staining the cedar.

So yesterday as planned I headed back to Mclendon's to see what I could do about this semi-solid stain that I wasn't super excited about. The guy showed me some options - none of which I liked. I really liked the colour of the stain I had gotten but it was just too opaque so could we try a semi-transparent? So he grabbed that and suggested only putting in half the colorant. Agreed. We tested it on some shakes I had brought in and I liked it -

And also as planned tonight I set out to stain the shakes. It was pretty easy. Took maybe two hours. As I was brushing I leaned back every now and then to take a look at how it was coming. And smiled to myself -

I loved it. It was as close to exactly what I had in mind as I think is possible.


I wrapped up and took a look at it from a bit further back -


I was of course hesitant to stain the beautiful cedar the way it was naturally but that was a fleeting fear. Yes - I really like it. Now I can head off to Colorado to visit Jeff and come back and hope for a few more days of nice weather to finish up the painting that is left.

cedar. done.

Day two. Time to finish this up so I can stain them and move on. Drug everything back out again from the garage. The ladders. Scaffolding. Chop saw. This time even the table saw -

I made way too many trips back to the garage for the table saw yesterday so I put the kibosh on that today. Bumped the scaffolding up another notch as I started the fifth course. It went pretty quick. I had developed a system like I typically tend to seem to do once I get the hang of something. The courses were not as long. I got to the top beam but no worries it helped a ton having the table saw right there on the porch to cut the shakes that needed to fit around it. It poured for a bit but I was pretty well sheltered under the roof. Still - had to pause for a bit but it cleared up and the sun came out again with blue skies.

Then I got to the historic final piece -

Nailed it into place and by 2:30 or so I was finished -




I stepped back for a second to take a shot -

And even though I'm not yet finished just for fun I dredged up this pic I must have taken right after moving in to compare -

Whoa. Holy cow mother of shrubbery. Then also just for fun and since the scaffolding was right there I headed up again and plopped down on it to install the house numbers -

They actually look really cool (I kerned them optically haha). And I tried the semi-solid stain I had gotten but am worried. Worried that it is too dark (uhh, too solid and doesn't show enough of the cedar through it) so I held off on staining them. Damn. Cos the rest of the afternoon was pretty decent weather-wise and I could have gotten that knocked out but I did not want to put on stain to a bunch of shakes I had just spent two days installing that I wasn't 100% about. So it will be off to Mclendon's to probably get the same shade but in a semi-transparent mix to see if that is any better.

And Julian mowed the lawn for me again -

That kid's an awesome helper. Then he was off biking around flying past on the sidewalk every ten minutes or so. It shouldn't take too long to stain the shakes so if Tuesday evening proves nice weather-wise I'll plan on doing it then.

I have to admit. I remember when I was headed up to my attic a week ago from today to bust out the siding I had the brief thought of 'oh crap I'm gonna knock out a huge hole in my house and I have absolutely no idea what I am doing.' And I've had that thought in the past right before going to tear down ceilings or knock down walls. That thought of "crap I hope this turns out ... '

But I'd have to say for this little siding project I am pretty impressed. Especially for not knowing what I was doing. What I always tell myself is that this sh*t isn't rocket science. Now I just need to finish the painting. And this rain needs to go away but I guess since we never really got summer we will probably never really get fall and just go straight into November-rain-winter ... but I'm hoping not. So much left to do. Paint the porch floor. Finish the stairs. And I'd love to build a little roof over the back door that would match the house roof (i.e. not the crap metal thing I tore off years ago).

Oh, and note to myself is that I only used two bundles of cedar for this entire gable end (uhh, I had bought six but that includes the gable end of the garage too - so I'll probably have about two bundles left - hmm, what to do with extra beautiful cedar siding ... ?).

back to hanging cedar.

Yea - a break in the weather. And a weekend. So time to get moving on this siding. I got outside by noon and had to get everything set up - ladders and scaffolding, chop saw, shakes, air compressor -



Oh, and iPod radio. Very important. Took a bit but was finally ready to figure out how to hang cedar shakes. No better way to learn than just diving in. And so I did. The first row I knew was going to take the longest cos A) it was the longest row, B) I have never done this and it would be a learning experience (but hopefully I'd find my stride at some point), C) two or three pieces at least on each end had to be measured and cut at the roof angle and D) those architectural beams would have to be negotiated all before I could just start plowing through the row with no cutting and measuring.

