Getting Things Done Outside Before It Gets Too Cold

After an extended trip from the end of July through the beginning of September (7285 miles in 5 weeks) we finally returned home in time to get started finishing the exterior before the weather turns too cold to work outside.  Here we have set a newel post in preparation for one of the sets of stairs that will lead down to the back yard from the porch.

The main set of stairs on the back porch have now had their newel posts set and the top and bottom porch railings have also been set in place.  Setting the newel posts was necessary in order to complete the porch railings.

The "boss" cut each baluster to the correct size and each was then pre-drilled prior to installation.

Once the top and bottom railings were installed the balusters were attached on 5 1/2" centers.  The top and bottom railings are pressure treated 2 x 4's and the balusters are 1" x 1 1/2" stock.

The first section now has all the balusters installed.  All that's left is to install the top plate and this section of porch railing is done.  Only a dozen or so sections left to go.

The next week and a half was spent completing the railings on the back and front porches.  Here is the starting section of the front porch by the Kitchen door.  The following pictures show the remaining sections of the front porch.

This picture was taken roughly from the OSB wall in the picture above and shows how the front porch winds around the towards the main entrance on the front of the house.

Now you're standing at the corner of the porch in the picture above looking down the main section of the house.   The porch winds around the corner at the far end for another 15' or so.

Finally the end of the front porch.  It's nice to have all the railings finished.  Now we need to turn our attention to some permanent stairs.

This shot shows the top rail installed.  This is simply a pressure treated 2 x 4 turned on its side and screwed in place.  This serves to strengthen the entire structure and is just wide enough to set your beer when it's break time.

Two days were spent building forms and mixing and pouring over a half ton of ready mix concrete for pads for the Kitchen stairs and both sections of the back porch stairs.  After recooperating from lifting all those 90 lb. bags of concrete (several times) we started cutting the stringers for each set of stairs.  Each stringer is measured out to provide a comfortable rise and tread and is custom made depending on the drop to the ground for each set of stairs.

The stringers had already been cut and installed for the stairs at the main entrance to the house so it wasn't necessary to re-accomplish that task.  The temporary treads however were removed and replaced with permanent treads made from pressure treated stock.  Risers were also added to fill in the back and provide a robust completed appearance.  6 x 6 Pressure treated newel posts were added as well as railings and balusters.

The same was done for both stairs leading off the back porch.  You can also see the concrete pad the stairs are anchored to in this picture.

The Kitchen stairs were done in the same manor as the others.  Here you can see one reason over a ton of concrete was needed for the stair pads.  This one is about 16" high, 18" deep and 5' wide.  We will have about 18" of fill brought in to bring this area up to the proper grade when we get around to landscaping.

With all the stairs complete it was time to finish the exterior siding.  The sections under the porches were not done earlier for a couple reasons.  We wanted to complete the sectons that are exposed to the weather first and we also needed to complete the porch decking before triming out the door.  Here you see the rear section of the shop wall completely finished and ready for stain.

The final section of log siding completed was the garage wall under the front porch.  With the exception of a few trim pieces around the rim joists near the master bathroom all the log siding is now complete.  The trim pieces will be done in the next few days so you'll see them in the next update.

The last tasks to accomplish were to finish the sofitt and trim out the end of the rear porch roof.  Here you can see one of the new sections of sofit which appears lighter in color than the stuff that's been up a while.  The end of the porch roof was trimmed with tongue and groove.  You can also see where the log siding trim needs to be installed as well.  The black tie straps (by the hose) will be covered with these trim pieces.

That's it for this month.  Next we will finish the flooring in the half bath down stairs and install the final plumbing fixtures.  We will also install the exterior porch ceiling lights and hopefully complete the tongue and groove porch ceilings.  If we can get this done by the end of October the exterior will be done with the exception of the stain. Keep your fingers crossed.

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