The siding project begins, my nerves are frayed

As I mentioned in my previous post, we’re having the siding replaced on the entire house. In preparation for this major project, we had to move everything away from the exterior walls — rocks, soil, plants, tables, etc. This in itself has been pretty disruptive, as you can imagine. But it’s also a good opportunity to make changes instead of simply putting everything back the way it had been. I have a few weeks to decide what to do.

It’s been a while since the front porch has been this empty

Last evening, before the project began, I did a quick walkabout, filming everything for a “before” snapshot:

This morning, a crew of four began to tear off the trim and the sections of T1-11 siding that had obvious signs of rot or other damage. The south (weather) side in particular showed a lot of wear. Before I knew it, stuff began to pile up in the backyard:

Of course my first thought was for the plants. Here’s a photo from an upstairs window. So many plants that could get knocked off or flattened:

Our doorbell camera got a workout like never before. It was too dangerous to go outside while they were working so I periodically checked the live stream from the front door.

Watching the goings-on didn’t exactly calm my nerves, though. There was stuff falling from above:

Carrying the old siding to the trailer in the street was getting ever more precarious:

And stuff was breaking apart:

After a while, I stopped watching. But the noise continued unabated. Hammering. Screeching from nails being pried out. And drilling, which reminded me too much of the dentist’s. Fortunately, Stella is on vacation at my mother-in-law’s house. As a former street dog, she’s very sensitive to noise and would have become traumatized.

OK, I did watch some more:

Yikes, that could have landed on my plants! But it didn’t. Deep breaths...

After the crew left at 8pm (an 11-hour day for them), I did another quick walkabout:

I was greatly relieved. The only damage I found was one mangave, and I could have/should have moved it out of the way a bit more. Out of all the bad things that could have happened, this is nothing.

Cosmetic damage to Mangave ‘Whale Shark’

Also, I’m greatly impressed with how clean the work site is. I heard the leaf blower multiple times throughout the day. If this is any indication, we’re in good hands.

If you’ve had siding replaced or even just your house painted, you’re familiar with all of this. No homeowner enjoys this kind of disruption, but for gardeners — especially those who are pretty fanatical about their plants — this is particularly harrowing.

By the way: Don’t worry, I won’t be posting daily updates. That would tax even my patience.

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