In order to cut the shapes for the beams I got to use my new table saw -

That thing has come in quite handy since getting it, oh all of a week ago. I was hanging the first first row a half-inch above the flashing I had installed and once I got past the corner and then the beam I was able to snap a chalk line -

and could finally just bang away one shake after another along the line picking random-sized pieces as I went. Until I got to the other beam. Negotiated that the same way, then spun the chop saw to the other side and set it at 34 degrees -

And I admit I had the thought that even after spending something like $340 for my 12" double-bevel compound chop saw (which was the price on sale cos normally I think it's $400) today I wished I had splurged $600 for the sliding 12" cos some of the shakes were too wide to cut at that angle in one cut. I managed to get by though. But I do love power tools I will just say that. Power tools rule.

Anyway ... then repeat. The whole row.

I realized the reason you hang two layers for the first row is so that (duh) you can't see through the gaps in the shakes. Seems so obvious but until I hung them I did not really understand why that was the case. And then the first row was done -


(I didn't keep track of the time it took to finish the first row but I should have even though it was the longest and I had to do it, well, twice). So to start the second row I snapped another chalk line 7-1/4" up from the bottom of the first row (I calculated it would take me nine courses or rows each spaced equally at that height to knock out this gable end).

It started out so sunny -


but then started raining. But I discovered that I could hang siding in the rain (unlike being unable to paint in the rain) and so I kept at it. Julian made some grilled cheese sandwiches for us at one point so I took a break long enough to eat and then was back at it. The rain let up intermittently which was nice, although the higher I got the more sheltered I got which also was nice. The shakes needed to be spaced 1/8" apart to allow for swelling of the cedar when it gets wet so I used a drywall shim doubled-up for a spacer -

and nailed up a 1x4" lined up with the chalk line I had snapped to set each shake on as I went down the row and help make sure they were all as level as they could be with each other -

At one point good ol' Matt wandered over to see how I was coming along with his scaffolding and nail gun. He asked me if I had done this before to which I replied of course not it's all about learning as I go. He seemed impressed and he's a contractor so I guess I'm doing something right. And after seven hours of work I finished four courses before it started to get dark -

Then clean up. Rain or shine tomorrow I should be able to finish up the rest and - like the rest of the painting that needs to get done - wait for nice weather again in order to stain these things. I may try to figure out a way to get that chop saw up on the scaffolding (although it's pretty heavy but all the up and down on the ladders takes time). All in all a good day and another thing I can add to what I've taught myself while trying to remodel this house.

why ...

So tonight J and I headed to Tacoma for the Art Walk event held every third Thursday of the month where all the museums and galleries downtown are open for free. I wanted to check out the Washington State History Museum's exhibit on the Arts and Crafts Movement that runs through November. Duh, of course I did. Oh, and there was a chess exhibit for Julian although it was really, really (no, really) small. As in sort of buried in a closet. But there was a cool German chess set that I liked a lot - really cool. And they had a couple of chess boards set out around the museum but we didn't sit down to play (he'd probably kick my butt anyway) cos after we finished up there we went over to the Glass Museum to sit in the Hot Shop and watch them blow and sculpt glass which J thought was really pretty cool.

But anyways - I have never said much about why it is I love Arts and Crafts bungalow style houses so much so this seemed like a good time to do so. In essence, the whole Arts and Crafts movement that started in England and found its way to America in the early twentieth century can be summed up in one word ... rebellion. Reform. Rebirth. Okay, that's three. But they're all important and essential. Basically, the movement was against the whole ornate and overdone materialism of the Victorian period. It was a movement to get back to the basics so-to-speak. It proposed social and economic reform and has essentially been seen as being wholly anti-industrial.

All good things then. Even better now. Enough with the materialism. The over-excessiveness plaguing our population mired in the notion we all need more shit to be happy. And I am writing this now in 2010 but rewind a century and the same sentence would apply. Sort of scary.

