This week has been pretty crazy. While doing some routine caulk replacement in the master bathroom, I discovered some water damage behind the tiles.  After removing some tiles and discovering some nastyness, I decided I could get into the wall from the outside more easily to clean it out and repair damage.

That wall of the house is obscured by some thick bushes.  I pulled an old picture of the house so you could see. I cut the bushes back so I could get to it.  I then discovered that the panelling was pretty nasty near the bottom that was being obscured and I had some ant problems.

To make a long story short, I spent the weekend ripping off the outside wall and replacing it.  Andrew came down Saturday and helped me put the new panelling up.  It was that Hardi-Plank stuff that's more like concrete than wood, and was MUCH heavier than wood.  It was also difficult to cut.  It pretty much destroyed a saw blade with one cut.  But it's supposed to not ever rot or mildew or anything, so it should be worth it.

Andrew and I replaced the panels I had removed, and as you can see we actually removed the window.  It was in the shower and I was tired of people being able to see me take a shower.  Also, it was the source of the tiling problem in the shower that lead to the water damage and an ant infestation.  We'll be redoing the shower/bath over the next few weeks, and Becky is looking forward to that.

Thank goodness I hadn't removed more panels, or we would have died.  It's pretty hot outside.  The heat index is well over 100 degrees.  I also hit my thumb with the hammer way too many times. I just finished caulking the wall and thought I share what's going on.  There's still quite a bit of work to do.  I need to replace the remaing 2 panels, but I'll need some cooperation from the utilities to remove all the crap they've screwed into the wall on the outside.