It's always a multi-step process...

Today's project was (surprise!) more scraping. But first, to get to the siding above the basement stairs, I had to build a little platform to cover the stairwell. Not to worry--this isn't *just* OSB. It's OSB with four treated wood 2x6s screwed to the bottom of it. (The 2x6s will be reused as a buried grass barrier at the edge of some flower beds.) Three sides are fully supported (by the top landing of the stairs and the top of the concrete retaining wall).

It seems pretty sturdy so far. We'll see how it's doing in FOUR TO SIX WEEKS when my $1800 worth of magical prestained shingles arrive.

And here's what the little platform has made possible. My sad molting house. Notice how when we took the quarter-round molding off the top of that ledger board, it ripped the paint off in sheets. That siding on the top is way too funky on the surface to hold paint, but curiously, it's not soft or rotty at all. Which is good, because it's going to have to hold a lot of nails.