Loss of an Old Friend

 

I am glad that I took pictures of the house and landscaping of the house just before I left. Many people commented on how close it was to the house. I didn't plant it there, but it was quite healthy and shed very few limbs of any size.

Here is the picture that I received on my phone. It won't be shedding any more limbs.

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.

Parting Shots

 One of the last times that I went to the house we are selling, I looked around and reminiscences abounded. So, I took a few parting shots. There were the many times vacuuming water out of the basement, for instance. But the picture I show here reminds me that our house closing date was delayed a month because the inspector was concerned that the wall was slowly collapsing. We had to have carbon fiber straps installed to stabilize the wall. The horizontal crack had paint in it from where I had painted the wall over 15 years earlier. I don't think it has move much in that time. 

Two dehumidifiers worked non-stop to try to mitigate the moisture. Many professionals suggested solutions but none that would work when you are a foot below the water table and lower than any point to drain the water to. The platforms prevented tracking paint upstairs when you came down to do the laundry. The Dagger whitewater canoe had many good memories. It is really hard to carry by oneself, however.

A cellphone does very poor digital zoom, but if you look closely you can see the molting hawk sitting atop the swing frame.

A fairly modest home from the street, but it met our needs for 22 years and had many characteristics and memories we enjoyed.

The Willow Oak at the back corner of the carport is about 2 1/2 feet in diameter and spreads over the house. Everyone who looks at it seems to think it should come down, but we like trees.

The flower garden is so dense in the summer with lilies of various kinds that no weeding is required. It typically blooms from April until late July.

There are two Northern Catalpa Trees, the following one with a double trunk. This section of yard was the best for soccer, throwing ball and has a basketball hoop and backboard off to the left.

The other one has a very twisted trunk with a very large fork about seven feet up. It used to have a large Wisteria vine that wrapped up into the fork upon which my oldest son would mount the fork to read. You can also see two out of three firewood sheds that I built for keeping several winter's wood dry.

The lot is actually two lots for a total of about 3/4 acre, pretty big for in town. along the far boundary are five stately Shortleaf Pines that laid down a large bed of needles every year. For many years a hawk nested in the top of one of these and kept the squirrel and songbird population in check. There were numerous squirrel nests in the hardwoods.

I had built the swingset fort at another house we rented some 25+ years ago now. In more recent years it had become a place to store firewood and few swings for the rare occasions when grandchildren come to visit. At one point a zipline ran back to right of the shed.

Being winter it is hard to see the six blueberry plants I bought from the extension office soon after we moved in. In recent years they had produced gallons of berries but this last year the animals must have lacked other food because they decimated my crop.

I had tried gardening the first few years I was here, but the soil was so poorly drained that dwarf plants were the rule. The last few years I had tried a raised bed, but the groundhog, possum, and rabbits like greens too much. I had built the compost pile the first year we were there. Worms and bacteria and moisture are rough on even treated wood. Someone will need to replace it. The Chinese Chestnut at the right produced copious chestnuts but most years they were underdeveloped and worm eaten. If you collect them early, you can get a few to roast, though I never tried it on an open fire.

I built the 12 x 20 shed and added the lean-to roof a year ago for the riding lawnmower. The pine log to the right of the shed roof was what was left of a large Virginia Pine that fell on the shed about 6 years ago during a heavy ice storm.

It was a good tool/workshop shed.

I built the center roof trusses with a vaulted ceiling so that I could flip over boards when using the tablesaw. When the large pine broke off about 3 feet above the ground and flipped over onto the shed it broke one truss and cracked two others. The repairs were not extensive. You can see where I spliced one of the cracked ones. I was pleased that my trusses could take all of that strain and the trunk not come down into the shed. Nothing inside was harmed.

The two small trees are a Jonathan and Winesap Apple trees I planted about four years ago. I was hoping for some fruit this year. Hopefully someone will enjoy good apples. Beyond that is a twenty foot American Holly and three Willow Oaks.

There are also three Maple cultivars planted perhaps 40 years ago.

At the back corner is a Walnut tree that has grown over the corner marker, obscuring it from view.

The drainage problems were not just in the basement. I dug several diversion ditches to direct water into the grate and the underground, 30 inch concrete pipe carrying the creek. During heavy rains this pipe probably needs to be at least 48 inches.

I don't understand the trend to paint brick. I like a simple brick veneer house with its low maintenance. I also find it fascinating how cameras pick up light wave interference in the bricks, revealed as curved cement joints, which are not there.

A carport long enough to accommodate two vehicles or many partiers on a few occasions. I see numerous evidences of efforts to reduce water inundation in this end of the house. None of them ultimately worked.

And we heated with wood for many years, but you already know that if you have read even a few of my blog entries. So, I end with warm thoughts about our home of 22 years, but no regrets for what had been a rather high maintenance property. I hope someone else enjoys it as much as we did and finds a way to reduce the maintenance.