The brick oven is wrapping-up its fifth year of wood-fired baking, braising, cooking and grilling and it was beginning to show some wear. A few cracks and chipped and faded paint. Naturally, if you lived outdoors for your entire life and were subjected to extremes of temperature on a regular basis you'd look a wee bit rough around the edges too.
So we had our paint contractor make arrangements for performing the necessary repairs for resurfacing the exterior.
This started with sandblasting the oven exterior - makes short work of a tough job.
Followed by our favorite guy - Pablo the Painter - commence with repairs.
Apply a couple of base coats of a Sherwin-Williams neutral stucco primer.
The title of this post is apropos as it was rather noisy around here for the duration of the project. Our shack here at The Platz now sports a brand-spanking-new, tin roof - green to be exact. Constructed twenty years ago the original roof has been on our minds for a spell especially since the installed roof was a forty year roof that became sketchy before the twenty year mark. Chalk this up to peninsula weather. We also had a discussion with our insurance guy who shared that roof claims are the number one driver of the rise in homeowner policy premiums and they no longer underwrite asphalt-shingle roofs more than a decade old. We were grandfathered. Anyway, we figured a steel roof is a major plus for a future buyer and if we fancied installing a solar array on our perfectly oriented southern exposure we could confidently do so on this roof. But I digress.
This job was scheduled more than a year ago as the contractor was booked that far out; and fortuitously allowed us to lock-down the pricing and front-run the more recent Liberation Day reciprocal tariffs imposed on construction materials by the current occupant of the White House.
ABC Construction, LLC of Bonduel, Wisconsin is an Amish family business who came highly recommended by a neighbor who had both a house roof and barn siding completed by Eli and his crew.
Last week, Oconto County Lumber showed-up unexpectedly and dropped a pile of building materials on the driveway. Around lunchtime the following day Eli showed-up with his trailer after completing a roofing and siding job for a neighbor one road over from us. My neighbor's old house now looks like a newly-constructed house. And after one full day and two additional half-days on the job, our house is looking like a sharp, newly-constructed one too.
Wisconsin has the fourth largest Amish population in the country, behind Ohio, Pennsylvania and Indiana; nevertheless, I've never worked with an Amish contractor before. Like most Wisconsin Amish, Eli does not operate a motor vehicle. He hires other guys to haul him around. Nevertheless, he does use every imaginable manner of power tool and a cell phone. He and his boys speak perfect English in general communications; but between one-another they use English and some sorta German-influenced patois that sounds like the Pennsylvania Dutch you might hear in a Mennonite community.
Solid work Eli delivered. He and his boys were polite, affable, efficient and I would
be surprised if we find a nail or screw in the turf around the house.
I'd recommend them in a heartbeat. The job wrapped-up before lunchtime Saturday and he was off to drop the trailer at the next job in New Franken just south of here.
I've owned and lived in multiple old houses over the years and engaged in countless repairs and remodeling projects.
You?
If so, have you ever noticed how much the 2 x 4 studs have evolved?
Mid-19th Century balloon framing utilized long 2 x 4s that were actually a full 2 x 4 inches running continuously from foundation to roof.
Dimensional lumber was standardized in the early 20th Century and the 2 x 4 shrank to 1 3/4 x 3 3/4 after milling.
Mid 20th Century replaced balloon framing with platform framing utilizing shorter 2 x 4 studs for each story. The lumber was further standardized resulting in the modern 1 1/2 x 3 1/2 size.
Older growth rings on older lumber
My current home was constructed within the last couple of decades and makes considerable use of solid wood. It also utilizes engineered wood products - namely manufactured materials made by binding wood strands, fibers, or veneers with adhesives to create strong, durable and consistent building materials designed to maximize the use of wood while improving performance relative to solid wood.
Modern commercial construction makes regular use of steel studs for building-out office space within a larger big box.
At long last we've implemented a permanent solution to that portion of the porch that had seasonally been screened.
