Greenhouse refinishing - continued

Scaffolding makes all the difference:

 The facade of plant room 1 is sanded, masked and ready to oil, outside and...

... the other side...

Along the north side, the eaves and rafter tails have already received 2 coats.

The side door from the meadow into plant room 2:

Meanwhile, on the western side, sanding is near completion, thirsty wood!

and mildew stains are a fading memory...

...more to follow...

Prepping the greenhouse for endurance.

An unusual week of sunny June weather here along the central coast is helping us prep the green house for its biennial anointing with oil.

Mildew streaks and stains and dried out chalky areas are restored using a 2 part washing process involving caustic soda (sodium hydroxide), oxalic acid and plenty of water. After drying, everything is sanded to 220 grit. Once the oil stops soaking in, it will be rubbed down to a smooth matte finish.

As we make our way around the building, many areas of interior woodwork will need to be prepped at the same time as the exterior because the washing process can leave its own streaks if the process drips on adjacent wood surfaces without the process being carried through to final rinsing. It is not possible to avoid many leaks of washing solution and rinse water to the interior, so when interior woodwork becomes involved, the scope of our work must include it.

This level of prep is not necessary every time we re-oil, but we're due for it now, and the results I think are going to be outstanding.

Weasels & Squirrels

http://creagrus.home.montereybay.com/longtailedweasel.html

The long tailed weasel stopped by for a visit the other morning. I managed to snap a couple photos with one hand while I hung onto my coffee cup in the other.

He paused long enough to stare at me before disappearing into the rocks.













This is a Western Grey Squirrel, an arboreal rodent.
He enjoys crouching on the bird house and scolding us for our various offenses.

In the path of progress

I decided to winterize the path to the cottage as the main path has been to the manor.

To do so, I removed numerous rocks previously placed there 

to make way for poured cement that would transition to the older cement along the main path.

Mortar cement was placed starting at the main path and working back towards the mixer in front of the garage.

A layer of sand precedes the 2+ inches of cement. A couple of pipe conduits under the path at either end allow for future irrigation or wiring needs.

A year or two later and it looks of comparable vintage with the main path.

Rose Sunset Rose