I finally started replacing the tools that were lost/destroyed during our move (over a year ago).  Found a ladder that a guy was trying to get rid of for $150 – Great deal for a 28 footer (fiberglass).  Then I just sucked it up and got a portable table saw to replace the one that got bent in the move.  Expensive little buggers, but this thing is niiiiiice!  All I needed it to do is be removable from the basement and to be able to take a dado blade.  This one fit the bill!

Now that I have the tools, I need to start moving on some of the outdoor repairs.  Somebody is eating the eaves on my upper deck porch.  I got up there for a closer look today and found, well, nothing that tells me who has been eating my eaves…but did find significant “chewage” on the wood.  So, up to the deck on the 3rd floor to start taking things apart.  The entire rail system on the deck is rotting.  Not so bad because I hated the railing up there anyway and that’s a good excuse to re-design it and do it over.  It’ll look KILLER when I’m done.  Anyway, have to remove the railing to loosen the flashing to get to the eaves.  It’s all coming out and I’m replacing it with extruded PVC – yeah, eat that, bitch!  If someone has the balls to eat through that, I might think about moving.  Once that’s back in place, I will re-do the rails.  Extruded PVC for the base and posts and wood for the balance.  The whole thing was rotting at the joints and the base.  It didn’t appear that it was primed or painted at the cross cuts.  I guess if you’re doing the work for someone else, they’ll never know the difference.  I’ll be here a while.  I don’t want my wife to ask me in 10 years why my shit is falling apart…she’ll think I’m “one of them.”  As an aside, I did find plenty of carpenter ants in the railings above the holes in the eaves, but there was no moisture on the eaves.  I understand that the carpenter ants like wet wood, but do they eat the dry stuff too?  Could this be all ant damage?  I don’t really see any evidence of there being ants in those holes…Whatever, I’ll find out when I take the eaves apart.  Maybe I should take photos and post the progress…