We have porch swing

Yes, we now have a porch swing!!!

My Dad read the entry about my failed attempt at hanging our porch swing and called to offer assistance in repairing what I destroyed and getting it hung up correctly. I readily agreed to his offer. My Dad ran his own housing construction company back in the 80's. He's built both houses lived in growing up along with close to 20 other houses in the local area. I even roofed some of those houses while I was in High School to make an extra buck or two. So, when it comes to knowing how to work on a house, my Dad knows his stuff.Dad had his monthly EAA (Experimental Aircraft Association Chapter 38) meeting this morning and then he was supposed to go and finish up an engine overhaul on his airplane. After he finished putting the engine together, of course, a test flight was in order, so I didn't expect to see him until about 4:00 this afternoon or so. But, the part he was waiting on didn't come in yesterday's mail and today's mail wasn't going to run until about 2:00, so he came over right after the meeting. The first thing he did was decide that all of the vinyl that was partially coming down, needed to come down all-together so we could fix the wood it was mounted too. First we had to figure out how to get it down without tearing it up. Once we figured that out, we decided to run to Lowe's to get some screw-nails, roofing nails and a tool to separate vinyl pieces. Once we got back from Lowe's it was on the disassemble, which went very quickly. After we pulled all the vinyl down, we reattached the strip of plywood with screw-nails. After that was back up, we started putting all the vinyl back up. Again, that went very smooth also. Once we got the vinyl all the way back to where the swing mounts were gonna go, we measured and drilled the pilot holes for the eye bolts. Then we finished the vinyl . After that, we located our pilot holes under the vinyl and drilled into it. (Of course, I didn't find the pilot hole in my first attempt of drilling a small hole in the vinyl, or even my 4th attempt on the left side. Thank goodness for caulking) We installed the eye-bolts and hung the swing. Then the test. Dad sat down on it and it held. Then, I sat down with him and it held. We have a working porch swing!!! The biggest test of faith: Heather sat down it with my Dad.. When Heather will sit on it, you know she trusts it, so we are good to go. Thanks Dad for all the help!!!! You know I couldn't have done it right without you!!!

Crap...

Last weekend I finally got around to hanging our front porch swing. When my Grandfather died last February and the daughters were getting ready to sell his house, they gave Heather and me the porch swing from his house. We were the only folks in the family with a front porch and had a use for it. I took it to my sister's father-in-law and he refinished the swing and painted it white to match our porch. Unfortunately, the swing has been sitting on the porch floor since last August because of one reason or another and was never hung. So, this past weekend, I was finally able to make the time, buy the parts and get it hung. To start off, just about every piece I bought to hang the swing had to be bent, stretched, ground or cut to work, but I was finally able to get it all together. Then, it was on to hanging it. The right side (as you look at it) went up great and it was sturdy. When I worked on the left side, however, it didn't feel near as sturdy and it felt like only a thin piece of wood was all that was up there when I drilled the pilot hole for the eye bolts. I decided to try my luck and hang the swing there anyway. After it was hung, I sat in the middle of the swing and it felt fine. I swung in it for a little while and had no problems. The left side still bugged me, but I guess it was going to hold. I told Heather later that evening, that some time the next day, we both ought to sit in it to make sure it was going to hold.

The next day, I was walking the dog and decided to sit in the swing again. Ripley jumped up in the swing and went to the right side, so I sat on the left. I think it held about 7 nano-seconds. The whole left side ceiling of the porch above the swing came crashing down while the swing and my butt crashed to the floor. After I moved the vinyl siding off my head, I looked up to see what had happened. When I installed the eye bolt, I missed the stud and put it in a sheet of plywood that was only about 8 inches wide. That plywood was then nailed by two nails into each stud for the entire 8 foot length of the plywood. When I sat down, the eye bolt stayed in the plywood, but the plywood came off the studs it was nailed on. As it ripped down, it pulled the vinyl siding down with it and made a big mess of the whole area. On the bright side, I can now see the studs I need to put the eye bolts into. I just need to get some extra time and an extra set of hands to help me get the vinyl back together and nail everything back up.

Now I remember why I never started that construction company....