Sunday, June 30, 2013

It's a big job!


Last summer I looked at the house and realized how badly faded the stain was. The logs were starting to go grey due to weathering from wind, sun and rain. So, I ordered a pail of stain from Canadian Log Home Supply...

The recommended way to apply the stain is to hand brush it in, to ensure all cracks and crevices are properly filled. The entire job was done with 2 brushes - a 2" for the difficult areas such as behind the trim boards, and a 4" brush for the larger areas...

I began in late September 2012, by staining the addition on the back. I managed to get the walls done, but the soffits and fascia were too high and too deep for me to reach from my 24 foot ladder, so I quit for the winter.

This spring I began on the south east wall... the difference is obvious!

Next came the front of the garage...a full day's work.




 
 
 
I had put off attempting the east wall due to the height involved, but once the garage was done, I got out the long ladder, fought my way through the Spirea, and attacked it. I was able to get almost all the way to the peak, but due to the angle of the ladder against the eaves, I had to extend it fully. It was quite wobbly in the middle, and I just did not feel safe going up more than 14 rungs. So I quit, and called our daughter-in-law Charlene to see if she was able to come and steady the ladder for me.
 
 
 
 
 
With Charlene steadying the ladder for me, I was able to finish the east fascia!
 
Next came the west end, which was even more of a challenge as the ground is much lower on that side. Charlene was a great help with the very awkward long ladder, and steadied it enough that I was able to get up to the 17th rung!
 
 
 
 
 
We had to quit when the fence interfered with my ability to reach the end fascia boards - I was just too tired to move the ladders outside the fence. It was a hot day and very humid by 2:00 p.m., which is when we quit for the day...
The next day, I finished the fascia boards and attacked the log ends and the south wall off our bedroom.  Then I called Roger and said "HELP!"
 
 



Saturday June 29th Roger came and did the really difficult areas -  the gable end over the garage (I refused to get on the roof!) and the soffits and fascia on the south end, which required scaffolding. And now, the job is done! :-)
(But I noticed the roof on the grandchildren's play structure is now looking a bit shabby...)
 
 




 
 
 
 
 

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