March 2016
Hi there. I mentioned to my readers and shared a couple of sneak peeks that I would do a post on our house renovations so here it is. Where do I start though.
We bought our house just before we got married in the summer of 1977. Yes, we've lived in the same house for almost 40 years! Most of my friends have lived in at least one other house but not us. We've stayed put. We love where we live and our house is not fancy but we have made many upgrades over the years so we could stay here.
July 2015
Here you can see the garage 'man' door. Up close it was gross with peeling paint, rust and a fogged up window with a torn screen.
And the screen door on the front of the house was rotting and our old dog used to 'knock' on the door to be let in so the wood was scraped bare under the door handle (see first picture). I really hated to see that screen door go to the dump but it did.
1979
Above is our house in 1979 with the carport/deck, very tiny trees (now gone) and a picket fence (also now long gone and I wish we'd kept it but it was rotting even then at 7 years old). We took down the carport around that year and had an attached garage added on and a small deck on the back of the house. Since then we've replaced the siding and windows, decks front and back, and done lots of upgrades inside as well. There is always something to do when you own a house. Right?
The split entry or raised ranch style is very common in our part of the country. When you enter the house there was a 3' x 6' space before you go up stairs to the living area or down stairs to the basement. Three by six!! Not much room!!
I took this photo in March when we were seriously considering the renovations and expanding the front entry. As you can see, it is small with just enough room for a small half moon table and a lamp. And barely room for 2 people to stand there. And difficult to find space to remove boots or shoes too and no place to sit down, other than the steps, to do so.
Since we built the new shed in November of 2015 we had it sided in a new vinyl siding (khaki) and this would be the new colour for our house as well.
The shed was built in 2015 but the siding was installed this past June. (disregard the date on the photo).
By the time we got a carpenter/contractor lined up the work didn't start until late September.
New windows and 'man' doors were added to the garage.
A new window was added to the two bedrooms at this end of the house. This is a southerly exposure so they let in lots of sunlight as well as lovely breezes in the warmer months. Note the gable ends are done in shingle-style vinyl. I forget the colour of this though.
October 25. Once the garage and house were sided it was time to start on the front entry. You can see the outline of the shape it will be and due to the bedroom window we couldn't go any wider. The front deck was removed as it was rotting after about 12 years of weathering. Our contractor would design something to incorporate the landing to the garage door for us.
We love the windows and the light they bring in!
In summer the windows will let in some lovely breezes so we really don't need a screen door.
By November 6th the entry and siding on the front of the house was completed. Now for the deck.
Because of safety codes, the height of the deck being over 12" would have required a railing across it. Well, we didn't want that so the contractor made a second step down all across the front and incorporated it into the landing area to the garage door. He even made a corner 'shelf' to sit a potted plant in the summer! 😁 And I can see a pot or two of plants on the step across the front maybe. There is lots of space to have a sit down on the steps and room for a small table and chair set perhaps.
We love the detail of the stone, shingles and stained cedar at the peak of the entry.
Murray laid the in-floor heating last Wednesday and the contractor laid the tiles on Saturday. He is here this morning doing the grout.
Don't you like those curtains?? One thing about a large window at ground level is lack of privacy and I'm really paranoid about people seeing in. So. These are a temporary fix until I purchase expensive blinds ($$$) for the windows. Haha. And while I'm at it I hope to replace the roller blinds in the bedroom and buy new ones for the 2 new windows. Oh yeah. I see $$$$$$$$ for those!! I have a beach towel hanging on one of the new small bedroom windows. Haha.
We had pot lights added around the entry which are really nice and bright.
After our first dusting of snow last week.
I made this winter arrangement for the new corner by the garage.
What do we have left to do? Outside - landscaping, new patio stones up to the deck, staining of the deck which will all happen next summer. Inside - priming and painting of the walls and trim. And decorating, which I'm looking forward to. And new blinds.
The back of the house with the new deck we had built in 2014 and the new patio on the ground added this past summer.
We are loving this new entry space and can't wait for it to be completely done so we can fully enjoy it. I also can't wait to clean the house from top to bottom to get rid of all the dust!! I have already decorated for Christmas, for the most part, and put up a tree. I know.....crazy eh?
I think we're done! Now.....I have some ideas for the family room and the office, and new hardwood stairs to replace the old carpet, a new bannister and hand rails.....oh the list goes on and on. Oh! And backsplash for the kitchen! Still not done after we renovated it 5 years ago. It's never ending. Murray may never be able to retire!!
Thanks for stopping by to visit.
I hope you have a lovely day and a great week.
Pam