Those Darned Rails Did NOT Get the Best Of Me (No Matter How Hard They Tried!)

I think I'll call the railing pieces not associated with the wrap-around porch The Great Equalizers. It seems that we get something really fabulous constructed on the house, and we're totally stoked!! Then, those darned railings serve up a piece of humble pie and bring me down to Earth!

Constructing these railings is, as noted previously regarding those on top of the gable, remarkably more difficult than those for the porch. I have *no* idea why. The only things different about them are the posts in between rail sets. Maybe, after having constructed 10 sets for the porch with remarkable precision, I used up all of my ability to make this particular construct just so. Or, I used up all of my patience. Or, something. Whatever the reason, both times handed me their challenges!

But, they won't build themselves! So, one evening this week, I went to work on the railings for the top of the conservatory because we can't have people falling off of the rooftop patio now that they have their amazing second-floor access to it, now, can we?!

I digress.

After quite some time fiddling with them, I decided to at least be smart enough to assemble them on the trim where they will sit. That kept the right-angle situation aligned. (The trim pieces weren't yet glued together, though. I wanted to glue them right on the rooftop so I didn't mess up that angle, either. Seriously: SO. MANY. ISSUES.) Finally, I got the rails in place and glued:

Ah, but the joke was really on me because I needed to move them off of that table, out of the way of the kitty, before they were dry. This wouldn't have been that big of a deal, but the horizontal railings had a heck of a time staying glued to the vertical posts because the posts are so darned smooth. Note for future: Smooth wood? Sand it a little even if it's bare! Apparently, glue doesn't love adhering to painted wood or super-smooth wood. Of course it doesn't.

I successfully moved the entire piece without issue and let it dry overnight before gluing it to the conservatory's rooftop trim which also was put in place:

I decided I needed to get it in place structurally before finishing the paint job because the railing structure as a whole was just a little fragile. I really wanted it to stay in place!

Speaking of staying in place, we arrive to the next day. I was minding other business when I looked over my shoulder to see one section of the railing c-r-o-o-k-e-d. The top rail on the front, left corner dipped down just enough to be very noticeable. I do think it's possible that it could have been overlooked. Maybe. Possibly. By someone not looking at the house.

I couldn't look away. It was very unsettling. Disturbing even. Everything else on this house is remarkably in line and looking beautiful! I couldn't stand this. I could not let it go. It was already glued in place, but, that couldn't stop me. Out came the big guns:

By "big guns," I do, in fact, mean a full-sized hammer and pliers. I quickly assessed and accepted that I would rather have to seek out new parts to fix the rails than to have it crooked. So, I tapped the hammer and hoped for the best. Honestly, because I tapped and didn't wham, not much happened. But, the pliers definitely did the trick. I got that sucker apart with damage that can be easily covered with paint. Whew!

Then, I spent the next 20 minutes grumbling while working to realign and glue it. I got it done, and the painting resumed in the evening after the glue was dry:

The front three sets sets were painted before
I had to put. down. the. brush.

Today, two days later, I finished:

Pretty!!

Enough things are coming together that I'm continually losing focus on WHAT'S NEXT?! because there are so many things I WANT to do! I am going to commit to finishing painting the trim of the conservatory this weekend which includes deciding what of the kit's trim pieces I actually want to use and which will go to the wayside. There's a LOT of trim for it, and I'm not sure I want it all. We'll see.

So, getting the windows and doors of the conservatory are on the immediate docket while we also need to sort, paint and finish the trim on the rest of the house. Stay tuned for those particular finishing touches with many more to come ...!