SideTrip Notes (PROJECT 1: Repaint Outdoor Railings and Trim)

 
At last, some progress was made with the intended project.  Good thing my Mother-n-law reads my Blogs.  She harnessed the creativity of her husband to solve the issue of raising the pole to replace the rotten wood.  In the last post I was perplexed about the method to support the posts to install the new solid pieces I purchased to replace the rotted wood.  My Father-n-law suggested using 2X4s that are slightly longer than the actual space between the cement porch and the overhang roof.  He suggested I place them in the space between and hammer in gradually until there is enough room to replace the wood.  Success!!!  Not only with the idea but getting additional resources to assist with the project.  Husband and Father-n-law lent their hands and creativity to this solution.

While waiting for their assistance last weekend, I managed to finish one of my side projects.  Goodbye old green doors, hello midnight blue.  Clean, contemporary look to spruce up our curb appeal.  However, only ‘laneway appeal’ thus far as the front of the house provided a larger challenge.  I need to back-track to explain why.

 In addition to the doors at the back, I realized I had to remove and paint the shudders to complete the look.  Very happy with the final results and moved to the front to replicate my success.  Thank Goodness Husband caught me before I started painting.  “Come across the street ad look up”, he suggested.  Oh no – not another wrinkle!!!  I can handle the front door, and the shudders beside them, but I am not so sure about climbing on the overhang roof to remove, repaint, and reinstall the shudders on the second floor exterior.  I completely forgot about them. 

 

I bolster my courage and think I can climb out my son’s bedroom window without too much risk or knees shaking from my fear of heights.  As I am voicing my plans, my husband looks at me skeptically and his Mom begins to regale me with tales of injuries her friends have I incurred falling from roofs and other risky locales.  I decide I will leave this next side trip for a ‘spring vacation’; perhaps when we get our shingles replaced next spring I can convince the roofing company employees to remove the shudders for me …

 Back to the project at hand.  New pole bottoms are now secure, however, since the replacement pieces are a little smaller, the horizontal railings no longer have a surface to lay on for support – so, my husband and our friend/neighbour John head over to John’s scrap-heap from deck building and fashion several shunts to support our horizontal rails.  Next, I must prepare the wood for painting but before that, I take two extra precautions, at the advice of my helpers and audience.

 

 Precaution 1:

Husband wants L-brackets added to each connection of the horizontal rails as well as the new shunts.  That was a breeze, well perhaps closer to a high-wind, when you consider the angle needed for some of the shunts, but a small ‘girly’ screwdriver comes in handy for that issue.

 
Precaution 2:

My neighbour, Karen, tells me that the person she hired to do her trim and railings also applied silicone seal to each joint of wood to deter future wood rot, in those lower areas where water tends to pool.  I think that is a great idea and proceed.  This takes much longer than anticipated due to the large number of spindles on the railing but, well worth it if it saves me from replacing the wood in another 15 years …. Hmmmm ….that is a long time away.   Maybe I am doing more than needed but better safe than sorry!

 

New additions to the supply list:

·         L-brackets made of galvanized steel
·         2- pressure treated pole toppers
·         2-2X4s 9 feet tall
·         1 pressure treated 2X4 cut into shunt sized pieces (caution – raw edges are no longer pressure treated so use caution)
·         Exterior silicone seal.

Come back and visit next week (optimistic) to see resutls of my first finished project!

Stay Focused!! (PROJECT 1: Repaint Outdoor Railings and Trim)

I was full of positive energy, as I returned home from the local Home Depot with my tools in hand.  I started with:

• Low velocity power washer,
• Paint scraper,
• Sandpaper for my palm sander,
• Paint brushes and rollers, and lastly
• Mildew and water resistant white paint.

 

I did my due diligence and asked a few neighbours what they used for their trim maintenance, Goggled it, and let my mind mull over ideas for a few days.  During that time, I saw a console table in a neighbours garbage, pulled it out and “side trip number 1” began.  I examined my new find, decided it just needed some sanding and black paint to be reincarnated into stylish home design.  Since I am known for repurposing other people’s garbage, my husband groaned when he saw it and said, “where is THAT going to go?”.  “I have no idea.”  I replied, and added, “if I don’t find a great spot I will sell it – don’t worry.”  I expect this is the same reason he bans me from trolling garage sales.

 

Back to Home Depot I go to buy a finer grade of sandpaper and black melamine paint for the table.  Notice I have not yet made any progress with the first project.  I return home with the chipped paint on the house and garage trim still greeting me, I sigh and refocus.  OK – “step away from the table”, I tell myself.  I change into my painting clothes, and return to project number one.

 

That day and over the next several, I manage to squeeze in 1-2 hours of trim work on good-weather days.  I power-washed all of the loose paint away, taking care to keep the nozzle at a distance from the wood to avoid damaging it.  When I reached the base of the railing trim, the wood flew into pieces when met with the spray of water I had aimed at it.  It looked like the trim was not pressure treated wood.  It had collected water as the paint chipped and the wood had rotted.  No problem (translation in brain – crap – now what), it is just trim, I will take it all off, buy some new trim and “Bob’s your Uncle”.  “Not so fast”, yells my insecurity – as I look closer.  It is NOT just decorative trim that I’m dealing with but trim that is actually supporting the base of the structure – and not very well, considering the condition of the wood.  I have just opened a can of worms .. .exactly what scares me about these projects.

 

The washed wood required a couple of days to dry, my apprehension jumped at that excuse to grow and I let my subconscious mull it all over.  I was worried about two things.  First, I wanted to put a solid piece of pressure treated, trimmed wood in place of the decorative trim that had rotted, so that this same problem would not return in a few years.  The problem with that is finding wood that is already the right size and finished decoratively OR figuring out how to use a router and make it myself ... gulp.  Second,  since I am basically removing the bottom piece of a structural pole and replacing it, how do I support the rest of the pole/railing and porch roof while I am at it?

 

Inspiration came from one of my favourite pastimes, internet shopping!!  Home Depot sells ‘rail toppers’.  They are used for the top of rails to make them look pretty.  They are pressure treated, come in all different sizes, are a solid square of wood and offer decorative edging.  Perfect!  Off I go, again.  While there I see some bulbs for tulips at a good price (side project number two), grab a new garden tool to plant them, and along with my six rail toppers (because I have now decided to replace all lower trim on poles) – off I go again. 

 

Thank God it is raining – I get to take a few more days to figure out how I am going to lift the pole to get the new wood blocks in place.  I also need to mull over if I should paint them ahead of time … AND figure out how I will get project number one, and two and three, all done within the next two weeks, to remain on my schedule.  Come back and visit me to see how I do!!!