The peaked eaves on the east and west sides of the house needed to be painted. This job was going to fall to Steve and Chris because I don't usually get that high off the ground but they were busy putting up soffits today and I was out of any other useful work to do. So I put on my big girl panties and painted the high parts!
The wood on the east side needed to be scraped. As the flakes were flying I squinted and tried not to breathe too much. I only got a little bit in one eye and even if there was lead in the paint, I didn't gnaw the boards so I should be fine.
I had to get on the roof to paint part of this area and to paint some wood peaks that are in a weird place on the roof. I was on the roof twice today. The first time I scooted around on my bottom. The second time I was able to make myself stand up and just walk – albeit crouched over.
Chris and I decided I didn't need to paint the louvered metal things. They don't look great but they don't look awful either. They are just fine the way they are.
Chris and Steve put up more soffits/eaves on the back of the house. You can see the bit that wrapped around to the east side where I was painting. This takes more time than you'd think to construct. And there was a bit of creative use of flashing.
The more we do, the more I realize that carpentry, construction, is a lot like piecing. You measure, you cut, you figure out how to fit the pieces together so that they cover what needs covering. Except that here we can use Liquid Nails and caulk :-).
You can see part of a tree in the photo above. It is a huge pecan – one of the biggest in our town. This is a lovely tree that provides needed shade, but I had no idea how much they shed! Sticks and limbs that come off that tree daily. And sticky stuff, and other plant matter that piles up on the roof, on the ground, on the deck… I'm beginning to actively dislike this tree and it knows it. It drops stuff on me! Chris had to take the gutters off because there is no way to keep them clear of tree junk. But pecans are tasty and it is a pretty tree. So it's staying put.
We're taking tomorrow off to clean house and Steve and mom have one last dog obedience class. Taz is actually behaving better, and mom is too! We'll go to church tomorrow night and then we're watching Independence Day over the pool. Sunday it's back to work on the house.
Just so you know, I have found time to do a bit of quilting. Soon I can show you the finished AAQI quilt and I've started working on the project for my Adventure in Italy class. Really, you want to be saving your pennies for this trip – it's going to be great fun!
Piece O Cake Blog 
Becky, you can buy a mesh screen at Lowe’s that fit in the top of the gutters and they are easy to put in. It doesn’t keep everything out, but it sure does help.
The house is looking great and enjoying you blogging.
LikeLike
I took the gutters off my house as well. What is the point of gutters? Keep water off you if you walk out in the rain? Keep “splash” from messing up the soil underneath? Well if you are walking out in the rain, you expect to get wet. And as we naturalize our yards we realize stones will keep splash off the house and weeds from growing.
Gutters only keep house parts wet and wet is where rot begins.
You have earned this day “off”…. relax big time.
LikeLike
You have a lot more energy than most people. The job you’re doing is fantastic. The kids are lucky to have you!! What’s left? Seems you’ve done an awful lot in such a short period of time. Wish my husband would keep at projects that way — but he insists on more “breaks” than actual work getting done š¦
LikeLike
Watch out for that pecan tree. They get dangerous when they get big! A huge piece fell off of our neighbor’s pecan and smashed into our yard and broke a nice ornamental tree in half. Just before that incicent we had the huge pecan in our yard taken down because of all the junk it dropped and also because it loomed over the house. At a local “agricultural/4H fair” I met a representative of the local pecan growers group. He said he never walks directly under the trees in a pecan grove, it’s too dangerous. He also said they never let the trees get more than 30 years old. After that I didn’t feel so bad about having ours cut down, because I really was feeling bad about it.
LikeLike
As I’ve worked on carpentry projects with my partner who is a very good home carpenter, we both have noticed the similarities with piecing quilts too! One big difference we see is that in carpentry, we tend to measure and cut just one piece at a time, and not cut the second until the first is successfully installed. Whereas in piecing a quilt, I tend to cut all the pieces at once.
Thanks so much for the interesting blog posts. Glad the heat finally broke for you. Good luck finishing up the project.
LikeLike
So, when did you install your new gutters after you’ve removed the old one? It’s a good move, actually. The falling leaves of the trees would only obstruct the flow of water to your downspouts, and if that happens, it might cause severe damage to your roof and the water may even leak inside your house. Well, Chris did a good preventive measure for the future doing that. Good luck!
LikeLike
We didnt install new gutters. Chris decided that he didnt need them. Were putting stone and/or concrete on the ground to move water away from the foundation.
LikeLike
How adventurous of you to climb on top of the roof, Becky! That was a pretty risky move! But Iām glad you did it. Hehe. Your eaves, by the way, are looking better. Commonly, eaves are painted white. Maybe because it goes well with any color, and that means, there is no need for homeowners to balance the colors of the roof, the gutter, and the eaves.
LikeLike
Carpentry could really be a complex job, which explains the variety of tools it requires. By the way, you could try to save you gutter without removing your old pecan tree. You can trim the portion where it affects your gutter. In that way, both your tree and roof would be saved. š
LikeLike