Week 3

Progress is feeling painfully slow, but, really, we're in the last mile with all this.

We think.

Siding on the front got done:

All the trim details got done. Here's a close up of how nicely they did this little step area:

Repairs were made to a small area that was missing shingles for some reason:

And then on Saturday and Sunday, the painters came. They (nearly) finished the wall between the houses. They painted this front area a dark brown, to blend with the original shingles below:

They painted the back part of the wall -- the part that abuts the neighbor's deck -- an off-white, to match up with their outdoor space:

And they finished prepping and priming the front:

The final color will be a navy blue, similar to the garage. Six passersby told the painters they liked this color -- sort of a Wedgwood blue. Sorry to disappoint, neighbors! 

And while all that work moved along (more or less) steadily, Mr. Bunkport was poking around the foundation. He thinks that, yes, the soft spot with the crack will need to be replaced (about a four foot span), but the rest is sound. He drilled some test holes for the earthquake bolts, and will be doing The Big Test next week to verify that the bolts will hold in The Big One.

Here's the first hole -- goes through the mud sill (the piece of wood sitting on the foundation that the rest of the house is attached to) straight into the concrete:

Fingers crossed!