Last year the screens and doors that were installed in the spring and stored-away in the fall finally reached the end of their useful life. No longer capable of keeping the bugs out and unworthy of repair were not even installed.
They were basically trash.
Now there is this.
Aluminum screens, windows and doors permanently installed. Weather proof, bug proof, critter proof and capable of virtual year-round use - by Suncomfort Sunrooms.
The futon mattress can now remain on the bed frame.
A decorative piece of area rug can be deployed.
Nice furniture can be purchased.
A space heater will make it toasty-comfy during the shoulder seasons.
Home improvement project was launched this week - and earlier than planned.
Originally scheduled for June - Baylake Landscaping was able to bump-up our project on their schedule and start work on the pedestal, countertop and bench wall seating.
Ready for ground-breaking
Gravel base
Forms
Pouring concrete
Oven and countertop base
Footings for bench wall seating
First course of Winnebago cut stone for the bench wall
Stay-tuned for periodic updates and the eventual delivery of the oven and installation.
Yup, I am tapping this out on my laptop from our redone porch.
I apologize for not subjecting you to daily and ritual updates of the demolition and reconstruction. I can circle-back to that another day as it would be worthy to share the details of the most cool time capsule that has been placed beneath the deck.
Our porch project was completed this afternoon.
The homeowners would like to thank Buhr Construction, Brussels, WI for the workmanlike result. Nicely done!
East exposure and entrance to the mudroom
Southern exposure and view west
Southwest corner and view northwest
Western exposure and view north
Northwest corner and view into the screen porch
Norther exposure and screen room. Research already underway for a replace screen system for three season use.
This is what we call a porch beer.
Another Wisconsin beer from Capital Brewery.
Classic Wisconsin lager brewed with Brewers, Munich, Yellow Corn Grits malt and Northern Brewer hops.
Last year the hot tub was disconnected and went away. This year I determined that the concrete slab were it had previously been associated would best be repurposed as a patio and grilling platform. Its placement on the north side of the screen porch with a commanding view of the late afternoon sun, cocktail ambiance and easy access to the house thru one door made it a suitable location for grilling. The problem was that all of my grilling accoutrements were stored in the garage. Charcoal, utensils, lighter chimney, side board and more were all stored on a couple of shelves with the automobiles and were not particularly accessible for ease of access, hosting a party and efficient grilling. What was the solution? A deck box. On sale at Fleet Farm. A Suncast 72 gal Wicker Deck Box. Apparently these plastic boxes are kept on a deck for storing chair and lounge cushions and other items useful for entertaining on a deck. They're not load-bearing so you cannot pick them-up and move them when filled with heavy contents. Nevertheless, I figured I perfect for storing all of my grilling apparatus and more. It was basically critter-proof, weather resistant and could live outdoors within arms-length of any of the grills. After using it for a month and all of the stuff it held (and more) my repurposing idea took hold and was reinforced. The deck box made grilling much easier. Nevertheless, I began to think ahead to winter. With the arrival of snow grilling does not take a vacation. The deeper the snows the tougher the going. And when the going gets tough - the tough get grilling. I figured if I could get that deck box above the surface of the concrete it could ride-out the snows. If Jill and I moved it to the shelter of the covered porch during the worst of times - better yet. Furthermore, raising it a foot and a half saved some bending and stooping. The solution would be sublime. So, the other day I fished-around in the scrap lumber stored in the barn for materials.
Leftover deer stand parts are perfect. Fetching power tools from the workshop, tape measure, square, pencil and assorted deck screws I pieced-together a stand for the deck box.
Admittedly, it is over-engineered but what else is new around here. Robust is best. I figure it will outlast the cheap plastic deck box and can easily be surfaced as a table for a Smokey Joe grill. Waste not = want not.
It holds everything I need with plenty of room for more. That evening I grilled baby reds and a whole chicken on the throne.
click on images to enlarge
Everything was convenient and worked smoothly. It was sublime.....
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