Home improvement. Correction: Home repair

Last weekend Uncle Pat and I tore apart an eight foot section of our house's back exterior wall. Some previous owner had cut out a section of siding (I'm not sure why) and when they had put it back had tried to seal the horizontal seam with caulking. The lack of gutters and a leaky pipe (for a mister system that's now gone) got enough water on that section of wall that the siding around the seam had swelled and needed to be replaced. Two sheets (four feet wide each) were involved, so I decided to replace both.

To complicate the problem, there were four pipes coming out of the same section of wall. To make it easier, I decide to change the plumbing around so that there would only be two (one for water heater pressure relief and one for cold water). There is also a window involved. Given these complications, I called upon Pat to bring tools and expertise. I literally couldn't have do it without his help. We had some hiccups (which are inevitable) but at the end of the day it seemed to be satisfactory.

Monday we made pot roast so the house was full of that smell and the air was a bit humid when we got home. Tuesday the smell was of sheet rock and the air was still humid. I went to investigate the wall, worried that our plumbing had sprung a leak. It was clear there was a problem once I saw the swollen and discolored siding. I took it off and discovered that the plumbing we had done wasn't the problem. Instead one of us had driven a nail (while hanging the siding) straight into a copper pipe.

Ashlee and I worked until about ten that night getting the plumping fixed (included a trip to Home Depot just before they closed). I just left off the siding so that the hot Arizona sun could dry out the sheet rock and kill any organic growth (the term real estate agents use for mold). The next evening it was still a bit damp. Rain wasn't in the forecast at all this week, so I just decided to wait until today to work on it again.

Today I made some final adjustments to the plumbing, and put the siding back up. It had dried in the sun and all the swelling had gone down. I also fixed some of the hiccups that Pat and I had trouble with a week ago with the siding (not marking the stud locations, siding seams not lining up with studs, etc). Anyway, the siding is up now and the plumping is leak free (for now, knock on wood). I sealed the seams with silicone and the plan is to paint asap in the morning.

Gutters are a big priority because even without a horizontal seam (like there used to be) the bottom edge of the siding soaks up water splashing up from the ground. Most of our neighbors don't have gutters either. I know AZ doesn't get much rain compared the rest of the US, but really, not gutters? Oh well, we'll just have to install some.

Sorry I don't have pictures. They weren't a big priority during the work. I'll try to take some tomorrow.