Exterior 98% Complete!

Big day yesterday, BIG DAY!  Ken and I finished cutting the last siding panel.  Holy Toledo I thought this moment would never come!  Last spring I was hustling to make progress on La Cabanita between rain showers, desperately trying not to get all my materials soaked.  Then came the heat and intense summer sun beating down on the thin tar paper that shielded the wooden frame.  In an effort to preserve the tar paper's water proofness from degrading in the sun, I temporarily affixed all the metal siding panels to the walls.  And now, all too soon, the fall rains have arrived and I have a renewed interest in sealing the building envelope from the elements.                                                                                                                      It would have been real nice to seal everything while materials were warm and dry.  The task of caulking around windows, door, and trim represents the remaining 2% of the work to be completed on the exterior.  Unfortunately caulking adhesives tend to rebel against cold, damp surfaces, so barring an unexpected dry spell, I'm not sure when I'll be able to claim "100% Complete."   But it's quite a load off of my mind to know that very little water should be penetrating the building envelope at this stage.  A quick inspection of the unfinished walls inside confirm this.   

It was necessary to complete the finish work under the eaves before the siding was installed on the front and back of the house.  I used 3/8" thick cedar tongue and groove to accomplish the task.  Ken had recently scored the material for cheap at a neighbor's garage sale.  Beautiful stuff, it's amazing how such a simple detail enhances the aesthetic!

I never contemplated the practical nature of the eaves that overhang our shelters.  Eaves are a first defense against water finding its way inside a structure by providing a shadow over window and door openings where falling rain cannot reach.  I have very short eaves on La Cabanita due to road width restrictions, but even so, I was entertained recently by watching La Cabanita's eaves deflect rain water just far enough beyond the sides of the building that the tops of the window openings were dry.  This gives me comfort that my secondary measures for keeping the bones of the structure dry (vapor barrier, flashing, siding, caulking) won't get tested too rigorously.  Wind blown water can easily get under my short eaves though, so hopefully I'm in the clear.  The longer eave that I designed over the door will play an instrumental role in keeping the entry dry.  I plan to put another roof above the door to protect the entry and small deck (check out my design drawings).  Properly-designed eaves can also play an important role in controlling passive solar gain.  Yay eaves!