Thursday, June 08, 2006

Progress On Many Fronts

All the flowers are out in full force. It really does take three years. I've learned a technique for reclaiming the yard. Cut down the grass or other ground cover, spread some fertilizer, cover with several layers of newspaper and then cover with grass clippings or mulch. So far I've reclaimed the north bed, enlarged the flowerbeds on the south side and created a nice bed around one of the Ash trees on the east side. I get excited as the grass gets longer and longer planning my next reclamation.

My dozen tubes of silicone expired at the end of May and just in time I ground out all the nasty black caulk from the south side of the home and laid down a beautiful bevel of silicone. I'll be able to finish repairing the east and west sides of the slab before the silicone hardens up too much to get it out of the tube in the next week or so. It's my number one project at the moment.

The carport restoration is coming along well. Having an open room and uncovering the window to the workspace has entirely transformed the space. The next stage is to build a shallow cabinet along the south wall. It will be similar to Cedric's window treatment, the workspace woodwork and the living room seating kickplate. The next thing for me to accomplish is finish tearing out the carpet, patching, sanding and staining the concrete pad.

The roof is another matter. I repaired the damaged insulation, painted the bare spots and raised the portions that were sitting in standing water. The EPDM paint that I applied to the portions with standing water has debonded in several areas. I'll try to figure out why that happened, do a better job of preparing the surface and repaint it along with sealing an edge that leaks later this summer in the dry season.

On July 1 we are having a 50th Birthday Party for the home. It will be a members only event for the newly formed CF3 (Cincinnati Form Follows Function) modern homeowners and lovers of mid century modern design non-profit organization. Check out their site at http://www.cf3.org.