renovation can be hazardous to your health

we are ready to start installing the new vinyl siding, but first- all of the vinyl trim needs to be installed

you need to trim out every edge, corner, top and bottom of a wall...and you need to trim around every door and window.

installing vinyl siding may be one of the easiest do-it-yourself projects--you just need to know a few important installation tips and you are good to go! for example, the first time i installed it i was surprised to learn that you don't hammer the nails in tight, you leave a little slack because the siding expands and contracts with fluctuations in temperature- notice that the nailing flange has slotted holes which help allow for this movement.

you use a trim called j-channel around windows and doors.  it creates a slot to receive the siding panels. (and it looks like a J in cross-section)

over all doors and windows, the bottom side of each end of the J-channel is cut and bent downward so that any water caught in the channel in these areas will be shed away and down the side channels.

the corner boards are also going in 

and all of the windows have been caulked and painted

which brings me to this question:
why is it that so many standard construction materials are incredibly toxic? 

this is the label from DAP caulk....stuff that you typically squirt along seams and gaps, then you take your BARE finger and run it along the bead of caulk to smooth it out (and further push it into the gap)

harmful if absorbed through the skin?  are you serious?

of course i read the label AFTER i used the product all day yesterday- so much that i was picking it out from around my finger nails when i was finished!  who wears gloves when they are caulking?

and then i read the label on the low-temp paint, and it was basically the same-it also contains toxic cancer-causing chemicals.

ugh!

so the next time i caulk anything i am going to try wearing surgical gloves...that should be interesting!
:)


let's finish with something nice....ooo a sunset: