New porches at the Hemlocks

New porches at the Hemlocks

This week the wood for the porches should be delivered, and then when weather permits the installation will begin.  The underpinning from the old porches should still be OK.  A local old guy is going to do the work.

The wood is “weather treated” wood with the slats laid side by side, vice the original tongue in groove method, which is simply no longer available around here (east Tennessee) in weather resistant wood, like the original white cedar wood our ancestors used at one time.

Weather treated wood is like what we often use on outdoor porches and patios these days.  And I priced the fake wood which is a combination of wood and plastic (it lasts forever and doesn’t need treatments), and that is just too high in cost these days. And it just looks a “little too modern” for my preferences.

The front porch of the cottage next door (built 1906) will be replaced, as well as much of the porch wood on the main cottage (built 1905). My intent is to try preserve as much tongue in groove white cedar wood where I can (it is probably from the circa 1971 porch work).  There are a few obvious areas to me. Even my own grandmother read to me in one of these areas at one time, too.  The book was Robinson Crusoe, by the way.

Also whether I end up painting it brown or the traditional battle ship grey (oil based paint) or just leave the treated wood exposed is still to be decided. I’ll start out with treated wood just exposed to the weather, maybe treat it once with linseed or vegetable oil (the old fashioned way), and then see what I think.  I can always add wood preservative treatments at a later time, too.

Last, maybe ten years ago I replaced some of the porches with tongue in groove yellow pine, but the weather has gotten to it in spite of all the painting and treatment given to it, so it is finally becoming too rotten to be a good porch.  So I have to do something.

I probably should have replaced it last year, but instead did a jury rig kind of repair that is also finally wearing out.

My intent is still to make this place an OK living museum.  The more modern way would be to tear it down and replace it with something better. Now in 50 years or so, that might make more sense than right now in 2015.  The cottages were built in 1905 and 1906, respectfully.