Some more painting and cleaning

 While I was waiting for the 10 foot ladder to get delivered yesterday I decided to start on the back of the house.  It's an absolute mess.  The ex-wife had started painting, much like she did on the front of the house, and left it half done.  Plus there are tons of broken shingles from when the propane piping got redone.  Quite a lot of clean up to be done back here.  I started with popping the window screen off and painting that (sorry no photo yet).  then I got rid of the cobwebs and started chipping off the old paint.  I won't be getting to the rafters, eaves, or gutters yet.  Those will be replaced later this summer since I have to get the rafters trimmed back 2" or so in order to attach a fascia board and get new gutters put up.  I can't wait to have a system that actually works.

 You can see here that the trimming of the rafters will be a delicate job since the propane pipe runs right under them.  All the clapboard siding has to be replaced also.  Our laundry room sink drains outside into a hole that connects a pipe to the road (you can see that behind the little footstool).  It's plugged up at the moment and as a result the water from the washing machine ends up flooding the sidewalk on that part of the house.  No big deal really, should only take our repair man a few days to help out with that.  I will also be making a proper little "river bed" to direct the gutter downspout away from the house and the sink too if I can't get the hole it drains into unplugged.

 You can see just how much old paint got chipped off of the door frame in these photos.  I still have to detach the cover for the basement stairs and construct a new one.  The current one is warped and rotted out.

Got all the nail holes puttied up and ready for paint finally.

 The first coat of red trim paint is up and done.  I love how it transforms the house.  So bright and cheerful and very ranch-like.  Things will look so much neater when the gutters are new and clean and the pipes are painted and a little less obvious.  The last little bits to do on the trim in this area (I did the second coat after I took the photos) are the window, the door (which may be replaced), and either replace or repair the light fixture.  I have it bent/propped up since it just rests against the door frame rather than directing light into the yard.

 Finishing up the first coat of trim paint on the fascia boards.  I had to chop the heck out of the plum tree first.  I am pretty sure the tree will be coming down this fall, it's getting ridiculous and makes such a mess.

 A shot of the doorway and window as of this morning with two coats of paint up.  It looks fabulous I think!

One fascia board done, one to go

I have one side to do, then another whole coat of paint on all things red on this part of the house.  I also still have to do the white paint under the eaves.

The horrendous cover for the basement I was talking about.  I'll also have to get a piece of wood cut to cover the broken part of the shingle that the propane guy did when he redid the pipes.

 As you can see, the next part of trim painting for this section will be a little tricky.