Cold Day of Ipe (Reprise)

View of the finished Ipe siding around the front door.

Today I had Katie in tow, so the siding installation went much faster. On the road by 8 am. At the Haus working by 9:30 am. Temperature was 32 F degrees upon arrival. And again, the sun ducked behind the hill right on queue at 11:30 am.  

We were able to cookie-cutter the process, finishing up the siding on each side of the door. And then all of the siding on the wall to the left of the door.

Our process was:

• Cut wood pieces to length. -John
• Paint ends with a waxy treatment that prevents them from drying out too quickly. -Katie
• Mark each piece 1" in from the top and bottom at the designated positions -Katie
• Drill each piece where the markings are -Katie & John
• Mount wood siding to the wall (and grumble occassionally as a screw head strips).  

Over 30 pieces of wood are required to cover a wall from top to bottom, including one piece at the top that has to be ripped down to 2 inches. In all, we mounted about 50 pieces of wood.

It was nearly 4 pm when we finsished the walls and started on the ceiling. Because the ceiling is at an angle, each piece requires a custome measurement: it's no friend to someone with mild dyslexia (like me). After miscutting the first piece at the wrong angle, and then wrestling setting screws above my head on the correctly-cut piece, I decided to punch out and call it a day.

I use paint sticks (package 8 for $0.99) as 1/8" spacers between the wood. 

The Ipe continues to be arduous to work with. We broke 3 drill bits -- 2 when drilling wood, and one when I accidentally dropped the drill. And we went through 4 tip-bits on the impact drill and probably 15 or 20 stripped screw heads. When the head of a screw strips, I use a vice grips to grab the head and back it out by hand. Then drive a new screw in.

But no major hitches or faux pas during the day.

Katie built a fire in the fireplace, and we burned scrap wood all day. The heat from the fireplace reaches about 8 feet back in to the room. A nice place to sit when eating lunch. But the entire shell of KnArrow Haus is still uninsulated, so literally all the heat goes up and out -- even the room where the fireplace is does not get warmer except directly in front of the fireplace.

View of Lichtenberg from the back deck right before leaving. 

Moon on the rise as we left. 

I estimate it will take at least two more days to finish installing the Ipe on the ceiling cantilever, sue to all each piece needing to be custom measured and cut -- and working overhead. At that point, the outside of KnArrow Haus will be "done" -- well almost. 

My punch list for the outside of KnArrow Haus still includes:

• Porch lights in the cantilever ceiling.
• Railing and cabling around the front porch and back deck. 
• Trim around the outside of the back door, back window, and garage door.
• Wire for lights above garage door under porch.
• Finish underside of porch above garage door and trim lights.
• Step for back door.