Still working on the porch.  Seems like projects on the pit take at least 3 months to do.  Its one of those things where we have the stuff and now just need to wrap it up.  Skirting will hopefully be done in a week or 2 and then comes the floor.

I'm kind of stalled out on what project comes next. I don't know how people keep paying for all this stuff ???

Porch in progress

Man its UGLY right now, but its going to be great!  The side stairs are no more and the new center stairs should be framed and in soon.   Concrete forms are there now for the new walkway, and should be poured soon as well.   Its going to be so different, but much more fitting for the house.  They did all new piers and ended up jacking the porch almost 3 inches in some spots.  Its amazing upstairs now!  It doesn't feel like you're skating to the street! No major new cracks in the plaster or anything, but we'll let things settle before we count our blessings there. 

We ran into a snag with the skirting and are having to go with dark green lattice and all white PVC trim.  Not our first choice, but most will be covered by new landscaping in the spring.   Rails will be installed in the spring as well with new deck stain and hopefully some lighting.   Its been a bigger job than we thought (always is) but the end will be worth it.   We are just hoping to beat the snow season. 

Porch work time

Its time to call in the pros.  Our porch has been ever so slowly sinking and its time to get the big guns in to fix it.  I'm scared to death as to the cost of this, but it has to be done.  While I'd love to go all Trex and fancy, I don't see that happening.  I do however see new center stairs in out future so that will look awesome.   The pit is coming along....  just taking baby steps.

I'm SO excited! I scored big on Craigslist

  I've been drooling over the factory cart coffee tables in all the catalogs lately.  Unfortunately they go for over $500 and that just isn't happening anytime soon.  I had actually just downloaded a plan from Ana-white.com and then to my delight found these locally.  The dude had no idea what he had so I picked up both carts for $100.00!!!  I'm going to need to sandblast the metal and clean up the wood, but one is going to be sweet in the living room.  Maybe I'll re list the other one and make some money on this!!  Project before and after pictures to follow for sure.

Its been too long and its time to get working!

I didn't realize it had been so long since I've posted. A few things have changed with the pit. We put a new roof on and did all the soffit work last summer. Needless to say that went WAY over budget so other projects are going to have to wait a while. It looks great and its nice to have it off our to do list. I decided to go brown instead of the gray that was existing, trying to get some more earth tones in and hope to tie in some rock and things later if we do the porch overhaul. I'd like to do center steps down, with new craftsman posts and paver walkway. Ahhhh dreams. Seriously though we are looking at some structural issues so its on the short list. Maybe next year.

Its been a while..

The pit is coming along. Little by little and room by room. Matts room is almost officially done. I repainted, redid the windows and am now stripping the door, eventually we'll recarpet but that may wait a bit. The door project is kind of a leap of faith.. we have these great 5 panel hardwood doors, but they are all painted white and are in pretty rough shape. As I painted trim in Matts room I was really craving some real wood, later that night I was watching King of Queens and the set in that show is VERY similar to the colors and style of our home. Then I noticed that they have the white trim but stained doors. LOVE IT so I'm doing the same thing. So far the wood under all that paint is really nice, as I finish each room the kicker will be doing the door. SO.. like the window project it will take some time, but I think it will be classic and hopefully a job I'll never have to do again.

I painted the master as well and it turned out fab. I used a color I had in our old Army housing and I still love it. I also added some wainscoting behind the bed in leiu of a headboard and some lighting on the walls. We need new nightstands and dressers then that will be complete and I'll do THAT door. lol.

Summer is coming soon and I'm trying to decide what projects really "need" to be done and what can wait. Too bad I'm really bad at waiting....

Summers gone :(

I didn't do a whole lot to the pit over the summer. I promised Dave a season without living in chaos and stayed true to my word. I've been cleaning up loose ends, but nothing major.

Latest undertaking has to be the windows. We've got these great old windows, and I just can't get myself to give them up. They are 5 light on top and 1 light on the bottom sash. The cords are all shot and there are several panes that are broken. SO... I've started in Matt's room and am going to work my way down to the main floor. So far its going well, but the glazing is a slower process than I thought since it needs to cure for a week or 2 before painting. They are going to be great in the end. We have really nice storm windows on the exterior so now that the insides will be all redone they should actually be pretty energy efficient. I figure too that this is my way of reusing the old stuff and being green. One down, 22 to go.

Dave pulled off the old fireplace window setup today and we painted it flat black. I was sceptical but it looks awesome! No more icky brass shiny stuff. Tomorrow the dude comes to clean the fireplace so we'll see it in action soon.

If I win the lottery we'll have the pit done in 10 years. Still love it though.

What to do???

Summer is here. I'm off work for 2 months and although I promised Dave no big projects for now, I've got many going through my head. I'm going to finish some little stuff then work my way into it.

Some of the things I think I'll try to tackle soon are-----

Jazzing up Matt's room a bit, he's got nothing on his walls yet and its just really blah for a kids room. I think I'll give him some shelves and bulletin boards. Nothing crazy just stuff that's functional.

The bar, it needs some love. I actually love it the way it is, but it needs just a tweak to feel a little higher end. I'm thinking of facing the front with wood to match the stools and then a cool foot rail, almost so its kind of pub like.

The gates to the backyard are going to be toast by fall. Pure wood rot. I'm trying to figure out something that matches the age of the house, yet is really durable and attractive. Not as easy as it sounds.

I'd still love to reface the living room fireplace with natural stone veneer and do a custom built in for the tv. Its a project that's really going to need to be done well. Any crappy gaps in moulding and stuff and it will look like garbage. I've got a doodle all made, but I've got to find someone who knows what they are doing to help me. I'd love to get like an HGTV crew in here for a few days.. lol.

Not much else new with the pit. The yard is coming along nicely. We did some edging and stuff but now that we got the dog we have kind of stalled on the quest for perfect grass. (at least in the backyard) We are already seeing drops in our gas bill. This time of year that would be normal anyway, but that new water heater really seems to be saving us some money. I can't wait to see how well the furnace does next winter.

Later.

New Furnace

Well, gas for the truck may bankrupt us, but the costs to heat the house sure won't!

Today we got our new super efficient gas furnace and water heater installed. It should be a HUGE savings compared to the old one. I almost wish is was still colder so we could really see the difference in the next few months. Its a good feeling to know that we aren't being wasteful anymore too.

Here are the contracors we used.. http://www.greenhomesamerica.com/

I need to win the Lottery.

Two things came back WAY over what I want to spend today. I got the first bid on the patio.. 3700.00 EEK! Well, I guess we move on down through the yellow pages because that contractor is on crack. Then I priced a cushion for the window seat.. 175.00! Damn, I own the seat, I just need to pad my butt. Its foam wrapped in some fabric, its not spun gold fleece! I guess I was feeling rich and hoping to do both these things with as little work for me as possible. Wrong... I'm back to sweat equity and breaking out the sewing machine.