But beyond anti-materialism and anti-industrialism, the movement also promoted the use of local materials (so, in the Pacific Northwest, lots of fir used from the structural to the decorative along with cedar and stones and so forth found here in the Northwest) and honest craftsmanship. Both of which you would be hard-pressed to find in today's build-it-as-cheap-as-we-effing-can-so-the-developer-can-reap-the-biggest-profit construction industry. If you want honest craftsmanship you have to pay a fortune to buy a 'custom' home or something with some other lame nomenclature. There is even a pathetic magazine I have seen in the checkout aisles at the Home Depot called 'New Old House' or something stupid like that. Because in today's way of thinking everything is about maximizing profits. Cutting corners. Using cheap materials.

Not a century ago. Locally-found materials and true craftsmanship - beautiful details, trim, nooks, built-ins etc. etc. - were the name of the game. The norm. And people did not have to pay a fortune for it cos that's just how it was. Rather than the outlandish Victorian mansions dotting American suburbia, the Arts and Crafts movement epitomized the middle-class with its modesty both in architecture and size. You will be hard-pressed to find an Arts and Crafts bungalow larger than two thousand square feet. A true 'bungalow' by definition is only a single story dwelling. Their architecture and size are both what can honestly be considered 'tasteful.' The movement promoted simplicity. Simple but refined aesthetics, hoping to make individuals more rational and society more harmonious.

Truth to material, structure and function. Sounds like a page out of Apple's industrial design philosophy (well, the Apple maybe a decade or two ago at least). Or any company more intent on putting out quality over quantity. The Arts and Crafts movement was influenced by the social criticisms of the day, which sought to relate the moral and social health of a nation to the qualities of its architecture and design. Those behind the movement thought the machine and industrialization were at the root of many social ills and that a healthy society depended on skilled and creative workers. Like its founders, Arts and Crafts artists tended to oppose the division of labor and preferred craft production (i.e. assembly line production which turned people into essentially dumbed-down robots), in which the whole item was made and assembled by an individual or small group. Not only that, but they were concerned about the decline of rural handicrafts which accompanied the rise of industry, and they regretted the loss of traditional skills and creativity.

Sound familiar?

There is a resurgence a century later to these same ills and ideals. The idea of buying local. Of walking to the downtown farmer's market to get your produce and plants. To appreciate handicraft again which supercedes the shit that crowds our hypermarket aisles mass-produced and over-priced always at a social and/or environmental cost many are beginning to discover is too high. A return to simplicity. Of riding a bike instead of hopping in the car. Of breathing fresh air, an ideal of the movement evident in the enormous porches and extensive windows exhibited by most bungalows. Of the value of community and neighbors, again harking back to the architecture and design of the porches which were used as family gathering places and to welcome neighbors.

Basically the whole idea of the return to simplicity.

Why do we need all this shit? Why does everything need to be so big? Why do we need four, five, six etc. bedroom houses? Three car garages? All built with an eye only on the bottom line rather than the honest craftsmanship, design, style and materials used.

This ... this is why I love my little bungalow. This is why I set out to buy one when I went looking for my first house. I was very particular. There was a very astute reason for it all. The idea of Arts and Crafts falls completely in-line with my own ideals. I get a ton of satisfaction out of restoring its charm just covered up by a few decades' worth of wallpaper and bad paint. I am teaching Julian the value and meaning of taking something old but well-built, well-designed and to care for it and make it new again.

Restoring this old house makes me smile. For all it stands for.

shakes continued.

So last night as planned J mowed the lawn and I prepared to hang the 30# roofing felt over the plywood nailed up the day before. Thankfully cutting and hanging this was much quicker and easier than cutting and hanging the plywood. Just took some measuring to figure out where to cut and using a piece of scrap plywood with the roof angle cut in it as a guide.

One of the odds-n-ends I had picked up at the Depot Saturday included plunking down twenty bones for a hammer tacker -

Holy cow I cannot imagine trying to hang felt with a lousy staple gun and all the force at a weird position that requires. I am pretty convinced I would have fallen off the ladder at some point during that process. And I imagine getting some mileage out of this bad boy. But anyway bam! bam! bam! and the felt was up pretty quick -


And while doing that my neighbor Matt ran across the street again to ask me if I needed a staple nailer (er, actually he handed me one as he was asking). Uhh ... considering I had been researching them online earlier that day I was like 'well yes!' So today I ran to the Depot to get a 50' hose and some connectors to hook it up to my trusty but small 2-gallon 100psi compressor I picked up for like twenty bucks or something at a yard sale shortly after buying my house. But that little guy has enough juice to power the 18-gauge narrow crown Senco stapler Matt let me borrow -

