More Priming and 3283 Celebrates Tulip Time

Today was a "contractor free" day at 3283. It gave me time to prepare for the next round of siding installation. After Jeff Sparks and crew installed the wood siding on the west and north walls of the addition, Bobbie and I began to prime the boards in preparation for final painting. We worked to our short-ladder-easy-reach height and left the top portion to be primed with longer ladders.

As I contemplated working off taller ladders I looked at the east wall of the addition: the wall that is above the basement entryway. Even the lowest boards will required more than normal step ladders to reach. I didn't want to have to climb tall ladders to both prime and paint this wall.

The lowest siding board will be at least 8-9 feet above the ground level.
The top of the wall at the high point of the roof will be about 20 feet high.

The solution to the priming problem was suggested by Jeff Sparks who said the boards could be primed before he installed them. He actually said "Your painter may want to prime the siding before we install it." Since I refrain from talking to myself in all but the most critical circumstances, I didn't talk to "the painter." I simply gathered my painting supplies and dug into the pile of siding.

It was a nice, warm day again in Holland. So I spent the day in solitude with 16 foot long pine siding boards, a gallon of primer and my trusty 3 inch paint brush. No one was around to take my picture with brush in hand. So the pictures below show the day's effort. Twenty-two boards. Two coats of bare wood primer. Ready for the carpenters to install later this week.

My "paint shop" with the first few boards drying at the right.

At the end of the day, twenty-two 16 foot long boards were primed.

All the primed wood was moved into the garage
to keep therm clean until they are installed.

As most of you know, the closest city to 3283 is Holland, Michigan. Each May the city hosts a ten day long festival known as Tulip Time. Literally millions of tulips bloom throughout the city as the residents celebrate their Dutch heritage.  Each year organizers commission a poster. A number of these posters are on the walls of 3283. This year's poster has been purchased and waits for construction to move ahead before we hang it. 

Tulip Time 2013 Poster

Tulip Time 2013 began on Saturday. And 3283 managed to keep in step with the festivities. Although most of the yard has been torn up by the construction, a small corner of flower bed remained untouched. And, today tulips began to bloom at 3283. The display is not as dramatic as the poster. But I think it means that Mother Nature has accepted the changes we are making.

The few Tulips beginning to bloom at 3283.
There WILL be many many more next year. Promise!

Tomorrow we expect the plumbers to be at 3283 to connect the well and garage to the water supply system. And, they will be replacing about 200 feet of septic line between the house and the septic tank.