Snow and Slow

In the foreground is our friend's dog, Bob Barker. In the background is the house lightly dusted with snow.

Snow in Austin, TX! Crazy. It's been cold here, I've been working without any help, and the project has slowed down. Last week found me spending most of my time indoors researching information about door construction. Our budget for doors is small, but our tastes are always tending towards the high end, which makes site-built doors pretty much the only option for us. I'm daunted by the task- doors are extremely vulnerable to damage and distortion because of their constant operation and their exposure to moisture and sunlight. Using strong hardwood is a part of the solution, but stronger species of wood can also warp with even more strength... So I've been looking into carpentry forums to get a sense of what joinery techniques and species might work best, and daydreaming about how it will all come together.

But that was all last week. This week I've started a new job working for a high end builder who is finishing a remodel job in West Austin. This has always been the plan- to get the house covered up well enough to be able to leave it alone for stretches of time while I earn some money, and split my time over the next several months between paying work and work on the house. This week I was able to get home early enough on Thursday afternoon to prep some rough openings for installing windows, which I plan on doing tomorrow (Saturday). Then Sunday I'll be going back out to work some more on the house in West Austin- they're pushing to get the house ready for move-in in two weeks, and the owner offered everyone double time for working Sunday. So, no weekend, but I'll be making money and getting most of my windows installed.

Sorry there's no picture of the flashing. I'll make sure to take some pictures detailing how the sills get flashed because I personally think the details of window flashing are deeply compelling. Flashing a window is like conducting a long-term war with water, and you have to win every single battle for ever and ever.