Under Construction

Renovations are under way!  Jason, our builder, began the chore of replacing the front sill in the living room, and believe me, it is not for the faint of heart.  To expose the entire length of the sill, he first had to remove the lowest couple of runs of wood siding as well as the first-floor porch, and in doing so, he discovered that the most deteriorated portion of the sill was actually right under the front door.  Additionally, the studs in the living room wall had begun to compress into the sill.  The sight of this massive pine beam was awe-inspiring enough, but the added visual impact of the studs pressing down into as if it were made of sponge as well as the fact that large portions of it were nothing but dust was truly jaw-dropping.

The next step was to remove the siding in front of the second story header so that the house could be raised slightly off the existing sill.  He then jacked up the house, took out the old sill and put in the new one, and finally replaced the front porch floor.  All this was accomplished by two men over the course of 6 working days.  Astounding.

Exposing the old sill

A mortise from an older porch

Termite damaged pine sill

The worst section just under the front door

A dangling tenon.  Nobody wants to see that.

Supporting the house

Sand and wood chips.  Formerly known as "the sill."

All that's left...

Bottle jacks holding up the front of the house after removing the old timber

It looks like it's missing its front teeth.

You can see into our front hallway from under the door.

The new sill going in...

Starting to breathe a little easier now

We have touchdown

Proudly sporting her new sill

The front porch back on...

Exactly.

To be continued...