Today we had hoped to finish the house so that we could take Friday off and be really prepared for Saturday – landscaping day. Didn’t quite happen. A lot was accomplished though.
Picture is of our ever-smiling homeowner – Joi.
Work continued on installing “F” strip in preparation for soffit and the soffit work itself was started and one side and the back were completed, and part of the front.
Painting continued inside and out. I did trim work on the front porch – columns, door frame, corner trim, and other items on the porch. Since some of it was up against the brick work, my arsenal of tools included a 1/4″ artist brush, a 1/2″ artist brush and a 3″ paint brush. I spent a some time on my knees and side on the ground to get to the bottom of posts. The result was red clay all over. Others continued the painting of the outside walls, 2d coat and finished that up.
Jeff installed the locks and interior door hardware. As Site Project Manager (SPM), Jeff is not normally allowed to “work”. SPMs are supposed to manage and oversee all the volunteers, but since we have become such experts and don’t need much management, Jeff decided to do a little “work” today – please don’t tell anyone or he might have to turn in his name tag for breaking the rules or even be forced to do “work” on other sites.
The driveway and walkway forms were in place when I arrived (late). Unfortunately, just as the concrete truck showed up, so did the power company mini-backhoe. The concrete truck went to the house across the street that was also awaiting concrete work and the driveway workers pulled up the forms and allowed the power company contractor to trench from the power box to the house. This also required our painters to remove their ladders and tote them out of the way of the digging equipment. The power guy was supposed to be here last week, but at least he showed in time to slip in at the last possible moment.
When that was completed, the concrete truck had left after pouring about 8 feet of sidewalk – either out of concrete or too close to lunch. When the truck finally returned it sat on the street “so the driver could take his break.” It was about 1:00 pm. Some of us watched in amusement as the driver operated the controls with one hand while continuously talking on his cell phone while looking the other way and merely listening to the crew shout orders in Spanish to open or close the gate for the concrete chute.
Left for us to do is the rest of the soffit and then the aluminum fascia and some outside painting and inside touchup. Probably other stuff as well, but mostly minor. We will finish tomorrow except for landscaping.
Soffit Installation
The soffit is a wide perforated vinyl panel that runs completely around the house under the eaves. See picture of soffit, F strip and bird box with soffit already covering bottom. The first step is to make sure that the walls have their two coats of paint in the area where it will be installed so that no fresh paint creeps onto it. Then a chalk line is stretched along the wall matching the wood fascia below the drip line of the roof. Then an “F” strip (shaped like the letter F is nailed to the wall with the F turned upside down. The space between the arms of the F hold the soffit on the house side.
The soffit is measured and cut to length running in narrow strips across from the F strip to the wood fascia and nailed into the wood fascia. The other end is held by the F strip alone. The strips lock together along the edges where they overlap. An aluminum sheet (fascia) formed into an L shape (not shown) is later attached over the wood fascia so that the bottom of the L laps over the nails in the soffit and covers them. The result is a completely water tight protective covering of the wood surfaces along the roof edge and a completly enclosed eave that can ventilate the house.
Since I was not involved in this activity this year, I can’t tell you much more, but the soffit greatly improves the look of the house and at the same time performs a couple of vital services for the home. It allows cool air to enter the attic area and carry hot air out of the roof through the roof vent. It also keeps out most bugs and all larger critters and allows the attic to breathe when pressure changes.
One thing of note (and you will find a better picture in the slideshow) is the corners have “bird boxes” that serve a couple of purposes: bird boxes simply make the house look better and also often provide a place to put service outlets for lights. It also provides a way to transition from a peaked roof to a horizontal run on the corners. Bird boxes have a layer of vinyl soffit across the bottom and a layer of aluminum fascia wrapped around the edges (see earlier picture for soffit already installed).
Pictures and Slide Shows
All the pictures taken to date can be found by clicking on this link to the slide show and then above the slide show clicking on the link to my picture gallery. There are 288 pictures in 7 sets on the site, 45 taken today. Here is a link that bypasses the slide show and gives you a look at the 7 Habitat sets (link) to choose from. All pictures can be copied free in any size from tiny to huge. What the site calls “original” is not quite. These are 1 megapixel when stored, but the original original is 6 megapixel. Enjoy!
You might also want to visit our Presbyterian Coalition – Cobb Habitat for Humanity link (on the right).
Oldtimer Speaks Out 