| Fall 2015 |
| Fall 2016 |
We did it. We added a wrap around porch to our 1890's farmhouse. We are officially living in a dream. Kind of a scary dream, but that's where we're at. When we bought the farmhouse it had a screened in front porch. The screens were in pretty rough shape so they got taken off. We decided pretty early on that we would work a larger porch into the plan, spanning the North and South sides of the house as well. Why not? The house could stand some added architectural interest, and it just fits with the nostalgia of country, farmhouse living. Ben and Countryside wanted to wrap the porch around this Spring when we were still finishing up the renovations, but being the typical fun-sponge that I am, I said no. I couldn't handle one more thing at that point, and I was still nervous about how everything was going to flush out with the bank. Ben shook his head and moved on. Countryside went on with their business and we were very near the end of the renovation period when suddenly the basement started caving in. Not kidding...there were stones and chunks of foundation piled up on the floor. That's a problem. It was fixable (obviously, because we're living here now) but was an unexpected $4,500 out of pocket. Then Ben was thankful we weren't over-committed on the porch already at that point. See babe...it pays to be conservative sometimes.
Once everything was settled, our loan was closed with the bank, and we were all paid up with Countryside, we got a revised quote from Greg and decided to move forward with the porch. They couldn't fit us in until September which was just fine with us. We were able to enjoy Summer and tackle some lesser projects as well as a lot of time at the beach. The crew showed up to start the porch mid-September and were finished with their part in about a week. They took care of the footings, framing, roofing, and everything else that needed to be structurally tied into the house. Then Ben took over to install the decking all the way around. He got some help from my Dad and much less help from me and the boys. We tried, but we ended up just being in the way most of the time. To Ben's credit, he never showed if he was frustrated with us or not. He's a champ.
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| We were so excited they finally got to see cement work at our house. The boys love cement trucks. The missed all of it during the renovations, and even missed cement day when our neighbor Todd put up his barn. But we were home THIS cement day, and they got to enjoy it. |
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| Footprints with Ellis is a game changer. He jumped in with full force and went in almost to his knees. Greg laughed, smoothed it out, and we tried again. |
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| To Countryside's credit, none of the guys ever showed if they were frustrated with the boys or dog... |
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| Ben was also stuck with the job of destroying the concrete step by the front door so the ledger boards could get attached for the deck. It honestly took hours...but he never complained once. I mean he did sort of, but not as much as I would have. |
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| Pretending the wood was their "ship". |
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| Painting toolboxes with Dad. Ellis' shorts make me laugh every time. And his socks and shoes. |
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| Helping Grandpa Stob |
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| We rock only the best fashion trends over here. |
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| Late night ice cream sandwiches celebrating Mom's birthday eve. |
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| LAST DECK DAY, also the day U of M played Ohio State, hence the TV set up outside. |
We also finally replaced the front door in November! That was a fantastic day. Apparently when you grow up you start to get excited and thankful for things like health, good relationships, financial stability, and new doors. The old door was not only an eyesore after the rest of the house was freshly updated...it was also incredibly terrible at staying closed. All of our neighbors know this. The wind blows straight out of the West, over the cornfield, across the street, and into our front porch. It blew that door open all the time, and many times we weren't home so our neighbors would drive by and shut it. Thanks Tony, Jennifer, Todd, Julie, Kevin, Nicole, and anyone else who shut our door for us. We appreciate you all, but hopefully no longer need these services. We have a deadbolt now.
So, like any project we take on, there is Phase I and Phase II. Phase II for the porch will hopefully be completed in the Spring of 2017, but we'll also have a two month old so we'll just see. Phase II includes staining the deck (we installed unfinished, treated decking), staining the door, installing the ceiling around the porch, wrapping the porch posts with cedar, and landscaping! Colt is already reading up on what we should plant, so we all have that to look forward to.
Until next time...
