Trim paint

Albert had a few more trim pieces to install before Louie and his paint crew could finish.  Here Albert is working on the window trim piece.

And below Albert is measuring for the roof triangle piece to match the other side of the house.

Here he is carefully nailing it in place. And being careful in more ways than one!

Below is the trim color...just a little accent for the roofline and the piece above the belly band on the bottom.  The triangle at the top will be painted as well.

 

More painting progress

Here is the north side of the house, still with just the primer paint.  Lots of calla lilies still in bloom.

Ta Dah! Here is the south side with the main body color and some of the trim done.

And the east side.  You can see the top windows still have the primer, and the bottom windows have the color trim. There will be also an accent color on the peak.

Painting Primer

Louie and his crew are applying the first coat of tinted oil based primer to the house. 

All the windows have been masked off, giving an eerie, blind look to Pioneer House.

Remember this is just a hint of what the house will look like when finished.

Below picture is taken from part way up the driveway.

And now to keep you up on what is happening in the gardens.  Lots of peony, sweet rocket, and of course rhodies in bloom.

 

Husky colored iris?

 

Roofing Begins

We decided to put in underground power to the house and so had to dig a ditch for the line.

The below photo shows a couple of new evergreen trees we bought and planted along the road side to the east.  

The roofers started today, only a brief shower and then sunshine.  Here they have torn off the old shingles and are laying the new black asphalt shingles.

Not quite sure if that safety harness rope  would do much good it this fellow slipped!  Looks a bit slack to me.  I did hear them grumbling about the hassel of that rope getting in the way all the time. 

It is a tall house with a 12/12 roof.  For every 12 inches horizontal there is 12 inches verticle. Pretty steep!  I think I'd keep my harness rope taut.

 

 

More painting prep and Electrical work

Louie is power washing the house after he and his crew did the first round of caulking.  

Our Pioneer House is looking a bit tough, but it is getting clean!  

Les and his crew have been inside wiring, below shot is in the kitchen.  Jason is working near where the kitchen sink will be installed.

And here is the upstairs hallway, a couple of ceiling lights wired in.

 It was not necessary to purchase a new electrical panel, nor did we have to move it to a different location.  Here it is in the pantry, being re-wired up.

And now for a few garden shots.  The whole family has been helping with this enormous task!  Our results have been astounding!  

The above bed will have dozens of calla lilies in bloom soon, as well as roses.  While pulling out the weeds, we came across hundreds of small bulbs which had laid hidden all spring amongst the weeds.

Here is the front bed, with an Exbury azalea in bloom, a lovely peachy orange color.

We edged the sidewalk and found that it is in decent shape.  A new sidewalk would look totally out of character, so we are keeping this one just as it is.

One path led to the wood shed (to the right) and one path to the old cottage.

Painting Prep

We have begun painting prep now that some nice weather has arrived.  Louie and his crew have been scraping and caulking  the last couple of days. 

All the new windows have been installed by Albert and Nathan.  You can see on the below photo that the two little windows were able to pivot to open.   They will be replaced by a single paned window.

I can just see someone sliding out and down the roof!  Remember that these windows on the inside are installed very close to the floor.

Here is the south side of the house with the new little window.  I decided against a divided light as it would have looked too small.

And below we have Nathan planting our new hedge row on the North side of the property.  In a few years we will have a nice visual and sound barrier, hopefully!

My sister came today to assist in the never ending job of weeding the beds.  She uncovered a multitude of lily of the valley, so fragrant and in full bloom.

 

A Little More Progress

  
 The above photo is the large upstairs closet where a hot water tank will be installed as well as shelving and the access to the attic.

Downstairs in the kitchen we have walled in the former doorway to the bedroom.  You can see the sink will be on the east wall, center, with a return counter where the door used to be. 

  
In the bedroom we have framed in the doorway to the bathroom.

 Here you are looking at the new kitchen/bedroom wall.  There used to be two doors into this bedroom, one from the kitchen and one from the entryway.
The last photo is of a lovely Persian lilac in full bloom.