Buttoning up the East Windows

Work is finally moving quickly on the east side of the house. I cannot tell you how relieved I am when Woody stops what feels like weeks of messing around (it's weeks of meticulously copying damaged or missing trim pieces, so I know I'm not being entirely fair there) and things start going on the house.

East windows trimmed and primed

The replacement/repaired trim is back on for the tops of the windows, then he has to put back the reeds and pilaster bases, and all the little buttons, of course, because of course with the buttons.

Sealing around the trim

One little detail Woody is adding to the house is to seal up the gaps between the trim and the siding. Had the original builders thought of it, they would have installed the siding up to the trim rather than putting the trim over the siding, because the result of what they did was to make a series of small gaps around each window and door where water could get in and collect.

The solution is to take a little piece of leftover siding and glue it in place with some sealant, filling that hole.

Whacking the plugs in

The fit is a pretty tight one, out of necessity, so he was whacking the plugs in when I went by the other day. Once they're all installed and the gaps are filled with caulk, the painters can come through and do the window trim.

Plug in place

It's a little tedious. I wish I could make things go faster, and yes, I know that Woody is part of the issue there because he is not a fast worker and it's basically impossible to speed him up. It's frustrating, because not only is he not moving fast, but he's holding up other work because he is in the way of it, and getting him out of the way just slows him down more.

The good news is that he is going to take a vacation -- the first one he's taken this whole time, so I can't fault him there -- when the scaffolding has come down. While he's away, I'm going to get some things done inside the house that haven't been able to happen because having things done around him causes him to lose time for any number of reasons, including trying to stay on top of everything happening on the site which is both not possible and also not his actual job, but it's impossible to convince him of that. Anyway, it will be a good, productive break, giving him some time to reset and me some time to just get some work done.

posted by ayse on 09/22/18