mike finish hanging siding on the back wall with not much daylight to spare.
Mike's last task of the night was installing the exterior garage lights.
We think they "fit" perfectly with the house.
Here's what the finished rear of the house looks like.
All that remained on Day 2 (Sunday) was to finish hanging siding on the peak
of the gable over the bow window and the last wall on the front porch.
That gable was tough. It required lots of very precise, angled cuts.
Mike and Dad hang the last piece of siding...
...then carefully tuck it into place.
The finished product!
We are very happy with the way it looks. Isn't it cool
how that ugly, gray electric box sort of blends right in?
The siding crew...
...and Meg.
The dogs waited patiently together as we worked.
For those of you wondering about the dogs' orange outfits, it is hunting season in
West Virginia. Since Meg is brown with a white tail, I was worried that some hunter
might mistake her for a whitetail deer. I made the blaze-orange vests to keep them safe.
Next weekend, which is the weekend after Thanksgiving, should be the last
working weekend in West Virginia until 2007. Where has the year gone!?!
