So the back is wrapped. There is a great deal of discussion going on regarding how to deal with this soffit.
Detail of the inside ceiling.
The inside.
The outside. Yup, that’s mildew on the existing siding. Yum.
Closer look at the wrap.
The back.
Update: remember all that doom and gloom over the hardiplank? Well, there is a reason Paul named his blog “This Old Grouse.” It is because his first response to things is, characteristically, not particularly cheery. Usually, I censor here with the knowledge that things will be fine, he just needs to take the best after preparing for the worst. Disaster scenarios have been a constant to each part of the project… it just happens that I blogged about the hardi-disaster scenario because I honestly thought, at least for a moment, that it could be true. See how hard this do-it-yourself stuff can be?
A quote of $6200? Not quite. Some misunderstanding was involved. Paul thought the quoted price was by board foot — it was actually by board. We did some foot work. Bottom line: the hardi will cost us less than $1000. Maybe up to $1200 when we include all the specialty trim pieces, cutting tools and saw blades. Crisis averted.
We’ve got other issues more pressing, anyway. Turns out that the windows we got are wrong. Not our mistake or even the mistake of the company we ordered them through — the factory didn’t follow the order and installed J-channels on the sides of the windows. These are channels used in vinyl siding installation and not used in hardiplank. The bottom line is that we can’t install the windows… and have a 3-4 week lead time for the next to come in. There is no guarantee these next windows will be correct (although the warehouse folk were as shocked as us, “Simonton never gets an order wrong!”) My darling Grouse is in a knot, as would be expected, and working out each scenario of disaster. It really sucks, since he’s been so incredibly on top of things in this whole stressful process.
New plan: start to gut the existing laundry/bathroom while we wait for the windows. This will be a rougher phase as we have no where to put the “stuff” in the existing space (which mostly includes tools, off-season clothes, wrapping paper and other assorted storage items, small luggage, linens, and laundry/cleaning supplies.) I may take the kids out of town for the weekend so that Paul can tackle the project (which includes shutting off water and electricity for awhile).
Andrew Kottenstette | 13-Jan-08 at 11:34 pm | Permalink
I don’t see what the difficulty would be with the soffit. Seems pretty straight forward. Do you have an elevation drawing to put up?
Me, I’m more curious about how crawl spaces get sealed off from critters reliably. Any critters in NOLA you have to worry about?
Cold Spaghetti | 14-Jan-08 at 8:24 am | Permalink
Paul’s unsure of exactly how to put the trim/hardi on the span. The board is a 2×8. The hardi we can get is 1 inch thick by 11 1/2 — he’d have to rip off some and is just not thrilled by that prospect. He’s seen others who take trim from other parts of a house and sort of do trim along the inside of the soffit, which is a nice carriage house sort of look. The real issue is that Paul’s a perfectionist and just wants to do it right… and is dealing with the fact that there doesn’t seem to be a “clear” right way and just many different ways to approach it.
Ummmm… elevation drawing? Why sure… I’ll just check our, erm, plans… right!! 🙂 Actually, we fall into a loop hole here that we just need a foundation plan and site survey since our current home is one story and will remain so — under 2500 sq ft. Plus, although the house is 100+ years old, it is not located in a historic district, so we don’t have to worry about special features in that regard. That said, we’re going to use the 5-inch hardi boards, as these are the only ones approved by the historic preservation board for use in remodels. (And we’re using the smooth hardi.)
Cold Spaghetti | 14-Jan-08 at 8:29 am | Permalink
Correction: we’re using the 6-inch hardi boards with the 5-inch reveal.
We’ll just put it up on the addition now — but next year, we will reside and insulate the rest of the house.
Any suggestions for hanging?
We also have to decide if we want downlights in the soffits. I’m leaning towards yes — on both the addition and the outbuilding.
Cold Spaghetti | 14-Jan-08 at 8:35 am | Permalink
Oh, and re: the crawl spaces. The undersides of old homes are up off the ground. Sometimes folks put up lattice or other fencing around the base, but this isn’t the standard. In other words, there really isn’t a crawl space for the most part. The upside is that it makes it easy to work on a one-story house, since you have relatively easy access to both under the house and over it. It made Paul’s re-wiring of the house much easier. (You should see the archives of his blog and this one to see some of the wiring work and re-finish work we did in that first year… fall 2004 and spring 2005.)
If you look at the older pictures of the start of the addition, where you can see the foundation and piers — you see the flashing which acts as a deterrent for termites (the biggest issue here). As for other critters (and we’ve got ’em all here… en masse, in sizes that stagger the mind) being up must make one heck of a difference because we have a noticeable absence of them. When we have had a rouge bug, they’ve traveled in through the front door on some innocent package. We did have ants coming in through the second front door and once we figured out what was going on, dealt with it and have been silent since.