The Cross House

      Because the Tyvek suit does not breathe, in this heat I am drenched in sweat when finished. I peel the suit off, and my clothes look like I just jumped into a swimming pool. So…not…fun. I can only do such work for an hour or so, and my brain is fried when…

    I erected a five-level scaffolding so I could paint the Great North Wall. LEVEL ONE: The porch. LEVEL TWO: The roof of the porch. LEVEL THREE: Just under the triple-arched windows (not yet erected in the image). LEVEL FOUR: At the bottom of the main gable. LEVEL FIVE: At the bottom of the…

                                          There are three such windows, all in the octagon tower. An arched-topped window is also in the room. I am re-installing the panels in the BLAZING heat and direct sun, but geez, the results…

          While working, I heard a yell. I turned, looked down, and saw Eric in the yard. I waved, and invited him to join me. Eric climbed up the scaffolding tower, sat down, and we began a conversation as if we were sitting in the parlor having high tea, rather than…

                                                    In about eight weeks my turret finial should be ready after its facelift, and my new octagon finial should also be ready. So, another road trip!      

  PART ONE         I told Mark to go ahead! I am hoping the octagon finial will be ready to pick up when the turret finial is ready. And I am counting the days!!!!!!!!   PART II        

              One panel though, as I had it in my hands, and was standing on the ladder, split in two. I FREAKED OUT. Small pieces instantly started falling away. I instinctively grabbed at the panel like one would a baby falling, just pulled everything tight to my chest, and…

    When new, the house did not appear to have hardly any downspouts. Almost all the gutters fed into each other. So, the turret gutter drains into the north gutter, which wraps around the house to become the east gutter, which wraps around the house to become the south gutter. Only then was there…

  Recently, I did a post about repairing the turret finial. I could just paint the finial and put it back in place. I could. But just can’t. So I asked Mark from WF Norman to give me a quote on repairing the egregious issues. Today he got back with me. About $1200. Gulp. Mark…

        UPDATE: After doing this post I realized that the suicidal window is NOT the reborn window pictured above. The reborn window is one of the two adjacent windows!    

The previous owner of the Cross House stripped the exterior of paint. This was a factor which weighed heavily in my buying the house. As I continue painting the Great North Wall, I find that there is more old paint than I encountered on the Great West Wall. This paint is like old scabs on…