S23 · E15

The Manchester House - 15

The last of the ipe decking is arrived, Steve and our master carpenter check out the installation method on the front deck: pressure-treated sleepers spiked into the concrete slab, with the ipe held down with marine adhesive and a few stainless steel finish nails. The wood itself is so dense that it takes oil with difficulty - it's fine to leave it unfinished. Our master carpenter finds out how homeowner Janet McCue has fare in her attempt to strip the diamond-paned curved sash on the historic bump-out. It was an arduous process - an alternative would be to send them out for stripping, but that would necessitate reglazing and repainting the entire sash, even though only the exterior needs it. Steve sees the expanded foam insulation going in and talks to the company president about its relatively high cost (2 to 3 times of that fiberglass), its performance, and its environmental record (which is excellent). Richard Trethewey shows our master carpenter aluminum-clad PEX tubing used for p