Ductwork, Deck and Time Capsule

I didn't get my floor samples done because I had other things that

needed to get done first.  Did you ever spend a weekend

working on a project that ends up just feeling like a setback?

Before I get to that, let me show you this week's progress.

The heating ducts are in to the upstairs.  You'll also notice the new window.

This was the window that was in the old bathroom.

The other new window that will be over the sink.  It's the same exact size

as the old window, it just slid up a few inches so it clears the countertop.

The new windows from outside.  These are same windows I used

on the front of the house.  Marvin, clad with ebony aluminum.

The back porch has it's new columns in place on the first floor.  I'm really

happy with how they look and now that I see them in place, I don't want to

add any railings on the first level.  I'm not required to have any railings if

the deck is less than 29 inches high.

The columns are Turncraft Polyclassic columns, eight-inches square.

They're made out of a fiberglas reinforced resin that's supposed to be stronger

than steel and concrete.  You just cut them to length, secure them in place and

then the capital will slide up and get tacked in place.

I spent the weekend working on the deck.  I bleached the wood with wood bleach

to get rid of the mildew stains, wiped it down with a baking soda solution to

neutralize the bleach and gave it two coats of Behr semi-transparent stain.

It doesn't look too bad in the photos but it's really blotchy.  It seemed like

the water-based finish was drying as quickly as I was putting it on so I couldn't

keep a wet edge.  The orangey-pink color of wood also makes it look lavender.

I'm not sure what I'm going to do with it.  Probably go more opaque.

This is the view of the dining room window.

Back inside for a minute.  The floor joists that span the two foundations

are getting back with pieces of plywood so that the spaces can be filled

with foam insulation.

This was my last chance to get my time capsule buried.

I used an old tool box that was in the basement and filled it with goodies:

A first generation iPod mini that's never been taken out of the box, an

old iPhone, an empty bottle of cold brew coffee (since it seems to be all

the rage right now), blueprints of the house showing all of the work I did,

before-and-after photos of the house, printouts of several posts from the blog

(including all of your comments!), photos of me and cats, a newspaper, Google

maps of the neighborhood, historical maps of the neighborhood and an article

on global warming that included pro and con arguments about human causality.  

All of the paper materials went into tyvek envelopes just to protect them from moisture.

I closed up the tool box, put in a trash bag and dropped it down the last opening between

the two foundations.  It's weird to think I'll never see this again in my lifetime. 

The plumbing, electrical and HVAC inspections should take place this week,

the insulation can go in and then the fun part can begin!