Windows

In order for the siding to begin, all of the windows had to be installed. That was a long wait. It was a wait for the windows I ordered to finally arrive and a wait for someone to install them and to coordinate the two. But it finally happened. Well, what finally happened was that I had someone installing the last of the windows and discovered that the small awning windows were still not the ones I'd ordered. So, Home Depot sent someone over to piece together what I'd originally ordered from the different, incorrect sets the manufacturer had sent. That worked out fine and we all had a good laugh. I could laugh about it because I knew now that Home Depot was graciously eating the cost of those windows.

So, here you see some of the siding work with all of the windows installed. I guess that I should mention that I went with your basic single-pane vinyl windows. Except for the transoms. And I think the door windows are double pane. Aside from the bare bones budget, my reasoning was that even the single frame windows are far superior to the old windows in my main house. I think they work and look just fine for the needs of the building.

Hmmm... and now I can see that the siding guys did not wrap that bit above the door at the back of the shed. They started out all right but became surly and negligent by the end. And charged me more than stated at outset. And left their huge rattle-trap truck with the confederate flags in my driveway throughout. But they did a pretty good job. One of my handymen helped to correct the bits they left for me to fix. They came, they did their thing, they left. A friend of mine (not a native Tennessean) told me, "Tennessee is the 'good enough' state. People here work till it's good enough."

The State of Things

The roof tile went up without a glitch, naturally. The roofer's father was a roofer and his son is a roofer. This was easy, pleasant and over with in no time.

I was having some problems with the windows I'd ordered from Home Depot. The small awning windows for the east wall did not come in right. Neither did the transom window. I think that the loft window crank was broken on arrival and J. could not figure out how to install the twin window (for which you see the gaping hole in the above picture). The result of all this was that I had to wait on installing four or five of the windows. I really forget the exact sequence of events but ultimately, when the windows were all properly accounted for and installed, Home Depot credited me for 4, and the window manufacturer refunded my money for 2. So, of 13 windows, 6 were no charge. It was a pain, but funny by the end of it all and how could I complain? What a deal!

J. still had about a day's worth of work to finish. In fact, I think that it would have taken him more than one day. But it was important stuff, like the knee walls in the loft some bracing in the trusses, a ladder for the loft and the back shed door and window. Later, I realized that he had not made any threshold support before (or after) installing the front entry doors. The framing had to be brought to an end point in order to have the building inspector sign off. In my attempt to maintain decent neighborly relations, my excuse for bringing this phase to a close was financial. But I was counting the hours.