SPCG Project: Quick Updates w/ Pictures and Power Washing

No boring details on this post. I noticed some pictures as I was going through my Photo Stream and realized I left some items off.

I will briefly explain some and will just post the pics up with little captions.

Power Washing -

The deck is old and had a ton of mildewy stuff on it (sort of a green tint) and was really slippery when it rained. I do know that many people power wash decks and it makes a huge difference, so I decided to try it myself. Rather than hiring someone, I decided to buy a Power Washer and do it myself. Im sure the power washer will come in handy in the future and it already has (as you see in some previous posts and more that will come out in the future). as far as keeping the deck, its still up in the air. For now, its staying until we figure out what to do with they yard. I decided to see how it looked clean.

Fences had a similar story, so I decided to wash those as well...big difference.

Fireplace and Chimney Work -

So the chimney was inspected and needed some items to be addressed in order to make it useable and safe.
- No spark arrestors on the top of chimney (this catches ash I guess and helps eliminate possible ash from floating away and burning the house next door or trees in the areas). This was a must.
- Rear wall of fireplace needed to be rebuilt. If you pressed on it with your hand hard enough, you would feel the old brick cave in a bit. Not good.
- Ash dump was open (basically a shoot to dump ash when you were done with your fire. This sits below where the wood burns and dumps to the bottom of the fireplace to a trap door outside of the house where you can collect and dispose as needed. Without this having a seal, it could create a draft in the house and for the fire causing the flame to jump and or blow smoke in the house.
- Chimney was deflecting when viewed from the front. It needed to be braced so in the even of an earthquake, the bricks do not topple over. Basically you strap the unstable part of the chimney on top to the roof for safety.
- No Damper in chimney. Without this, a constant draft is present allowing cold air to come in from the top of the chimney or to allow hot air to escape. To help with efficiency of our furnace, a damper was a must in my opinion to keep warm air in. The damper is a door at the top of the chimney that allows you to open and close the opening as needed.

Deck Floor - Gross

Deck Stairs - Green/Gross

Rear Fence - Same story with the green stuff

Close-up of rear fence

Corner of Deck Power Washed - NICE

Power Washing Difference on Deck Floor

Before/After split - its still wet, but I can see wood now

Rear Fence - Power Washed and Clean!

Partial Rear and Side Fence - Washed and Clean! Note the left side of the fence - neighbor area. Its green.
Our side looked like that before too!!!

Deck Stairs - CLEANED!!! Not bad eh?

Chimney Braced, Spark Arrestors Installed - Not physically appealing, but required. Ill have to figure out a nicer way
to get the spark screens looking better. Maybe some paint when we repaint the house will blend it in a bit. Its ugly I admit.