Side door overhang

Since we bought the house, we always thought the side door entrance needed an overhang. My design was to have the brackets match the existing roof brackets, the pitch and width match the house, and a wainscoting ceiling to match the porch ceiling. Jerry cut into the siding with a skill saw, and never cracked a piece of siding. Everything fit into place perfectly. He did an amazing job. The ceiling light matches the two lights on the porch as well.

It really looks like it has always been there. Which was the idea.

One side down, one to go...

Today I finished the eves on the west side of the front dormer. The wainscoting and moldings are all installed, and everything is painted. The open eves add so much to the character of the house. It was great weather to be on the roof. Aiming to finish the other side tomorrow.

Labor Day Weekend 2010

We finally started tackling the eves on the front dormer. Jerry and I installed the wainscoting and moldings in the peak. Now all 3 peaks on the house are completely finished. The remaining work on the eves can now be done without having to pull a ladder up onto the roof. After almost two years, we finally removed the toe jacks from the roof!

Garage side door

Well, it's not nearly as fun as working on the house, but some work needed to be done on the garage. The side door was rusting out, and the lower courses of siding on the right side of the door were in terrible shape. Jerry and I replaced the side door, and I replaced the 4 lower courses of siding. Masonite siding is junk and hard to work with, but it is really cheap. I put tar paper over the sheathing, back-primed the new siding, and caulked the seams really well. Decided to replace the lower 4 courses around the corner too. This fall or next spring the garage will be painted to match the house.

Exterior porch door

We always wanted the exterior porch door to be natural wood. (the side that faces the street only) I used my inferred paint stripper to remove the multiple layers of white paint. There was then a green colored stain or primer that needed to be sanded off. The middle panel had alot of dry rot, so I replaced it and cut all new moldings for the panels. Also installed a new piece of glass and a new deadbolt. It looks great!

Garden lattice

In preparing for the baptism of our little girl (at our house), we decided to make a lattice screen to hide the air conditioner. I used cedar 2x4s and 1x2s to create my custom lattice screen. I then used lag bolts to attach the legs of the screen to the timbers in the garden. Finished it with Cabot's deck stain to match our picnic tables and the lattice under the front porch.

Back at it Memorial Day weekend 2010

Summer is here! Yesterday I picked up the sander, wood filler & paint brush, and finally refinished the top of the door frame on the side door. It was great to get that done after staring at it all winter! The side entrance is now complete. We decided to stick with the green color for the door.