Porch Rebuilding, continued

Here's to spending lots of money stimulating the local building industry! It is money well spent. You may recall from two weeks ago my adventures in getting replicas of our porch railing balusters custom turned. The results are quite nice:




If anyone is in need of some wood turning 'round these parts, I can wholeheartedly recommend this guy. Quick turnaround and obviously skilled. He also has plenty of knowledge on proper construction of things like railings that should ensure these last for another 100 years of New Hampshire weather.

Today my carpenter started tearing things apart. Good riddance to the old railings - may they meet a quick end in a properly maintained and scrubbed incinerator. He also started stripping the paint on the posts, which will be restored in place. He is using a chemical stripper that sets up overnight and gradually turns the paint to goo:


We are aiming to restore the dark green color that existed before someone thought it a good idea to slather purple overtop. Makes for an interesting pattern at least.

The cheap lattice covering the underside also disappeared today. It allows one a nice closeup look at the brilliance of venting the clothes drier directly under the porch:



Notice also how all the joists have had sisters bolted to them to support their crumbling strength. And what is that? 4x4s of pressure-treated sitting on cinderblocks!

We are deeply looking forward to this project being finished. The process is not painful at all so far (much less than, say, a kitchen renovation), we're just hoping to have a chance to enjoy it for a brief time before it is covered in snow.