Front porch coziness

The best time to be on the front porch is late summer/early fall. I decided to repaint the floor, which was not in bad shape, but the new paint sure brightened things up. Then we added some inexpensive area carpets to make it a little more cozy. Finally, we had a receptacle installed. It's nice having power on the porch. We bought a small art glass lamp for the table. Looking forward to hanging some Halloween lights in the windows, and then having a second Christmas tree out here.

Porch Overhang

I've been looking forward to finally getting this section of the house done. It's a lot of work, but it's coming together nicely. The rafter tails and header board clean up very well with my infrared paint stripper, the wainscoting attaches easily, and the paint job looks excellent. I decided to "box in" the wainscoting with moldings up against the header board and on each side of the rafter tails. This gives it a very clean look. Since this is the main entrance to the house, and you can see this area up close, I'm taking my time and really doing everything as neatly as possible.

Pantry window, corner board & roof bracket

I finally stripped and painted the window, corner board, and roof bracket next to the deck. Things are really coming together on the south side of the house. The last and biggest project on this side will be removing the aluminum soffit, stripping and painting the rafter tails…and then attaching the wainscoting.

That will wait until next spring, and we'll get a new gutter at the same time.

Back at it August 2012

So great to be back working on the house. We've been busy with landscaping, assembling swing sets, pools, etc. I've looked forward to finally siding the south side of the house that connects to the deck. I'm able to side right over the existing Hardie Board. I back primed the first 3 courses since there can be occasional splashing on the deck during heavy rain storms. This really brings everything together. Now, the entire house has cedar siding. 

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.

Finished for the season

With the new porch lattice in place, I'm calling it for the season. It's amazing how much we completed this summer. Long days on ladders and scaffolding. Our neighbor Jerry was a tremendous help. I would say the house is 80% complete. Work still to be done on the eves and windows. Our new Autumn Blaze maple tree looks great with the house color. Looking forward to spring!

Porch lattice

Our Oktoberfest party was a totally success a couple weeks ago...and everyone commented on how great the house is looking. For a change of pace, I started building new lattice for under the porch. We couldn't decide on a color, so we went with the natural look of the cedar boards. I used Cabot's clear solution wood toner to seal them up. The color matches the ceiling and door inside the porch. With the porch lights on just before dark, it all looks amazing!

Open eves on the front porch

The east and west sides of the house are nearly completed. Before returning the scaffolding, we used it to drop the front gutter and tear off the aluminum facia and soffits on the front porch. Then we put the gutter back up. The roof deck underneath is in great condition. It was most likely replaced at some point. The rafter tails will clean up nicely too.



A few very cool things happened when we tore off the ugly soffits. We gained 8 inches of headroom on the front step. The tops of the porch windows are now visible from the road. And we straightened out the poorly hung gutter. The front roofline now looks nice and straight.

East side connection

The original siding on the upper half finally connects with the new siding below. It all came together seamlessly. I've started topcoating my way down the wall. We'll use a couple towers of the scaffolding this weekend to strip and repaint the remaining roof brackets on this side. We'll also finally pull the soffits off the front of the house.

Labor Day weekend

The west side is just a couple days from being finished! Eves are done, siding is complete...just a few small areas to top coat, and a couple windows and roof brackets to strip and repaint.



When you stand at the door, this side has a huge look to it. Mainly because of all the narrow courses of siding, plus the added height from the open eves. That's alot of wood! And every board was hand painted with a 3 inch brush.

The peak

The upper part of the west side is coming along nicely. The peak is totally finished, and we are working our way down the wall. The wainscoting and moldings on the eves are looking just great! Plus we decided to go with both colors on the vent. At this point, board replacements have been done, roof brackets have been stripped, everything is sanded and cleaned...ready for a weekend of primer and topcoat.

Flip to the west side

With the upper east side just a few touch-ups away from being finished...we moved the scaffolding to the west side. The weekend was spent tearing off the asphalt siding on the upper portion, replacing boards, sanding, cleaning, and priming the peak. Also started installing the wainscoting panels on the eves. The siding is in wonderful condition on the upper portion. Should make for short work. This weekend marked the 1 year anniversary of the start of our siding project!

Big WOW!!!

My neighbor Jerry and I really got alot accomplished this weekend. The upper section of the east side has really come to life. We started installing the wainscoting panels on the open eves. It could not have been done without scaffolding. Just some cutting in to do up against the header board, and also stripping and repainting the two roof brackets. Then this section is done, and the scaffolding moves to the west side.

WOW!!!

What a difference two people and scaffolding makes! Tore off the rest of the asphalt siding and aluminum soffit on the east side. Replaced only a few damaged boards. Cleaned the whole surface and gave it a coat of primer. Not bad for a days work.