This Old Porch

The edge of porches frequently rot due to water damage. The owner was also tired of peeling paint that repainting temporarily solved. He dreaded what might be under the 3 inch tongue and groove boards. My job was to find out and fix whatever I met. It was worse than it looks in this general picture.

I first pounded in temporary supports for all four posts in order to raise them up and get the old decking out from under the post bases. Only one of those was rotten and had to be replaced. They were non-standard two inches thick. The owner took on the task of making a new one, which he installed after I was done.

The first several boards removed revealed a beam with significant rot. It turns out that several had such bad places, but all but one were such that I could cut out the top 1 1/2" and replace it with a treated 2 x 4 without compromising structural integrity.

If you look closely you can see wider boards at the bottom of this next picture, which are almost certainly replacement boards for earlier rotten boards near the edge. Besides width and position for exposure to more water, I could tell they were later because they had round nails rather than square, cut nails like the narrower boards. The cut nails were not even consistent in size and may well have been hand cut. These were original porch boards.

Another section of more easily seen rot, but it was not deep. The beams were oak and may have been white oak which resists rot well. The tar seemed to have protected the wood from moisture for many years and even more from insects and mold.

When the edge boards had been replaced previously, there had been rot that caused the carpenter to splice in another oak board. The fascia board was a full inch thick and about nine inches wide.

When the beams are 2 1/4" thick by a full 8" wide you can afford to put them on 2 foot centers. However, the new plastic tongue and groove decking boards manufacturer recommends 16" centers. The clay dirt under the porch was so dry that I kicked up dust when stepped into it. Nothing was standard. The near boards are nearly 14' long while the far ones are just over 12' long.

During lunch breaks I sat on the back patio, either sheltered from the sun or bathing in it, depending on the temperature and wind.

I don't think that usually scowl, but bright sunshine can bring it on even on a pleasant day.

The shadow of the tree trunk and my own body make it a little hard to see, but the greatest rot was where rainwater splashed up on the fascia and underlying beam. I cut this whole section out and replaced it.

You can see that I doubled up the joists to approximately 12" centers. It is overkill I know but there was little use in moving old ones. It should hold a truck now. Putting in these plastic boards was more similar to installing hardwood flooring than decking boards, and it took much longer. Installing the first one took as long as the next ten. It had to be square on a framing that was not square. I sighted and fudged and split the difference and every other trick I know. I was able to maintain the over hang within 3/8" over the entire 26'. The last board overhung the end at an angle due to the out of square far end. The owner said he could build it up even before installing the fascia board. Only he I would know if I had not told you.

When I was finishing up, I caught the owner picking up scraps on his new porch. He and his wife were quite pleased and bought me a pair of chocolate brownies at the farmer's market while they were out. I helped him reinstall his yellow swing so that he and his wife have a swingin' place to retreat to on those balmy spring days. It was nothing of the sort on this day, exposing us to lower forties with 30 mph gusts.

The owner wanted to install PVC fascia himself and he made the post base as I said which he installed later. That is the reason the left post appears to hover. It is supported out of sight by a 4 x 4.

You can just see the ice and moisture barrier that I installed on the joists around the edges to prevent future rot and you can see the 4 x 4 support. As he said, "This should last another 150 years." Maybe longer I'd think. He certainly won't have to paint it.

In the midst of any job are those moments of frustration, but overall this job was enjoyable, and the owners were flexible and agreeable. I am thankful to God for good work and good people to work for.

 

Bouldering with Friends

In the mid-30's with the sun shining is ideal for bouldering. It would have been perfect if it hadn't rain torrentially the day before. But it was the first time out after the challenges of recent months, and I was just thankful to be out.

Carrying a refrigerator and mobile home on your back on a trail lined with small trees that 3-4 feet apart is a bit challenging, but my climbing partner seems all smiles and ready to go.

I had one of two small pads and a front pack- pretty chill.

We wondered what to expect as we went up the mountain. In town and most of the way up there was a dense, cold fog. But above that was cloudless blue sky and quickly warming temperatures.

Right next to the first boulder was the top of a fallen tree hung in the fork of another. Somehow it looked bigger and weirder in person.

Now down to business. Warm up on some big, cold jugs with plenty of pads and spotters as needed. We cycled around taking turns. A good rest between attempts and visual beta (for non-climbers: information to help you complete the climb) always increase your chances.

Friend #2, as you will, is long, lean, and intense. He is also Eastern European by birth and I learned some interesting facts about his growing up and transition to the West.

My climbing partner's wife can be quite intense about climbing, but this day she wanted comfort and sunshine.

Grandfather Mountain above the trees and fog, oh, glorious day.

The uppermost low cliff line has a cellphone tower perched atop it. In reality, it was a DOE windmill tower back in the seventies, but variable and high winds required the windmill blades be feathered most of the time to prevent damage, sort of a failed experiment you might say.

A sit start means just that, you are sitting on the pad and then lift your body up to start the climb. You can see the dynamic power involved in such moves from the low angle of the rock and motion in this picture.

On the same climb she gives it a try, and the sun's rays filter over the lip of the boulder as morning progresses and the potential spotters nonchalantly look on.

The happy couple catch some rays and smile for the camera.

Struggling to make headway on the hard problem being projected, I got the urge to get up top in the sunshine. I scrambled up an easy route and saw this view. Just as I topped out my cellphone intoned an incoming call that could deeply change my future, but the certainty of the offer has since wavered. I am so glad it is a beautiful day.

Hump Mountain on the Tennessee-North Carolina border and Yellow Hump to the left pictured next. That is the mountain on which I have hiked more than any other. and it speaks to my heart of things past and potentially future.

The sun doesn't shine under this boulder until late afternoon.

We moved on to another boulder and found a worthy challenge. My two friends were able to complete it after several and many tries, respectively. I could not make the crux (hardest) and final move before much easier terrain. On what was to be my next to last try, my heel hook peeled off and I came down hard on the pads. I thought that only my ego was harmed because there was no pain. I stepped back to become a spotter and started seeing blood on the pad. I looked down to see my hand bleeding profusely and then saw that my pinky pad was torn off. (It bled so much that now, a week later, I never got any infection in it.) I went and cleaned it up and wrapped two band-aids around it to stop the bleeding. Only as we walked out did it begin to throb and intensified as we rode home. (It has healed amazingly well.) I want to go back and complete the climb, but I should at least wait until I have regrown a fingerprint. I have never had a pad rip so deeply. I think it was a combination of all of my weight suddenly on four fingers of my left hand and a minor bit of dehydration.

Why do we climb? It's the challenge, the exercise, the comradery, the time outdoors, the elements, the focus that decompresses the mind and body. I am thankful at 62 to still be able to try hard, even if I am not all of that good. God's Creation is beautiful and reminds us of His power and wisdom and the joy and peace He imparts to us. So, I keep going out.