The husband tore down the old one a few years back and replaced the wood with composite decking, built a new frame, added glass and installed new soffit on the ceiling.
.
.
What he didn’t do was replace the old storm door.
.
.
Which, over the winter had a bad spell and kind of… exploded.
.
.
We’re not sure what went wrong on the bottom right but before I knew what was happening the other day….
.
.
The husband had removed it.
.
.
And sanded down the old frame because he was bored and had nothing to do.
Problem is no one had the one he wanted in stock so now we have to wait a few weeks for delivery.
The barn porch rotted wood replacement project continues.
.
.
Or rather, it continued without me noticing and is now complete.
.
.
(Yes, the left hand post still dips… but that’s a frost heaving, ever shifting Maine ground problem.)
And while my husband used similarly weathered boards…
.
.
They still don’t match the existing and stick out like a sore thumb because he refused to replace the entire length of the boards like I suggested.
.
.
This anomaly doesn’t bother my husband, but will drive me nuts for years to come.
And did you happen to notice anything else amiss on the porch?
.
.
Perhaps the furniture that I had recovered a few years back at a rather large expense?
.
.
A cushion is missing.
As in… gone.
We noticed the other chair cushion had been torn, or more precisely… chewed. And there was stuffing blowing here and there around the bottom of the barn so as crazy as it sounds, we think it was stolen.
By the critters.
Most likely the by Momma chuck who nests and has babies under there every year.
Ordinarily this would piss me off to no end, but I’ve been wanting to replace this set for some time so now seems as good a time as any.
Day two of wall sconce installation saw our mantle taken over by tools
.
.
Multiple trips to the hardware store were needed and my husband’s patience was wearing thin.
.
.
I was trying to speed the process along by dropping helpful hints but was promptly told to vacate the work area.
.
.
The old wiring was troublesome and at one point I told my husband just to mount the lights and not worry about them being functional. To be honest we haven’t turned them on for years.
There’s a reason for this.
.
.
The built in bookcases on either side of the fireplace are deep.
Four rows of hardcovers deep, and reaching the light switch?
.
.
Way back there …
.
.
Means removing a few dozen books every time.
As you can see by the original unpainted paneling, it hasn’t been uncovered for decades.
Installation of the new wall sconces started simply enough that afternoon.
.
.
With Lord Dudley Mountcatten on hand for the box unpacking assist.
.
.
He follows my husband everywhere, like a devoted dog.
.
.
Me? I’m just tolerated for my can opening and litter box cleaning ability. 🥴
When all the pieces and parts of the lights were laid out and the instructions ignored, because… you know, men… it was time to begin.
.
.
Upon initial examination, the existing electrical boxes (circa 1974 when the house was built) didn’t look good.
They were metal, barely stable, filled with old paper and sawdust and had nowhere to attach the new mounting hardware.
.
.
So they had to go.
New boxes were purchased…
.
.
But of course they didn’t fit.
*side note- this wall is actually two sections of old paneling I painted when we first moved in. Neither of us was skilled enough in wallboard mudding and application to rip it out around the fireplace… so there it’s stayed for 20 odd years. This was never an issue, until now*
For the next few hours my husband cursed, sputtered and cut. Or tried to. He only needed to make the holes a wee bit bigger but doing so without splitting and splintering the ancient paneling was more of a challenge than he thought.
By dinner time he’d finagled the boxes into larger holes, mounted the new hardware, grounded and wired one new sconce and attached it to the wall.
Remember when my husband tore down most of our old shed and rebuilt it without the addition?
Remember when my husband bought an antique wagon and had to rebuild the addition to house the purchase?
Remember when I complained about having a gaping open hole on the north side of the new addition because my husband couldn’t figure out how to build a door on the wonky shaped opening?
Remember when my husband covered the hole with a tarp thinking that would suffice?
Silly man.
.
.
Door construction has begun.
.
.
I had multiple ideas for this.
.
.
None of which were taken under consideration.
.
.
Have you hugged your door today?
.
.
Remember how nothing was even close to level or plumb when the shed was built?
River's world..... 