So many projects!
Melissa suggested I should post pictures of my porch handiwork and I figured the only thing that was going to be happening in my life in the next couple months is whatever project is occupying me and my daily thoughts are probably going to be about whatever the next project is. Well I strive to be a capable person and I think that I might like to show off what I've done. I probably won't take pictures of EVERYTHING though because some of it is mundane such as touching up paint. Who wants to see pictures of that? Not me. I don't even want to take pictures of something that boring.
Project #1 was actually touching up trim paint around the house, which I've done, for the most part, except for places behind heavy furniture I haven't gotten to yet. I finally got around to painting over the primer white shoe mold in my kitchen which actually gave it some pep and I was impressed. I painted the window trim in the kitchen which had previously only been primered... shhh! I don't think anyone ever noticed that. I also painted the front and back doors (inside) because you know, of all the things in your house, doors seem to take the worst hit with hand prints and general staining. Sometimes its just easier to paint over than clean, ya know?
Project #2 The porch floor. I might remind you that my porch was 100% replaced almost 2 years ago. We primered and painted the flooring (which is a tongue and groove type flooring in trying to keep with the original concept of the 1920s when it was built) at that time. It started to chip within a couple of months so we painted it AGAIN. Then it started chipping again some time after that. And before you ask, we bought floor grade latex paint so it was SUPPOSED to hold up to foot traffic. Not so!
So the question had become what the heck we were going to do about it. I had originally wanted to paint an oil based paint over it. I don't know. Oil-based, in theory seems like sturdier stuff. The Lowes guy convinced us that the best course of action was to strip the latex paint off of it and put down a stain. So I KNEW how difficult stripping could be and I told Brad, under no circumstances am I going to strip that thing by myself. Brad, having no experience with stripping, thought "Oh sure, I'll help! It will be a piece of cake!" Well I think he gets it now. It became clear, rather quickly, that it was NOT going to be an easy job. Fortunately, my mom came into town in the early stages of the project and pretty much took over the project with my occasional help. She got all the right tools and perfected a method that got all the paint off while, when Brad and I did it, we stripped most of the paint and sanded off the rest. So here's the finished product, after I put 2 coats of stain on it. I realize it looks like paint but its a very opaque stain. And I didn't get a picture right after so it's dirty from traffic while I was in the middle of project #3 which I'll show you next.
Project #3 The gutter downspouts. Long story short, I buried piping that led from the gutter downspout to the hole in the retaining wall around our front yard so gutter water can easily get to the street. Fortunately, the trench for the piping was mostly dug from like a year ago but I had to use a hacksaw to shorten the gutter downspout and the piping and then dig up packed down dirt to bury the pipe. Not much to see but this is after I buried it, plus the picture will give you an idea of what the yard looks like after project #4.
Project #4 I think it's a man thing to want grass because Brad has been trying for years to get grass to grow on our front yard. His method has pretty much been the same, throw seed down and water it. We had the argument over and over that I didn't think grass was ever going to grow because the dirt is packed down and seed is just washing down the hill. Since I took the project over I got some straw to put over the seed to hold in moisture and hopefully prevent some of the seed from washing away. Plus, despite the fact that I hate watering, I've been watering it daily. So the outcome of this project remains to be seen.
Oh and as she makes a sneak appearance in the picture for project #2, I thought you might like to see my most important and ongoing project.
Novan and Beya are in school for 6 hours a day and Iyov is always somewhere trying his best to stay in trouble. Keshet prefers to watch me... at least I hope she does as she doesn't have much choice. She spends her waking hours observing my projects so I guess you could call her my foreman, or forewoman, or maybe just forebaby. So cute!
Project #1 was actually touching up trim paint around the house, which I've done, for the most part, except for places behind heavy furniture I haven't gotten to yet. I finally got around to painting over the primer white shoe mold in my kitchen which actually gave it some pep and I was impressed. I painted the window trim in the kitchen which had previously only been primered... shhh! I don't think anyone ever noticed that. I also painted the front and back doors (inside) because you know, of all the things in your house, doors seem to take the worst hit with hand prints and general staining. Sometimes its just easier to paint over than clean, ya know?
Project #2 The porch floor. I might remind you that my porch was 100% replaced almost 2 years ago. We primered and painted the flooring (which is a tongue and groove type flooring in trying to keep with the original concept of the 1920s when it was built) at that time. It started to chip within a couple of months so we painted it AGAIN. Then it started chipping again some time after that. And before you ask, we bought floor grade latex paint so it was SUPPOSED to hold up to foot traffic. Not so!
So the question had become what the heck we were going to do about it. I had originally wanted to paint an oil based paint over it. I don't know. Oil-based, in theory seems like sturdier stuff. The Lowes guy convinced us that the best course of action was to strip the latex paint off of it and put down a stain. So I KNEW how difficult stripping could be and I told Brad, under no circumstances am I going to strip that thing by myself. Brad, having no experience with stripping, thought "Oh sure, I'll help! It will be a piece of cake!" Well I think he gets it now. It became clear, rather quickly, that it was NOT going to be an easy job. Fortunately, my mom came into town in the early stages of the project and pretty much took over the project with my occasional help. She got all the right tools and perfected a method that got all the paint off while, when Brad and I did it, we stripped most of the paint and sanded off the rest. So here's the finished product, after I put 2 coats of stain on it. I realize it looks like paint but its a very opaque stain. And I didn't get a picture right after so it's dirty from traffic while I was in the middle of project #3 which I'll show you next.
Project #3 The gutter downspouts. Long story short, I buried piping that led from the gutter downspout to the hole in the retaining wall around our front yard so gutter water can easily get to the street. Fortunately, the trench for the piping was mostly dug from like a year ago but I had to use a hacksaw to shorten the gutter downspout and the piping and then dig up packed down dirt to bury the pipe. Not much to see but this is after I buried it, plus the picture will give you an idea of what the yard looks like after project #4.
Project #4 I think it's a man thing to want grass because Brad has been trying for years to get grass to grow on our front yard. His method has pretty much been the same, throw seed down and water it. We had the argument over and over that I didn't think grass was ever going to grow because the dirt is packed down and seed is just washing down the hill. Since I took the project over I got some straw to put over the seed to hold in moisture and hopefully prevent some of the seed from washing away. Plus, despite the fact that I hate watering, I've been watering it daily. So the outcome of this project remains to be seen.
Oh and as she makes a sneak appearance in the picture for project #2, I thought you might like to see my most important and ongoing project.
HOLY COW!!!! That porch was a HUGE project!!!! Way to go. And the straw is a great idea for the grass. If it does NOT grow (which thankfully you don't have to water too much w/ all this rain), then you should consider aerating it, then throw the seed down. If it's just for the front yard and a little space, and you don't want to rent an aerator you could even just take a hard rake and make a ton of holes in the ground before seeding, if this crop doesn't come up.
ReplyDeleteI HATE WATERING TOO!!!! We're seeing this weekend. Ugh.
I'm thinking WOW too! Way to go Rachel!
ReplyDelete