Here are the rules of the game:
1. Open your first photo folder
2. Scroll to the 10th photo.
3. Post the photo on your blog and tell the stroy behind it.
4. Tag people to do the same.
Here's my photo and the long story to go with it.
Whenever we decide to do anything to the house it's like pulling a thread on a sweater, what we think is a small problem becomes a bigger and bigger and bigger one. Needing a new roof and to paint the house can quite easily lead to residing the house and getting a new front porch and walkway. It's a very slippery (and expensive) slope. My photo is of the cement truck pouring the footing for the new front porch we put in last year.
When we moved into our house it had "widespread paint failure". It was peeling and cracking and it was beige. (I'm pretty sure I'm the only one who thought that it was the beigeness that really made it a failure.) In order to really fix it, and not just have to repaint again in 4 years, the painters recommended that we scrape down to bare wood and start over, but they also said that it might not work and we might have to paint again in 4 years anyway.
It was going to be expensive and we found out we had lead paint, so, rather than spend a ton of money on something that might not work and send chips of lead paint all over the yard and neighborhood while we were at it, we decided to replace the siding. It wouldn't be any less expensive, but it would work, and would give us the chance to pump insulation into our uninsulated house! We did tons of research into whether to use hardiplank or some other synthetic or wood, trying to figure out how to balance our desire to have it look good, last forever (or as close to that as possible) and be green. Eventually, after weighing all the options we decided to replace the old cedar siding with new cedar siding.
When they got to the front of the house with the new siding and were working on the area around the front porch the workmen noticed that the roof of the porch was "squishy" (I'm pretty sure it's not good to have any part of your house be described as "squishy".)
We decided it would be a good idea to replace the roof on the porch, but when they pulled the roof off all the rotten wood and carpenter ants they discovered made us think it was best to replace the whole porch.
(you can only kind of see it in this photo, but for about a month we had a piece of plywood nailed across the front door with "Please Go Around" spray painted across it. Classy.)
This is what the house looks like all done. (that photo was taken last fall, our trees haven't started losing leaves yet. Actually, it's going to be 85ยบ today!)
Ok, after all that, I'm tagging
Molasses Candy
Kreeger Pottery Blog
and
Gulping Beauty
6 comments:
I am in awe of your darling house. If I were to drive down your street I would point this house out to my husband, it's perfect.
it is a perfect house.
thank you for tagging me. however, i do not have any blogging friends except you. i am going to have to accost a stranger.
It is a lovely house, but it looks like you have almost rebuilt it :))
Great story! I love home improvements, although I know it's a royal pain to be the one paying for and conducting them. You guys were tested as homeowners and it looks like you really rose to the challenge. The house look wonderful :)
Youre house is dah-ling!
Your home is absolutely lovely. I can't believe what a big project it became!
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