Spent all day Friday priming our new beaded cedar clapboards before installation.

On Saturday I began the day by flipping all of the insulation that we installed last weekend thanks to an observant regular on this site who pointed out that in our climate the vapor barrier should be facing the interior of the house instead of the exterior. (Thanks for the sharp eye and good timing Don!) Once the insulation was flipped my brother and I hung the plywood sheathing and a vapor barrier and began installing the siding.

For an authentic 18th century look I am finishing off the installation by using rosehead cut nails from Tremont Nail Company. I am using their "Common Siding Nails." Took a few boards to get used to nailing them. Also found that you definitely need to drill large pilot holes when nailing anywhere near the end of a clapboard to keep the cedar from splitting.

Having to get some window moulding custom milled to match the other windows. -- Bill

Thunderstorms all weekend kept us from working at Enon Hall. So on Saturday we went up to D.C. to visit the "Within These Walls" exhibit at the American History Museum.

They have rebuilt a 1760s Massachussets home in the museum leaving large amounts of the timber framing exposed, as well as the massive center chimney. The exhibit does a good job of following the history of the families that lived in the house over the centuries. Pretty cool and William really enjoyed it.

Earlier this week I found that Aermotor, the company that made our windmill, is still in business selling new windmills and rehabbing old ones. Not sure when our windmill was installed. I would guess the 1930s. Still spins with ease in the wind although the water tank is a shambles.

Heard from a wave of new "long lost cousins" this week. -- Bill

Once again, rain kept us from making any progress. -- Bill

Beautiful weather this weekend. Finally got the remaining cedar siding up on the back of the house. Things moved pretty slowly as I wound up drilling pilot holes for every nail. The old-style cut nails can really split the thin cedar clapboards otherwise.

Put another coat of primer on the boards once they were all in place. Have some caulking to do and then I'll be ready to paint.

Am still waiting on some moulding to finish out the window trim. Had to have a custom knife made to match the profile of the moulding on the other windows. An expensive proposition, but needed.

The rear of the house has come a long way...and there's a lot more work left to do. The geese seem to approve. -- Bill