Took some adjusting (and a 5/64 hex wrench from good ol' Trevor cos the two dozen different wrenches I had did not include that gem of a size) to get the pressure right and not drive the staple a quarter-inch into the plywood but then all was good -

Perfection. Had to plunk down eighty bones for a box of 5000 stainless narrow crown staples. Ugh. I could find them online a little cheaper but then have to pay and wait for shipping so I just grabbed the ones I found at a random mom n' pop shop near work that apparently only carries staples (and probably other fasteners and the air tools in which to use them). But the much cheaper galvanized option will end up bleeding black on the shakes after they get wet. Uh, yeah ... no.

Then I installed some flashing to protect the bit of water table-esque molding above the porch and keep this job running up to spec -

Draped the felt back over it. And now am ready to rock and roll on the shakes. I'll pull my chop saw out on the porch or somewhere close and convenient, setup Matt's scaffolding rig and effing get to work. I'm excited.

Oh, and a quick stop at Mclendon's on the way home from work tonight to pick up the semi-solid stain I'll be using on the shakes. I think it's going to look good and pretty close to that picture I mocked up months ago -

And another little bit of fun - when I was up in the attic Sunday pounding out the siding with my 8-pound sledgehammer guess what I found quite a bit of ... ?

Yep, that's right - cedar shakes. Haha - just another mystery about this old craftsman ... as in, where were they installed? The siding is original so hmm ... ? Were they up before the siding at some point? No idea - but another reason I love old houses. And I guess in all the work I am putting into this little house I am just trying to restore some of the originality and beauty to it after years of aesthetic neglect (the house had and has good bones and was structurally kept up - that's why I bought it).

Anyway then I finished up and headed in to make myself some flippin' coffee -

I am excited to hang and stain the shakes. The forecast is looking somewhat dismal though so we'll see - as soon as I can they are going up effortlessly thanks to a Senco nailer from a generous neighbor ...

time for cedar.

OK, still painting. Not finished but close after a day spent on it again yesterday. Today - change gears to start looking into the task of hanging those cedar shakes in the porch gable. There's not a ton of info on it on the interwebs, but it looks simple enough. Hang two rows on the bottom (which is where you start) and then go up from there snapping a chalk line level for every course making sure to use stainless or zinc nails and put them at a certain height and so on but not rocket science.

Neither is demolition. It's just fun.

And that's where I got started today climbing up into my attic to see about having a go with a sledge hammer literally pounding the siding out from the inside. And ... it worked. Like a charm. It was tough work but I got most of it out before I had to break out (wait for it ...) my sawzall!!! It's been too long since I've held that baby (and done any major demo) and it felt good to take a whack at the siding still careful though cutting it just on either side of those architectural beams to maintain as long a run as possible in an attempt to salvage as much as I can (or enough) to re-apply it where there is currently a butt-ugly window in our Jack and Jill bath that will be going away. Far far away. The window that is. Not the bathroom.

But anyways after an hour or so I ended up with a pile of siding on my front lawn.

And then my neighbor wandered over and insisted that I take him up on his offer to let me borrow his ladders-turned-into-scaffolding setup so he ran back across the street and grabbed everything and came back to set it up against my house.

Alrighty then - for the record it made it a ton easier and I'm not sure how long this project today would have taken had I only had a ladder. And then I finished tearing out the last bit of siding. It felt good. Quite good in fact. Not that I don't like the siding. That original fir stuff is incredible but I am just excited for the cedar shakes.

And it took long enough. Had to run to the Depot for plywood, roofing felt and some other odds and ends before coming back and setting out cutting said plywood. Oh look there's Stuart!

And I only took one photo of the plywood process as it became literally a race against the darkness. I first had to figure out the angle of the roof which I did and verified with three different means including my roofing square set against pieces of torn-off siding along with two different angle finders (it turned out to be thirty-four degrees). Then it was all about the circ saw and cutting plywood.

And that's the only photo I got of the process but there is now complete plywood where there once was siding (and then a gaping hole). And I hung the last piece by headlamp before tearing down the scaffolding and tossing it into my garage for the night. Tomorrow evening I'll have J mow the lawn while I hang up the roofing felt. And then it's on to hanging all the cedar. Must find a nail gun. Must find a nail gun. Must find a nail gun ...