The moment we've all been waiting for with regards to the outside of 3 Highland has arrived. Over the last week, we have removed all of the vinyl on the bay window, and replaced it with mahogany vertical siding.
This wasn't a simple endeavor, as there was quite a bit of rotten plywood beneath the vinyl, which I suppose is why it was vinylized in the first place. A new layer of OSB (oriented strand board...like plywood) went on first to give a solid surface to nail to.
Then went two layers of tar paper, which waterproofs the plywood should any water get behind the mahogany. Next, we taped off all the seams with bituthene membrane. This helps bind the tar paper to the window sills, and has a self-healing layer that prevents nail holes from letting water penetrate towards the house.
The Mahogany was picked up at Building Supply Outlet in Peabody, MA as an overstock item, drastically reducing the price (normally $8/linear foot) to $1/linear foot. This was the same place we found the oak plywood for the kitchens walls and ceiling.
Since the boards had some blonde parts (probably why they weren't considered defective/overstock), we cut the boards in half lengthwise. This allowed us to evenly distribute the blonde boards across the bay window. without large swaths of blonde mahogany.
The snow started falling today and slowed down production, but we will be back at it tomorrow, hopefully finishing the entire project in the morning. Once it's all done, I will show a more official before and after, but here is one for starters.
How will we finish the mahogany? I don't know. I support letting things age naturally, but could also see oiling the boards as a way to preserve their redness. Also want to paint the window frames charcoal grey. Both will be spring time projects.
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