October 1, 2013

House Exterior Done For Now


Some house projects are primary, some are ancillary. Remodeling our future bedroom meant new windows, and new windows meant structural repairs plus refinishing the exterior of our house. As tempting as it is to continue, we had to find a stopping point in order to resume the primary project, the bedroom. So this is where we stopped and how the house will remain until we can get to replacing the windows in the corner bedroom.


The new siding covers the exterior of the middle bedroom, the bathroom, and the back porch. You can see where we stopped at the corner on the left. The back wall of the porch is still covered with the old vinyl siding. But if I take a photo from this angle....

I love this color of paint. It changes depending on the light
and angle it's viewed from. It can range light to dark blue.

.... we get a glimpse of how our house will look when the entire thing is done. We sided and painted the back part when we replaced kitchen windows two years ago.

After the bedroom is done and we've moved in, we can replace the remaining windows on that side of the house, then do the new siding. Our long range plan is to build a soil filtration bed along that side of the house for laundry greywater, and put pergolas over the windows for growing shade producing vines in summer.

Sketch for laundry greywater soil filtration bed idea.

That won't happen any time soon(!) but it's good to have the big picture in mind as we discuss what needs to be done. We think ahead to the front of the house too, where the front porch needs a lot of repair. We don't have all that figured out yet, but when it's time to do it we will.

House Exterior Done For Now © October 2013 

13 comments:

daisy g said...

What a pretty blue! Love the idea of using your grey water. Your patience is paying off!

Willow said...

Nice to see the house coming along, love that shade of blue . Smart to have a big picture of what you want to achieve !

Anonymous said...

I love what you have done so far! You guys have come a long way in just a short time. Well done to you both :)

Anonymous said...

It all looks so nice Leigh.
The shade of blue is so pretty :-) But I understand when a project needs to be put on hold. When you are renovating and living in the renovation, other things need to take priority. m.

DebbieB said...

It looks terrific, Leigh! I love the blue, and the bathroom window is like a jewel.

Susan said...

It's so important to have plans! I love that color, too. I really like the pergola/shade plans for the windows. That's a great idea.

Ed said...

Part of the reason I have problems starting big projects is because I'm loathe to stop part way through something. I have residing our house on the list of things to do in the next couple years. Reading this helps me realize that sometimes you have to make your stopping points!

luckybunny said...

Love all your plans, and I like the color too. I also love your banner photo, I just noticed it, so cute!

Mama Pea said...

Leigh, you seem so calm about everything! You have such patience in believing it WILL all get done. (I'm not suggesting it won't!) I'm so lacking in the patience department that I know hubby would like to whomp me over the head with the wiffle ball bat sometimes! Seeing how you handle all the work on your house and homestead humbles me . . . and makes me want to be a better person! (My husband will be glad to hear this.)

Leigh said...

Daisy, thanks! But I don't think it's patience so much as we can't get things done any faster!

Willow, thank you! Those big pictures are helpful, for sure. The had part is not becoming impatient to get there.

Stephanie, thank you!

M., being able to set stopping points while a project is in progress has not been an easy thing to learn. Still, we're making tiny steps on many fronts. :)

Debbie, I like that!

Susan, I just hope we can pull the pergolas off. Sometimes Dan gets on a different mental track, which is why the long term goals and sketches are important!

Ed, Dan is especially the same way. If it was just a matter of new siding, we could probably get it all done. But we don't want to be fiddling around with replacing windows (for which they don't make the same sizes anymore), after new siding is up. And we can't afford to replace all the windows at once, so we have little other choice!

Donna, thank you so much!

Mama Pea, being patient when there is so much to do has been next to impossible to learn! I think if we were younger when we got this place, we could have tackled it one project at a time, starting with the house. We don't have that many years left, so we've got quite a few irons in the fire, all needing something. It's a constant battle to stay sane. ;)

Dani said...

Leigh - I only use a low phosphate eco-washing powder and the water is expelled directly onto three rose bushes.

We purchased 5 bushes at the end of last year - two were planted at the front of the house and the other 3 by the washing machine outlet pipe. Those 3 are visibly ahead of the front two!

Dani said...

Btw - your siding looks brilliant - love the colour too :)

The Stay @ Home-Gardener said...

I'm intrigued by the 'Big Picture'. :)